Why did brands drop out of Pride Month this year?
The Campaign Podcast considers how the global DEI withdrawal has impacted brands' support for Pride, or whether the rollback began years ago.
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As 2025's Pride Month comes to a close, The Campaign Podcast reflects on how the global DEI rollback has impacted the way brands show up for LGBTQ+ communities.
Gay Times' chief executive Tag Warner said the news outlet has lost £5m in ad revenue this year due to eight of its top 10 advertisers pulling contracts, and Thinkbox's head of marketing Chris Dunne, who is also chief executive of Outvertising, also commented on the noticeable drawback by brands.
But while it might on the surface seem like the changes to DEI this year have impacted brands' support for LGBTQ+ communities, the drawback actually began years before, and this year was more a "nail in the coffin".
Hosted by tech editor Lucy Shelley, Campaign's media editor Beau Jackson and deputy creativity and culture editor Charlotte Rawlings discuss what has led to brands stepping back, as well as highlighting some of the work that continues to celebrate Pride and raise awareness of wider LGBTQ+ issues.
This includes TransActual UK's "Third toilet" by BBH London, Tesco's internal policies and sponsorship of Pride, Lush donating 75% of profits from the Liberation bath bomb, and Marks and Spencer's partnership with AKT.
Further reading:
Pride needs action, not alliesAmnesty Pride campaign promotes bracelets as 'badge of allyship'E45 unveils ad highlighting trans skin that won C4 diversity awardDo LGBTQ+ PR pros think brands will ‘show up’ for Pride 2025?
