Advertising executives remain committed to LGBTQ+ representation in their brands despite right-wing opposition and boycott campaigns, a new report from GLAAD reveals.
The media advocacy group’s 2024 Visibility Perceptions in Advertising Report finds supermajorities of advertising industry leaders across the board support LGBTQ+ inclusion, but with caveats.
Related:
While the study found that 90% of the industry says it’s very important to feature the LGBTQ+ community in advertising, they’re more fearful of facing backlash from consumers and right-wing groups due to LGBTQ+ inclusion than they are from LGBTQ+ consumers concerned with a lack of it.
Never Miss a Beat
Subscribe to our newsletter to stay ahead of the latest LGBTQ+ political news and insights.
That’s wrong-track thinking, according to GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis.
“We cannot let fear and fringe anti-LGBTQ activists dilute the work that has been done in the name of visibility, acceptance and opportunity,” Ellis said in a statement accompanying the report. “One path leads to turning your back on millions of new consumers entering the marketplace and workforce, while the other welcomes growth and new business opportunities. The question is not if LGBTQ people should be included, but how.”
Despite their concern over manufactured opposition to LGBTQ+ inclusion, industry leaders showed nearly universal commitment to it. The importance of transgender representation in advertising among industry leaders increased by 71% compared to 2021, while the importance of bisexual and nonbinary representation increased by 69% and 34% respectively.
The study revealed 90% of respondents completely or somewhat agree that companies should be prepared to stand by their decision to support or include LGBTQ+ people in advertising. Companies that have faced backlash are up to 1.6 times more likely to increase their commitment to feature LGBTQ+ people compared to companies that have not faced backlash.
Sticking with LGBTQ+ consumers is a strategy for success, said GLAAD Senior Director of Agencies, Brands and Engagement, Meghan Bartley.
“This report underscores what GLAAD and many researchers have uncovered in the past few years: LGBTQ inclusion is a future-proofing brand growth strategy. While Gen Z and Millennial consumers are more likely to be, know, and support LGBTQ people,” Bartley said, “the real argument for inclusion lies with expectations of consumers across demographics. A majority of consumers support pro-LGBTQ brands, are more likely to buy or use brands with demonstrated commitments, and are more likely to support brands facing backlash rather than the critics.”
The purchasing power of LGBTQ+ people in the U.S. is $1.4 trillion, according to GLAAD.
Brands and advertising agencies that step back from a commitment to LGBTQ+ representation do so at their peril. Another, as-yet-unreleased report, GLAAD’s Advertising Visibility Index, shows that consumers — in particular, younger demographics — are 51% more likely this year to say the industry is not doing enough to represent the LGBTQ+ community appropriately.
Subscribe to the LGBTQ Nation newsletter and be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.
