Cosplaying Woke: The Age of Corporate Pandering

Cosplaying Woke: The Age of Corporate Pandering

By Emma Burnett

In the modern Western world, we are witnessing a proliferation of progressive attitudes being adopted by various popular companies. More and more businesses are claiming to be the champions for liberal attitudes, including those related to Feminism, the LGBTQ+ movement, and Black History Month. Yet beneath the marketing façade lies a hypocritical corporate reality, and one which implicates many companies of utilising politically progressive ideas simply to generate profit. Impact’s Emma Burnett explores the variety of liberal attitudes that have been incorporated into company marketing campaigns within recent years and investigates whether such strategies indicate a genuine drive to create social change.

Traditionally, pandering refers to expressing views for the sole purpose of appealing to someone else. Corporate pandering is a similar phenomenon, but the pandering is committed by large companies, in the name of marketing themselves as ‘woke’ to appeal to certain groups. In the increasingly capitalist Western world, it has become commonplace for large companies to utilise politically engaged marketing campaigns, particularly during global holidays such as Pride Month, Black History Month, and International Women’s Day. it has become commonplace for large companies to utilise politically engaged marketing campaigns, particularly during global holidays such as Pride Month, Black History Month, and International Women’s Day.

This phenomenon has sparked an interesting debate about whether corporate pandering is useful for spreading positivity and awareness around such political movements, or whether the capitalist motives behind it undermine the cause.

Each year, around International Women’s Day, we see an influx of advertising campaigns centred around female empowerment. Whilst it is refreshing to see stereotypes being reversed and rewritten in mainstream media spaces, it can also feel rather faux. ‘Femvertising’, as coined by SheKnows Media, refers to the presentation of feminist values and empowering messages for women and girls in advertising. However, ‘femvertising’ is often used only when it is convenient or profit-driving, such as during International Women’s Day celebrations. Some feel that this approach to marketing is exploitative, as it takes advantage of a marginalised group’s desire to be represented positively – research by SheKnows Media concluded that 52% of women have bought a product because they liked how the brand and its advertising portrays women. Moreover, it is often the case that, despite pro-female advertising strategies, brands do not equally reflect the messages they put out in their own products and corporate structures. Pantene, for example, came under fire for their 2014 ‘Sorry Not Sorry’ campaign, which told women they need not be sorry for speaking their minds, nor for having shiny hair, meanwhile upholding gender norms with their overtly female-targeted cosmetics. Audi India also blundered, with their 2021 IWD campaign ‘#drivethechange’. Their campaign focused on redefining negative stereotypes around women and driving but was met with criticism due to the company’s fundamentally male-dominated corporate structures. International Women’s Day is not a time for corporations to put on a feminist front to make some money – it is a time to reconsider brand values, to change outdated corporate structures to champion women, and to make a change to women’s rights.

Another cultural holiday which is often mistreated by the advertising industry is Black History Month (BHM). The month is a time in which to reflect on Black history and celebrate the historical achievements of Black people. However, this is sometimes overlooked by brands which use this month as a chance to market themselves as ‘anti-racist’.

An example of this would be Barnes and Noble’s BHM 2020 campaign in which they launched a plan to redesign the covers of classics such as Frankenstein and Romeo and Juliet to include black characters. This was met with heavy criticism: changing the covers of books written by non-black authors does nothing to celebrate black people. This brand of ‘performative’ activism often takes the form of posting a statement on social media or changing a profile picture to recognise BHM, but not actually making a conscious effort to act on it. Discussions around racism should not be reduced to just a month but should be active all year round. Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream have been a longstanding advocate for a range of social issues. During the 2020 Black Lives Matter movements, they were recognised for vocalising their support of the movement and calling out ‘systemic structural racism’ in the US. This company goes further than Instagram hashtags and vague statements, partnering with social change organisations such as the Advancement Project National Office and the Close the Workhouse Coalition. Whilst it is positive to see companies celebrating and getting involved with BHM, their efforts must be guided by a genuine desire to drive change. Companies must implement diversity, equality and inclusion into their workforce, they must give a platform to black voices, and their advertising campaigns must reflect their values, beliefs and corporate strategies.

The holiday most heavily associated with corporate pandering is Pride Month. Commemorating the 1969 Stonewall Riots, Pride Month is a month dedicated to the celebration of LGBTQ+ (LGBTIQA+?) identities. However, Pride Month can often be overshadowed by commercialism, with capitalist-driven brands covering themselves in rainbows and pro-LGBTQ+ messaging every June. This has become an in-joke online, with many memes on social media lamenting the transparency of these brands who show up for the queer community only when it brings in profit. Bethesda (American video game publisher for the likes of Fallout and Skyrim) has been called out for its performative activism on social media. This brand, amongst others, was caught changing its profile picture to a rainbow logo across some of its Twitter accounts, like Bethesda France, whilst the Bethesda Middle East and Bethesda Russia accounts remained unchanged. Not only does changing a profile picture do very little for LGBTQ+ rights, but Bethesda has shown its support for Pride Month extends only to where it is profitable. Pride Month is another time of year exploited by capitalist corporations and made into a commercial event, detracting from the extremely important history of the event.

Why does corporate pandering happen? Nowadays, there is more demand for companies to engage with and speak out on social and cultural issues. Brands want to be on the right side of history, meaning there is pressure for them to take a more progressive or liberal stance. Unfortunately, the core of it is that corporate pandering increases profit. Research consistently shows that consumers are more likely to buy a product if the brand’s marketing aligns with their own views. Corporate pandering does not come from a place of good intention, it is simply a profit-driven marketing strategy.

In some ways, corporate pandering may feel like a positive thing – surely mainstream brands showing support for marginalised groups is a step in the right direction for society? Positive representations of marginalised groups like the LGBTQ+ community are a good thing; the media plays a huge role in constructing stereotypes and ideologies about certain demographics. Therefore, however misguided these representations are, when large brands engage in corporate pandering, they can help destigmatise conversations around race, sexuality and gender. Although, corporate pandering will always feel faux if brands continue to represent themselves as ‘progressive’, without reflecting these views in their corporate structures and hiring processes. Companies have a duty to be active in conversations around equality, diversity and inclusion all year round, not just when it is relevant or convenient. Corporate pandering is simply not enough.