WASHINGTON (TND) — Vehicle manufacturer BMW last week explained why its Middle Eastern social media accounts don’t use rainbow badging to celebrate Pride Month.
The company has noted it is a proud supporter of the LGBT community and it has created a “global pride network” across Germany, the U.K., the U.S. and South Africa. It, like many other companies, applied rainbow colors to some of its social media profiles this month.
However, when confronted by an X user who asked “how come you don’t proudly display your logos pride colors on your middle east posts ???,” BMW explained individual regions can choose whether or not to opt into the plan.
“In recognition of LGBTQ+ Pride Month, we have decided to take a clear stance and change the logo of our international communication and marketing channels (on behalf of all BMW Group markets and brands) until the end of June,” the company wrote. “The international channels can be accessed worldwide and thus show the logo change in all markets worldwide.”
However, as is customary with such communication and marketing activities, it is at the discretion of our sales companies and independent distributors to decide if they wish to join centrally initiated communication and marketing campaigns or not,” it continued. “This is an established practice at the BMW Group, which also takes into consideration market-specific legal regulations and country-specific cultural aspects.”
The response comes as other companies and organizations quietly elect not to use Pride Month imaging. Several NFL teams appear to have not yet acknowledged the month, including the Pittsburgh Steelers, Cleveland Browns, Cincinnati Bengals, Tennessee Titans and Kansas City Chiefs.
Target also announced earlier this year it would be scaling back its Pride Month displays following intense backlash against them in 2023.
Follow Jackson Walker on X at @_jlwalker_ for the latest trending national news. Have a news tip? Send it to jacwalker@sbgtv.com.
Discover more from PressNewsAgency
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.