June: Pride Month
Pride month has been celebrated in June since 1969 to support and empower the LGBTQ1+ community since the Stonewall Riot that took place that year in New York City. 'LGBT pride is the promotion of the self-affirmation, dignity, equality, and increased visibility of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people as a social group.' Now, celebrations take place such as parades, protests and campaigns to help create a movement and support as well as to shine light on how important the month is the for community.
Another modern way the month is celebrated is through marketing and the media. Advertisement is everywhere and we see it everyday, from a billboard in the street to commercials between TV shows. Well-known brands, companies and celebrities are so influential on our decisions to buy or take part in a variety of things, and this can all be done to influence a positive change for the LGBTQI+ community!
Brands We Love, Showing Love:
Converse- 'Proud To Be' Collection
The Brand Converse have realised a collection of their iconic shoes every June since 2015, showing a design of the Gay Pride Flag and rainbow colours to show support for Pride Month and allow people to be proud of who they are or what they support by wearing the collection. A variety of different shoes and designs are realised so people can express themselves in their own way whilst all still showing a celebration of the community. Not only this, Converse have partnerships with LGBTQI+ charities and non-profit organisations such as 'The It Gets Better Project' and 'The Theatre Offensive' and has nearly donated $3 Million.
Skittles- Give Up Their Rainbow
For the month of June, the sweet brand Skittles change their iconic rainbow sweets by creating an all-white sweet and all-white packaging, saying that only one rainbow matters that Month. For any sale of this new design of sweet Skittles also donate a pound to the non-profit organisation GLAAD or 'Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation which accelerates the acceptance of the LGBTQI+ community by sharing people's stories.
The North Face- 'Let Your Colour Out'
For Pride month, the clothing brand The North Face realises a varsity collection with the bright colours of the Pride flag and rainbow colours on their logo to celebrate. The collection includes a variety of hoodies, jumpers and T-shirts to be worn outdoors. The collection is used to promote people to get outdoors in the collection to show off and be proud of who they are or what they support. The North Face also donated 100,000 dollars to 'Brave Trials' which is a non-profit organisation that inspires youths, 12- 17 years old, to discover a sense of belonging and get outdoors.
Versace-
The designer fashion brand Versace has teamed up with iconic celebrities such as Lady Gaga and Cher for the month of Pride and realised collections of clothing with them. Using well-known celebrities to promote their clothing in their marketing will result in more people seeing and buying the collection, helping promote and celebrate Pride as well as fundraise money. Cher realised a collection called 'Chersace' which involved pride-themed clothing of T-shirts, caps and socks and a portion of the money from the collection was donated to 'Spectrum' a non-profit organisation that provides support for the LGBTQI+ community, especially families and younger people.
LEGO- 'Everyone Is Awesome'
The LEGO company created a LEGO set called 'Everyone Is Awesome' for Pride Month. This set design is a stand with a rainbow background with 11 Minifigures each representing a colour. The set was created to promote diversity and show support for the LGBTQI+ community using the iconic flag and used to say that LEGO is for everyone, no matter their race, sexuality or gender. LEGO also teamed up with many organisations, such as 'Workplace Pride' and 'Stonewall' to support LGBTQI+ employees as well as their customers and create a friendly workplace, so everyone who works for LEGO as well as plays with LEGO feels the love.
Kellogg's Company- 'Boxes Are For Cereal, Not People'
The breakfast cereal company Kellogg's held a promotional campaign using the slogan "Boxes Are for Cereal, Not People" to celebrate equality and freedom for the community. The slogan was not only on their products packaging, but Kellogg's also used it on social media platforms, such as TikTok with the hashtag '#BoxesAreForCerealChallenge. This hashtag encouraged people to buy one of their special pride design cereal boxes and post their purchase online, Kellogg's then donated 3 dollars to the non-profit organisation GLAAD. The hashtag was also used for several online and in person events that happened across the month also to raise money and awareness for the LGBTQI+ community and charities. Their special pride cereal boxes were designed as a purple box with their iconic characters on it along with the pride flag and the slogan 'Together with Pride'. The box also showed a photo of the rainbow coloured, heart-shaped cereal which was inside and their partnership with the non-profit organisation GLAAD.
Buying from these brands and companies that help celebrate Pride or buying from LGBTQI+ community-owned brands, can be a way for us to show our support too and make an effective contribution!