University Honors

The LGBTQIA+ community is celebrated in many ways during Pride month, observed in June, and companies have not hesitated to use this celebration to their advantage. ‘Rainbow-washing’ in commercials and marketing starting near the end of May and continuing through June has been a tactic used by companies to commercialize the community, leading to various responses from the public. Depending on the public’s perception of the company’s support for the LGBTQIA+ community, the public responds more positively or negatively to the company’s campaign. This study analyzes public opinion on Pride marketing from three companies, Converse, Skittles, and Converse, on two popular social media platforms, YouTube and TikTok. The number and content of the comments were recorded and sorted based on thematic content analysis and a 5-point Likert Scale to gauge how the public responds to different levels of involvement from the LGBTQIA+ community in the campaign. The number of followers and likes was also recorded to look at another form of positive interaction with the post. Results showed that when people from the LGBTQIA+ community were involved in the campaign, the response leaned more neutral and positive, compared to when the partnership was only mentioned in the post's description. This research not only helps show how a company can foster a better relationship with the public during Pride month with their advertising campaigns, but also provides insight into the broad criteria the public considers when evaluating effort and support for the community as genuine.