North Face faces boycott over ‘Summer of Pride’ ad campaign for drag queens
After Bud Light and Target, The North Face is the latest American brand to face a boycott for promoting Pride.
The company’s Summer of Pride ad was published yesterday on its Instagram page and has already sparked anger among conservative consumers.
In the commercial, drag queen “Pattie Gonia” tells consumers to “come out with us… into the great outdoors!” and declare themselves a ‘genuine homosexual!’
‘Hello, it’s Patti Gonia – a true homosexual. Today I’m here with the North Face, and we’re here to invite you to come out with us…into nature!’ Pattie – who lists pronouns like “she,” “he,” and “she,” says online.
The company’s Summer of Pride ad was published yesterday on its Instagram page and has already sparked anger among conservative consumers. In the commercial, drag queen “Pattie Gonia” tells consumers to “come out with us… into the great outdoors!”
The ad calls on consumers to ‘go outside with us…into nature!’. It is the second year that The North Face organizes a Summer of Pride
The brand stands behind its campaign. “We teamed up with Pattie because we believe the outdoors is for everyone,” it read
“Nature lets you be who you are, so for the second year in a row, The North Face is organizing Summer of Pride with (they/them) to celebrate you and all the beautiful ways you get outside.”
The brand ran a similar ad last year in which Pattie Gonia said, “Nature lets you be who you are… even gay!”
“Ladies and gentlemen, you are cordially invited to the summer of Pride with my friends at North Face. We travel all over America gay.
‘Put on your boots and come out… to our side! See you there besties!’
Less explicit than Target’s “pleat-friendly swim shorts,” North Face’s 2023 “Outside Together” collection features iridescent T-shirts and hoodies for teens and adults, and a range of blankets and camping gear.
North Face announced on Instagram that it supports the campaign.
“We recognize the opportunity our brand has to shape the future of the outdoors and we want that future to be a more accepting and loving place.
Blowback: Shares in VF Corp, the parent company of The North Face, are already falling
Less explicit than Target’s “pleat-friendly swim shorts,” North Face’s 2023 “Outside Together” collection features rainbow tees and hoodies for teens and adults, and a range of blankets and camping gear
“We partner with Pattie because we believe the outdoors is for everyone,” said one comment warning others that any harmful comments would be removed.
Since the ad debuted yesterday, shares in VF — The North Face’s parent company — are down seven percent.
The target is down 11 percent since the start of the week.
Faced with huge setbacks, the company removed some of the products that caused the most chaos, including items from a British transgender designer whose t-shirts featured the slogan “Satan respects pronouns.”
The designer, Erik Cullen, said he wasn’t mad at Target for removing his work if it meant keeping store staff and consumers safe.
Target’s director of crisis communications said the decision to reverse some Pride items was made out of concerns for staff safety amid “volatile” customer behavior.
There have been no recorded incidents of violence.
The majority of complaints come from mothers on TikTok and Twitter.
“Since the introduction of this year’s collection, we have faced threats affecting our team members’ sense of safety and well-being at work.
“Given these volatile conditions, we are adjusting our plans, including removing items that were central to the most significant confrontation behavior,” the Minneapolis-based retailer said yesterday.
While conservatives criticized the retailer for even launching a range of Pride products, Democrats criticized it for backtracking.
California Governor Gavin Newsom – who oversees Target’s largest market – accused the company of “selling out LGBTQ communities.”
“Target CEO Brian Cornell selling out the LGBTQ+ community to extremists shows courage. These aren’t just some stores down south.
“There is a systematic attack on the gay community across the country. Wake up America. This does not stop here. You are black? You are Asian? You are Jewish? You are a woman? You’re next,” he said yesterday.