From celebration to silence: the great Pride disappearing act
Opinion
After a rainbow-free Cannes and near-silence from brands this Pride Month, it’s now up to us to help make our industry’s LGBTQIA+ talent feel valued, included, and able to thrive.
“Pride was always a protest”, “Pride Happy Hour”, “The future of LGBTQ+ advertising”, “Pride Beach Party”…
Nope, not fabulous moments from this year’s Cannes, but a few sessions pulled from the 2023 schedule two short years ago.
Despite the scorching temperatures, this year’s Cannes went cold for the attending LGBTQIA+ folk.
There was a drastic reduction in anything for or about the LGBTQIA+ community. No more rainbow flags along the Croisette, little recognition of Pride Month, zilch in the Palais, and just a smattering of fringe events — many hastily (and impressively) pulled together in response to a programme definitely missing a few colours.
Vanishing Inclusion
It’s not a great feeling, seeing support for your community eroded so visibly overnight, where not too long ago we were recognised, celebrated, and valued by our industry as colleagues and as consumers.
We should give thanks and praise to the good people who did create time and space for LGBTQIA+ people, such as…
Propeller Group and WACL with their Empower Café, a space dedicated to championing underrepresented voices that housed an Outvertising session.
The Supernova PRIDE Summit was the first of its kind, with an agenda covering AI, commerce and creativity in advertising, but viewed through a queer lens.
And AI ad tech firm Cognitiv’s Pride Party was the only real celebration of Pride on offer — and judging by the enormous queue to get into it, there was no shortage of demand to celebrate it from our industry’s queer folk and allies.
A Missed Opportunity
These moments were few and far between, and that’s a huge missed opportunity when you consider that one in eight of our industry’s talent identifies as LGBTQIA+ according to the latest All In Census.
At a time when bold advocacy for the LGBTQIA+ community is needed most, too many of our industry’s leading players are backing out, choosing to appease a loud minority rather than support the type of progress that drives employee satisfaction, social change, and business success.
The risk of backlash is deemed too high versus the expected return — and this is not just restricted to Cannes.
Compared to the heady days of rainbow logos and big gay ad campaigns on every corner, it’s been a very quiet Pride Month across the board — a clear sign that the wave of anti-LGBTQIA+ sentiment and policy that’s emerging here and around the world is taking its toll.
Adland Regression
Sadly, our industry plays its part in fuelling this sentiment, from tech platforms like Meta allowing more hate speech that targets the LGBTQIA+ community to the sharp increase in media articles that single out and vilify the Trans+ community.
Meanwhile, brand safety tools and outdated blocklists make it harder for LGBTQIA+ publishers to make ad revenue, threatening their survival and suppressing queer voices.
As the latest All In Census also tells us, LGBTQIA+ people in our industry are more likely to be affected by stress and mental health conditions than the average, and are far more likely to leave the industry due to a lack of inclusion.
The Way Forward
As Pride Month ends, it’s up to each and every one of us to consider what we can do in the other 11 months of the year to better support and uplift our LGBTQIA+ peers and colleagues. We created the Outvertising Advocacy Playbook to help you do just that.
It’s a how-to guide on building an LGBTQIA+ inclusive industry from the ground up, full of practical things you can do in your workplace regardless of your role or seniority; it’s not just in the hands of leadership or HR.
So if you’re one of the few already thinking about Cannes 2026, why not start thinking about how you can create space for a community that makes up a fair chunk of your talent pool and is in need of bold, public signals of support more than ever.
Because we’re in danger of losing people who bring unique perspectives and lived experiences that help make our industry the dynamic, innovative and creative place that it is.
It’s time to reverse this drift backwards, reaffirm our commitment to LGBTQIA+ talent, and once again make this vibrant community feel part of the fabric of the industry, not an afterthought.
Allyship matters when it shows up in the face of injustice, not just when it’s easy or popular.
Chris Dunne is CEO of not-for-profit LGBTQIA+ advocacy group Outvertising and head of marketing at TV industry trade body Thinkbox.