The Era of ‘Woke’ Brand Activism Is Over

In May 2019, Gillette released an ad on Facebook just in time for Pride month. It featured Samson Bonkeabantu Brown—a Black Toronto artist and trans man—learning how to shave for the first time.

“I went into my transition just wanting to be happy. I’m glad that I’m at the point where I’m able to shave,” Brown says in the video; later he’s seen shaving as his dad smiles and encourages him from behind his shoulder.

“Don’t be scared. Shaving is about being confident,” Brown’s dad says, repeating, “You are doing fine.”

The ad went viral, receiving national news coverage, industry awards, and praise from LGBT advocates. The Ellen Show tweeted that it was “nothing short of incredible.”

Gillette was not alone in creating a buzzy ad about the LGBT community as a marketing strategy; in the past two decades, there’s been a steady uptick in brands and corporations embracing Pride, a trend sometimes criticized as being superficial, or “pinkwashing.” But, as someone who has worked in marketing for over a decade, if you felt like this Pride month was a lot quieter than years previous, you’re not imagining it.

Five months into Donald Trump’s second presidential term, his executive orders against DEI and LGBT rights have influenced an increasing number of high profile corporate brands to abandon marketing and programming that could be considered too progressive, forcing Pride and Juneteenth celebrations around the country to scale back. At the same time, there’s been an influx of brands doubling down on nationalist messages in advertising, at least some of which appear to be tied to Trump’s tariffs and fixation on American-made goods.

“I’ve heard stories of clients wiping out … references to old work or old programs to try to erase that trail online because they’re afraid of getting attacked,” says Mark, a creative director and former chief creative officer of a top New York ad agency who did not want his real name used due to potential industry backlash and repercussions. Where there used to be “a lot of activity and a lot of discussion about social justice issues,” he adds, there’s now a “void of silence.”

Welcome to the Trumpian era of anti-woke capitalism. Please check your pronouns at the door.

Advertising is one of America’s most popular and potent forms of cultural messaging, and signs of Trump’s “anti-woke” cultural crusade are all over our TVs, on our Instagram feeds, and in our communities.

According to a poll from Gravity Research, 39 percent of corporations surveyed planned to reduce Pride Month initiatives in 2025, with none planning to increase their engagements. And World Pride, which was just held in Washington, DC, reportedly received only around 30 percent of its previously projected 3 million visitors.

Mastercard, which famously launched a monthlong omnichannel Pride campaign called “Your True Self Is Priceless” in 2022 and, only a few years before, that developed the widely lauded “True Name” initiative that championed the identities of transgender Americans, has failed to debut any Pride messaging so far this year. Instead, it quietly withdrew as a top-level sponsor of this year’s New York City Pride, along with PepsiCo, Nissan, Citi, and PricewaterhouseCoopers. Target, after receiving conservative backlash for its collections of Pride merchandise in years prior, released a scaled-back, beige-heavy line this year, which has been mocked relentlessly on TikTok.