BMW respects the choice of Middle Eastern regions to decline participation in Pride month
BMW acknowledged that its Pride month celebration is essentially an advertisement, allowing social media accounts to opt out. The company explained its decision to change its logo for June but left the choice to participate in marketing campaigns to sales companies and distributors. This flexibility considers legal regulations and cultural differences, particularly in regions like the Middle East with stricter laws on LGBTQ+ rights.
BMW acknowledged that its annual celebration of Pride month is nothing more than an advertisement, and that some of its social media accounts can even opt out of celebrating it at all.
The revelation occurred at the start of this month when one user asked why BMW’s social media account in the Middle East does not display a rainbow version of its logo. The car manufacturer replied that it chose to “take a clear stance” to change its logo for its international communication and marketing channels for the month of June, and that its international accounts can be viewed across the world.
“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,” a statement from BMW read. “This is an established practice at the BMW Group, which also takes into consideration market-specific legal regulations and country-specific cultural aspects.”
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. (3/4)
— BMW (@BMW) June 1, 2024
This is likely due to how many countries in the Middle East do not allow same-sex attraction, with Iraq passing a law earlier this year criminalizing homosexual relationships with a maximum prison sentence of 15 years.
On X, BMW’s main account can be seen with a rainbow logo, whereas its Middle East account has a regular logo. Some users have mocked this and asked why the Middle East account is not celebrating Pride Month.
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This year, some corporations are skipping out on changing their logos to tie in with Pride month, including all four major sports leagues: the NBA, NFL, NHL, and MLB. The MLB’s logo initially featured a rainbow colorway on Saturday, but was quickly replaced with images promoting Lou Gehrig Day and its London Series.
The departure that some corporations are making in skipping its Pride Month celebrations could be the result of last year’s backlash against the LGBT community, including when Anheuser-Busch recruited transgender social media star Dylan Mulvaney to promote Bud Light. Retailer Target also generated pushback when it promoted Pride merchandise to children, with the store deciding to scale back its availability of these products this year.
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