Pride marketing: BMW just said the quiet part out loud

One of the most annoying parts about the entire month of June being dedicated to the forcible celebration of "Pride" is the shameless pandering of multi-national corporations who rush to rebrand themselves as super-duper gay-friendly (for 30 days at least).

To demonstrate that they're anti-homophobic, anti-transphobic and anti-whatever-the-latest-thing-to-be-upset-about-is, they plaster their logo with the rainbow flag or, if they're feeling extra-woke, the ever-changing pride progress flags.

But there's just one problem: many of them only do this in countries where it's already safe to be openly gay. When it comes to parts of the world that aren't exactly gay friendly (for example, the Muslim world), pride is nowhere to be found.

Here's a thread of examples I shared back in 2022, with many of them (including BP, Mercedes and BMW) repeating the same mistake this year:

Look, we all know why these companies feel perfectly safe to wave the literal flag of homosexuality in the West, but aren't as comfortable doing the same in the Middle East. But at least most of them have the good sense to follow the don't ask, don't tell policy.

Well, not BMW!

Here was their 4-part reply:

"Country-specific cultural aspects" is a really fancy way of saying "Muslim countries persecute homosexuals and we don't want to lose their business."

Here is the ratio on their last post:

And a few comments from leftists, the crowd they are trying to please:

This goes against the entire point of "Pride" as a movement. It exists (at least, it used to exist) as both a celebration of the gay community and their advocacy for equal rights — the kind of rights that don't exist in the very countries corporations like BMW are afraid to upset.

This proves what we always knew: this was never about celebration or inclusivity or acceptance.


It was just about lazily pandering to a Western audience for cash.

Follow Ian on Substack or X (@ighaworth).

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Not the Bee or any of its affiliates.


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