Pride month has always been an invigorating time for large clothing companies like Nike, Adidas, and even car manufacturers like Mercedes-Benz have jumped on the ship of “solidarity” for the LGBTQIA+ community. Today the focus is on Nike, showcasing their 2021 Be True collection featuring Bretman Rock, a up-and-coming LGBTQIA+ beauty influencer and social media presence. By sponsoring and featuring a gay male in their ads for their Pride collection of athletic wear, Nike is promoting solidarity and support for the LGBTQIA+ community and drawing more revenue in as they promote this cause. This is an incredible advance in the right direction in both marketing and ethical decision making in the corporate world, even though many people frown upon companies getting involved with human rights campaigns.

Although many companies that choose to celebrate Pride month do so simply for the benefits of additional sales and the media promotions, Nike has a track record of using their platform to help the LGBTQIA+ community by partnering with the Human Rights Campaign, who advocates for the LBGTQIA+ community along with various other human rights groups. This shows that deep down under all the corporate noise, Nike does have a giving heart when it comes to protecting its athletes and making sure that people from every walk of life are both heard and supported by their activewear brand. This is definitely a unique part of who Nike is as a company, and it also shows that they are more than just an empty minded corporate figurehead.

Even with the paper trail of proof that Nike does what they say they will when it comes to supporting the LBGTQIA+ community, there still germinates the thoughts of Nike only supporting and advocating simply because it is a good marketing racket which will make the company a significantly larger amount of revenue for the second quarter of the year. With research on Nike’s website, it brings the concern of how hard it is to find information about the 2021 ‘Be True’ collection without Googling the exact term ‘Nike 2021 Be True campaign’. It is not directly advertised under the front page of the website, nor is it on any of their dropdown menus either which is slightly concerning, although the collection’s merchandise is mixed in with their other athletic wear and clothing choices.

In conclusion, it does seem that Nike is a sustainable brand when it comes to giving their word for supporting the LGBTQIA+ community and the Human Rights Campaign as well. Although it is a questionable choice to buy from companies who’s advertising is slightly over the top during Pride month, Nike has shown that it is a reputable company whose ethics run deep when it comes to making sure that every athlete’s voice is heard equally. This is a large step in the right direction for Nike, showing that even though the company is driven by marketing and revenue, they have retained their ethics over the years and developed a more streamlined process of supporting the Human Rights Campaign.

Works Cited

Nike. (2021). Be True. Retrieved from Nike: https://www.nike.com/betrue