(USNewsMag.com) – Car manufacturing company BMW received backlash on social media after jumping on the annual Pride Month bandwagon by adding rainbow colors to its logo in Western nations while leaving it unchanged in the Middle East, with many pointing out what they see as hypocritical double standards and a blatant PR stunt.
On Saturday, June 1st, the automobile manufacturer updated its social media pages to include the new look, a yearly tradition most companies in America have begun to do annually as June became more accepted across the country as “LGBTQ+ Pride Month.” The company said in the announcement that the logo change would last until the end of the month.
Social media users immediately began pointing out contradictions, asking why the company did not change its logo for Black History Month. One user asked why the company doesn’t proudly display the rainbow colors on its Middle Eastern branch’s social media pages, to which the official BMW page responded. The company said they “decided to take a clear stance and change the logo” in recognition of Pride Month on its “international communication and marketing channels,” which represent all of the company’s “markets and brands,” until June ends.
In subsequent posts, they added that because these channels “can be accessed worldwide,” the logo change is technically visible “in all markets worldwide.” Whether or not individual independent distributors and sales companies “decide” to join BMW’s “centrally initiated” campaigns is at their discretion. They concluded the response by stating that such proceedings were “established practice” at the company and were meant to take into consideration “legal regulations” specific to each market and “cultural aspects” specific to each country.
The backlash to BMW is certainly not specific to that company. Americans who are fed up with LGBTQ+ ideology are being pushed in every area of society and are pushing back on companies that pander to it every year when June rolls around. Last year, leading into Pride Month, the beer brand Bud Light lost huge sums in revenue after featuring a transgender influencer on its can, and Target also received backlash for its rainbow-filled store displays in its kids’ sections.
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