America has been facepalming at the corporate attempts to shove wokeness at consumers at large.
The massive backlash to retail giant Target putting children’s attire with trans messaging at the front of stores during the month of June resulted in a dramatic drop in sales for the store and prompted some stores to move the displays to the back of the clothing section.
Beer brand Bud Light and its parent Anheuser-Busch famously used Dylan Mulvaney as well as “woke” messaging in its marketing, resulting in a whopping $390 million loss in sales.
The parent company, however, blamed the ‘volume decline’ of Bud Light for the drop in revenue in its second quarter – with figures showing that total US revenue dropped by 10.5 percent in the April-to-June period compared to a year earlier, Daily Mail reported.
The world’s largest brewer said Thursday that sales to US retailers had plunged 14 percent, adding that it had been “underperforming the industry,” but making no statement about the obvious reason why that would be.
And now, not having learned from marketing mistakes, candy follows suit.
Candy brand Skittles is in its fourth year teaming up with GLAAD (the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) to ‘support the LGBTQ+ community by amplifying and celebrating their stories’, according to Skittles’ official website.
And now Skittles is facing backlash after partnering with GLAAD and altering some of its packaging to include ‘Black Trans Lives Matter’ messaging. In a series of limited edition Pride Packs, the candy company has ditched its staple color wheel and opted for a toned-down packet with an illustration
In previous years, the packets were all-gray to “represent the brand’s cemented efforts of support”, however last year the concept was changed to include work from five LGBTQ+ artists. The artists were asked to create original designs which represented how they “see the rainbow” every day. One of the examples says “express urself”, while another includes the text “Black Trans Lives Matter”.
In a statement at the time of last year’s Pride Pack announcement, Skittles Senior Director Justin Hollyn-Taub said the brand was committed to advocating for the LGBTQ+ community. “While Pride Month is a time to reflect, self-educate and celebrate, we know that long-term sustained support and allyship is key in building a more inclusive and diverse society,” he proclaimed.
Consumers are fed up with forced promotion of the stated position, and images of the packet on social media prompted an outpouring of criticism on Twitter today:
‘Bruh anytime a company does this it seems in-genuine when their only goal is maximizing profit for shareholders,’ another claimed.
‘I didn’t want to have to do this skittles.. bye,’ a disappointed customer added.
‘This stuff is no longer funny,’ another person shared.
‘More Bud Light moments… Will it ever end…?’ one person suggested on Twitter, referencing Skittles’ packaging.
‘So giving them the Bud Light treatment,’ another stated.
The traditional Skittles packet has not yet been pulled ffrom the shelves and can still still be found, while the Pride Pack series is available at selected retailers. One would assume those retailers accepting the Pride packaging are not concerned with consumer feedback.
Daily Mail noted that One dollar is donated, up to $100,000, to GLAAD’s work and programs to combat discrimination, but there is no mention as to where that dollar amount is directed. DailyMail.com has contacted Mars Inc. for comment.
Out.com lists 42 brands with “Pride Products” that “give Back” to the LGBTQ+ agenda, and other sites are ready to direct consumers to “Pride friendly” products.
Other companies quietly attempt to straddly the line between factions of consumers. The Daily Signal notes 60 companies that are not overt but do have initiatives regarding June being Pride month, notably among them Wal-Mart, AMazon, McDonalds, Starbucks, and even Fox News.
It seems brands attempting not to alienate the LGBTQ+ community are using the catch phrase, “give back” in regard to a portion of their profits, but those looking into the actual recipient of the funds are hard pressed to find wher the dollars do go.
Some of the more ridiculous examples of pride products, including M&S adding a “G” to their BLT for a rainbow sandwich covering proclaiming “LGBT” anong others. Listerine displayed a rainbow bottle of mouthwash sprinkled with positive keywords.
Backlash continues as the Washington Post reports that Republicans in Congress proposed banning Pride flags at government buildings. An issue centering around sexuality seems to many to not be something to flaunt in public.
The farreaching Pride initiative is causing conservatives to react with stronger voice about issues such as school indoctrination of children, drag shows, and transgender atheletes participating out of their biological class.
Christians are rising up as well to “take back the rainbow,” a symbol of God’s promise in the Bible rather than a symbol of activity that the Bidle states as being sinful.
