Brands Like AT&T, Toyota and Amazon Are Playing Both Sides on LGBTQ+ Rights

Since the very first march in 1970, Pride has been a celebration rooted in defiance of oppression of LGBTQ+ communities. But more than 50 years later, those communities are facing an historic backslide of their civil liberties. State lawmakers have filed nearly 300 pieces of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation so far this year, with bills targeting trans youth taking center stage. While brands like AT&T, Toyota, Comcast and Amazon are sponsoring Pride events in major cities across the country this month, they’re also playing a much different role. Collectively, those four brands spent more than $1 million on political campaign contributions to state lawmakers responsible for anti-LGBTQ+ legislation, according to an analysis by left-leaning think tank Data for Progress. Activists and observers are noting the disconnect. “This is certainly not a new story,” McKenzie Wilson, communications director for Data for Progress, told Adweek. "One of the intentions of this project was to help folks hold these companies accountable for the double talk that we know has been happening." Infographic: If Your Pride Marketing Plan Is a Rainbow Flag, Think Again Parsing the murky world of political contributions If brands are hoping most consumers just don’t notice where their political contributions end up, Data for Progress is working to make sure that doesn’t happen. The organization compiled an easy-to-navigate database showing all the publicly available political contributions to anti-LGBTQ+ lawmakers by major brands that are also sponsoring Pride events. “Most people don't have the time to sift through 300 pages of campaign finance reporting,” Wilson said. “Our intention was to help do that legwork.” Toyota, AT&T, Comcast and Amazon were the top brands playing both sides of the divide on LGBTQ+ rights, according to Data for Progress’s analysis. Specifically, those marketers sponsored Pride celebrations in major cities this month. During the other times of the year, they also made political contributions to anti-LGBTQ+ campaigns. None of the four brands responded to Adweek's request to comment for this story. Toyota has given more than $600,000 to anti-LGBTQ+ campaigns since 2019, the report shows—the most of any brand analyzed. The bulk of that ($580,000) went to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott. The Texas Republican issued an executive order in February calling for abuse investigations into the use of gender-affirming care for transgender children. (Update: These totals reflect contributions from Toyota franchisees and subsidiaries in addition to the Toyota Motor North America PAC). Toyota is listed as a sponsor for the L.A. Pride Parade & Festival in Los Angeles. AT&T donated more than $300,000 to anti-LGBTQ+ campaigns, according to Data for Progress. But a separate investigation by Popular Information showed the company donated more than $1 million to anti-LGBTQ+ lawmakers, political action committees and other organizations. (While Data for Progress limited the scope of its analysis to lawmakers themselves, Popular Information included groups like the Republican State Leadership Committee and the Republican Governors Association.) The meaning of allyship On May 31, LGBTQ+ advocacy organization GLAAD released a set of guidelines for corporate allies, urging companies to incorporate support for LGBTQ+ communities into their year-round strategies and aligning political donations with those plans. “True corporate allies do not donate to candidates or elected officials who introduce, vote yes, or otherwise support anti-LBGTQ+ legislation or block passage of pro-LGBTQ+ legislation like the Equality Act,” the guidelines read. “Develop criteria to vet elected officials and political donations by evaluating candidate platforms and LGBTQ voting records.” So far, though, very few brands are following through. While LGBTQ+ communities have seen progress on issues like workplace acceptance over the last 15 years, corporations need to go a step further—especially given the surge in anti-LGBTQ+ bills in state legislatures. “This is about safety,” Sarah Kate Ellis, GLAAD president and CEO, told Adweek. “The backlash is getting worse than we've seen in decades.” At the same time, Ellis noted, consumers are only getting more queer. Roughly 20% of Gen Z identifies as something other than heterosexual, according to a February Gallup poll. As that generation gains buying power, brands are going to have a harder time getting away with a conflicting relationship with LGBTQ+ communities. “What we need these corporations to do is to step up in bigger ways,” Ellis said. “Like, yes, great that a big company puts up a rainbow. But the contributions that they're making to anti-trans or anti-LGBTQ+ politicians are doing far greater harm.” How Skittles’ Pride Campaign Aims to Build a Legacy Beyond the Parade