More Pride Marketing Advice

Newsy Newsy News

It’s been a newsy few days, so let’s start by covering the highlights. Montana passed their TikTok ban into law. VPN downloads will likely spike come January 2024 when the law takes effect. The Supreme Court decided not to review Section 230 in a rare bit of good news from this court. Another boat got stuck. The new Zelda game is a hit, selling 10 million copies in just 3 days. Its building mechanics have already ushered in a creative renaissance. Jimmy Fallon made two fatal errors. First, his show became the first late-night program to stop paying their staff during the writers strike. Then he joined Bluesky, where the majority of replies to his first post were just “hey, pay your staff.” 

Platform Updates

Instagram 

• Instagram Adds GIFs in Comments (I think the goal is to just slowly turn Instagram into Facebook and hope no one notices) 

• Third-Party Platforms Will Soon be Able to Provide Instagram Stories Scheduling (huge win for social media managers) 

• Instagram Adds Broadcast Channel Guests to Provide More Content Options (has anyone used Broadcast Channels? I’m curious what the vibe is) 

TikTok

• Ex-ByteDance employee’s lawsuit claims Chinese government accessed U.S. TikTok user data

• TikTok Announces New Partnership with Smartly.io to Facilitate Video Shopping Ad Creation

• TikTok Launches New In-App Music Hub to Highlight Trending Artists

• TikTok Adds New Funding Initiatives for Creators in the App

• Montana Becomes the First US State to Issue a Full Ban on TikTok

YouTube

• YouTube Adds New Shorts and Revenue Analytics Tools in YouTube Studio

• YouTube is bringing 30-second unskippable ads to TVs

Google 

• Google will delete accounts, including Gmail & Photos, that haven’t logged on in 2 years (this won’t apply to YouTube)

LinkedIn 

• LinkedIn Will No Longer Count Inactive or Restricted Accounts in Connection and Follower Stats

Pinterest (disclosure: I’m currently working as a contractor with Pinterest) 

• Pinterest Launches Simplified Pin Creation Flow, Adds Links in All Pins

Twitter

• Elon is awful 

  • Elon Musk keeps insisting the Texas shooter with a swastika tattoo is not a white supremacist

  • Elon Musk claims George Soros ‘hates humanity.’ The ADL says Musk’s attacks ‘will embolden extremists’

• Twitter Explains Censorship Actions in Turkey Ahead of Local Elections

• Why you can't trust Twitter's encrypted DMs

• All off this doesn’t seem to be working for Twitter users 

  • 60% of U.S. Twitter users have ‘taken a break’ from the platform in the past year

  • Study Shows that 25% of Twitter Users Don’t Expect to Still be Using Twitter in 12 Months

Culture Movers 

Creator Economy 

• Why Black creators say relationships with platforms remain strained

• Influencer who created AI version of herself says it's gone rogue and she's working 'around the clock' to stop it saying sexually explicit things

• Kevin Systrom explains why Artifact wants to treat writers like the creators they are

Gaming 

• Microsoft’s Activision Blizzard acquisition approved by EU regulators

AI 

• ChatGPT chief says artificial intelligence should be regulated by a US or global agency

• ChatGPT Plugins And Web Browsing Beta Rollout For Plus Users

• OpenAI launches an official ChatGPT app for iOS

Scams

• The new, NFT-focused version of LimeWire has raised $17.5 million through a token sale

Pride Marketing PSA: Second Inning 

Pride Night at Dodger Stadium was all set for June 16th. The Dodgers would face off against the San Francisco Giants (San Francisco being one of the gayest cities in America, this was thematically appropriate). They would be honoring an LGBTQ+ activist group with a Community Hero Award. I’m sure there’d be rainbow merch to purchase, too. Then they disinvited the activists they planned to honor. 

For those who don’t know, the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence are a “leading-edge order of queer and trans nuns.” They promote charity, beauty, joy, and compassion through their work. You’ll know a Sister when you see one. Their signature white makeup and nun drag is a beacon of light at queer events around the world. The order has played a major role in HIV/AIDS activism and caring for people living with AIDS. Today, they raise money for charities and wear the nun drag to intentionally spark joy and eradicate shame. Which is kinda the exact opposite of what many contemporary Christian groups want to do in America right now. 

Enter Catholicism. Catholic activists and Senator Marco Rubio (who needs to mind his own business over in Florida) got wind of the event and decided their small-minded opinions mattered. They made a fuss online and managed to convince the Dodgers their being loud online translates to actual cultural or economic power. So the Dodgers uninvited the Sisters. 

To that, I’d like to say, “fuck off.” 

And I guess add another point to my LGBTQ+ Pride Marketer’s playbook: don’t side with the bigots. Didn’t think I needed to spell that one out, but here we are. Don’t claim you support LGBTQ+ people as a brand or organization, then disinvite one of the most well-respected, long-running, charity-focused LGBTQ+ non-profits from attending your event. 

LGBTQ+ rights are under attack right now across the country. Just this week, Florida’s pudding-eating Governor signed a sweeping set of anti-trans laws. These laws block trans folks from using the bathroom that matches their gender and make it legal for medical professionals to refuse care based on “religious, moral, or ethical" grounds. If you’re brand has tried to make money by “celebrating your LGBTQ+ customers and employees” in the past, now is the time to step up and earn those dollars. Stand up to the extreme faction of bigoted Americans attacking queer people, or at least don’t roll over so easily when they threaten you. 

Let’s Look at Some Good Ads

When I open up Twitter these days, I basically see one of two things: whichever quote retweet prompt meme everyone is running into the ground or a brand marketing campaign conservatives are big mad about. Two of the recent ad campaigns caught my attention for being pretty good. I wanted to share those campaigns, plus a few others that caught my eye recently. First up, the two from Twitter. 

Starbucks India - This video ad is amazing and all about a family navigating their adult child’s transition and name change. 

Miller Lite - This campaign with Ilana Glazer actually dropped in March, but it popped up in my feed this week. I’d love to see the brief that led to this. It feels grounded in really solid research and insights. 

Now for just a few more fun things I saw this week. 

Heinz's made a condiment-mixing machine

Lego made a delightful 3D billboard

Have a good weekend, everyone!