Where Did All The Rainbow Flags Go?
Daniel Bluzer-Fry (pictured below) is a freelance researcher and strategist. In this guest post, Bluzer-Fry argues the energy from Brands for 2017’s same-sex referendum seems to have all but vanished…
A little over three years ago, Australia was awash with some pretty colourful and lovey vibes from a large number of established businesses along with large masses of Australians parading – or marching if you’d prefer – in the streets.
Brands across the board were throwing their weight behind the ‘Yes’ campaign, speaking up amidst a groundswell of public support to end legal discrimination towards same sex partners. ‘Love is Love’ and ‘Equality’ were the big catchcries of that moment, as a variety of organisations championed Diversity and Inclusion in their marketing, CSR and/or fresh workplace D&I policies.
It shouldn’t be understated how deep Australian businesses went to engage with this issue. In March of 2017 – months before the plebiscite – chief executives from 30 of the largest brands in Australia wrote to then Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull calling on parliament to pass laws supporting equality, after the Senate rejected the government’s proposed plebiscite. 8 months later, after plenty of campaigning and a postal vote, the result was a solid yes from the Australian public.
But in the wake of that outcome, there were some concerns that religious freedoms were being undermined. To satisfy opponents on team ‘No’, the PM organised a religious freedom review. This led to a recommendation for new legislation that today’s PM – Scott Morrison – took to the 2019 election.
Fast forward to the present, and over the past few weeks we’ve seen a religious discrimination bill being debated and amended as the federal government attempted to barrel it through parliament before the end of year. As of yesterday (the adjournment of parliament for the year), the bill has been shelved.
Real risks and implications for business this time around
In 2017, members of the federal government were upset about businesses and CEOs taking a position and advocating on the same sex marriage issue. Then immigration minister Peter Dutton noted “It is unacceptable that people have used companies and shareholders money to try to throw their weight around in these debates” following an address to the LNP state council in Cairns.
Yet throughout what has essentially been a dénouement of the plebiscite, it is arguable that the aspects of the proposed legislation have posed far greater consequences to businesses, their staff and organisational cultures than the plebiscite.
At one point in time during the bill’s development, one of the more contentious aspects of the legislation that was a layer that has been creatively referred to as the ‘Israel Folau’ clause. This aspect would have provided is impunity to an employer/employee telling a fellow transgender employee that their identity is against the laws of God and that they are bound for hell, or a frontline retail employee telling a gay couple shopping together that they would pray for their sins.
If these things were said today, this kind of behaviour would be considered unlawful discrimination, however the Australian Discrimination Law Experts Group have pointed out some time ago, this religious discrimination bill will trump existing legislation and afford protection to those sharing their beliefs with others.
In such instances, it’s difficult not to have some pity for the unenviable position of an HR manager or Chief Marketing Officer. Imagine having to try and justify that such behaviour has no recourse to a distressed, beloved staff member who references an organisational D&I policy and claims their co-worker has violated it, or not being able to dismiss an employee that has tarnished the brand equity of an organisation in the eye of the public … something that could undoubtedly reduce a company’s bottom line and shareholder value if it became a public flashpoint.
Reconciling the silence
There’s a great, enduring quote from Bill Bernbach, who noted ‘a principle isn’t a principle until it costs you something’. In 2017, amidst a loud public discourse on gay rights and discrimination, brands didn’t really need to put any skin in game to take the ‘Yes’ position – and of all the societal debates to step into, this was a no brainer given the breadth of academic literature illuminating how diversity can drive innovation within organisations (and ultimately competitive advantage).
Which makes the lack of engagement and advocacy from the business world surrounding this legislation even more baffling. If there was ever a time to advocate for equal rights based on sexual orientation, the time would appear to be now for three key reasons:
- Advocating to prevent what might on the surface appear to be a small, yet legitimate risks to brands’ organisational cultures and bottom lines
- For the sake of the HR, marketing and CSR teams, advocating would provide a reasonable and empathetic out if the legislation was passed with elements of the afore mentioned ‘Israel Folau clause’, and a scenario that caused harm to staff or brand ensued (i.e. “we tried when it counted, we hoped this would go some way to setting organisational standards, and have no legal recourse”)
- To avoid the real time risk of appearing disingenuous about riding a CSR wave of cultural momentum in 2017 and not backing it up when the stakes appear significant and could lead to legitimately poor public health outcomes for the LGBTQIA community
We’re in a fascinating time in respect to the interplay of business and society. For a large majority of commercial organisations, there’s going to be some torrid times over coming years reconciling purpose driven beliefs and translating these into action. Whilst there will be substantial risks, there will also be remarkable opportunities, and it’s going to require some strong foresight and reimagination of ‘Business as Usual’ to excel. Doing the basics consistently is important when it comes to setting steady foundations.
Please login with linkedin to comment
Daniel Bluzer-FryLatest News
Who’s Going To Cannes?! The TikTok Young Lions Winners!
With super short notice, the winners produced incredible work featuring Tim Tams, League of Legends & fishing lines.
Adobe Launches Express Mobile App With Firefly AI
Adobe has launched a new Adobe Express mobile app, giving users Firefly AI on the go. Adobe Express is the all-in-one AI content creation app that makes it fast and easy for anyone to ideate, design and share standout social media posts, videos, flyers, logos and more. Millions of users around the world are turning […]
ThinkNewsBrands & IMAA Extend News Publishing Education In Brisbane
ThinkNewsBrands in collaboration with the Independent Media Agencies of Australia (IMAA), continued the in-person education rollout of the Publishing & News101 learning module yesterday, extending its reach to independent media agencies in Brisbane. That means Queensland has become the second state to benefit from the special in-person training and certification program. The program delves into […]
B&T Chats With Wavemaker’s Provocative Pioneers On Their Cross-Pacific Sojourn
B&T had the honour of travelling to GroupM’s lush North Sydney offices to chat with Tatiana Patrón and Missie Saroyan, who had travelled all the way from the US to see how we do things down under. Patrón is an associate client investment lead in Wavemaker’s New York office, while Saroyan serves as a programmatic […]
HoMie & Champion Launch “Give One. Get One” Campaign Supporting Youth Homelessness Via Town Square
HoMie, a Melbourne-based streetwear label that supports young people affected by homelessness or hardship, has turned traditional buy-one-get-one-free retail offers on their head with a special promotional campaign developed by Town Square. HoMie has launched ‘Give One. Get One,’ where for every HoMie hoodie purchased for Youth Homelessness Matters Day, fellow streetwear label Champion will […]
Thinkerbell Takes Us Back To Summer In Latest Work For XXXX
Lion and Thinkerbell have launched new work for XXXX Summer Bright, reminding everyone that it’s a beer to drink all year round. The idea is now live across social, digital and OOH. It centres on the insight that around here, unlike most places in the world, we only have one season really, summer. So it’s […]
Cannes Lions Unveils 2024 Programme Featuring Queen Latifah, Jay Shetty & P&G’s Mark Pritchard
The programme has been revealed for this year’s Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity featuring more than 150 hours of content and some 500 speakers. About this year’s line-up, Natasha Woodwal, director of content, LIONS, said: “Our open call for content gives us unparalleled insight into what matters most to the industry right now, and we’ve […]
Scroll Media Recruits Costa Panagos From Twitch
Digital publisher network Scroll Media has employed ex-Amazon Twitch gaming executive Costa Panagos (lead image) to strengthen its Scroll Gaming capability. Panagos is highly experienced in game advertising and media sales professional with two years in account management at Twitch and three years in media sales at News Corp, so will bring his extensive media agency […]
Year13, Microsoft & KPMG Australia Launch AI Course For Gen Zs
School-leaver service Year13 has launched a new Artificial Intelligence course to upskill young people in AI, made in collaboration with Microsoft and KPMG, at an event to rally industry support behind youth AI fluency. The free online course AI Amplified which is part of Year13’s Academy aims to provide all young people with the opportunity […]
General Motors Snares Heath Walker From Scania
General Motors has announced the appointment of Heath Walker (lead image) as the new marketing director for GM Australia and New Zealand, effective April 23, 2024. Walker brings a wealth of marketing and communications experience gained from working across various industries, including IT, sporting, and auto – notably Tesla, Nissan and most recently, Scania in […]
VML Launches New “Envoyage” Brand For Flight Centre
VML unveils new brand for travel operator Flight Centre. Alas, no sign of those paid actors pretending to be pilots.
Subaru Places Media Account Up For Review
Subaru puts media up for review, as adland journos get set for mandatory "agency drives off with..." headline.
TV Ratings (17/04/2024): Contestants Faced With Harsh Realities As Alone Australia Heats Up (Or Cools Down)
Alone still doing the business for SBS. Overly long train journeys not doing the business, but they persist anyway.
Ben Fordham Loses Number One Spot As Ray Hadley Celebrates 156th Ratings Win
The radio numbers are in! Discover who's off for a boozy lunch today & who's waiting for the dreaded HR death knock.
Gourmet Ice Cream Brand Connoisseur Launches New “Thrill Your Senses” Iteration, Via SICKDOGWOLFMAN
Rattling the old "truth in advertising" adage comes this ice-cream spot full of noticeably thin people.
Paramount’s Global Sales Boss: ‘Australia’s Converged Model Is A Blueprint For How I’d Like All Of Our Markets To Be’
Paramount's global sales boss gives local sales ops the thumbs up. Didn't weigh-in on the Lisa Wilkinson debacle.
TikTok Starts Testing Its Instagram Rival In Australia
In exciting news for piano playing cats & brattish pranks in shopping centres, TikTok unveils its Insta rival plans.
Man Wrongly Named By Seven As Bondi Killer Hires Lawyers
Struggling to save for a house deposit? Why not get wrongly identified by Sunrise!
Smartsheet Appoints Indie Agency Sandbox Media To Its Media Account
Can't stand your colleagues? Like to dob them in when they miss a deadline? These work management platforms are ideal.
Boss Not Letting You Come To Cannes In Cairns? Use This Business Case To Convince Them!
Stingy boss won't spring for a ticket to Cairns? Add this to your persuasive argument repertoire. Or grovel.
Alt/shift/ Brisbane Builds Portfolio With Ausbuild Creative, PR, Content & Social Account Win
The Brisbane comms/PR agency lands constructor Ausbuild. Also hoping for a discount on its new glass conservatory.
Young Guns Versus The Old Guard: Who Adds More Value to Our Industry?
Cannes In Cairns poking this hornet's nest in a lively debate. Just so long as the oldies can get up the stairs.
70% Of Aussies Don’t Have Green Power Plans ENGIE Says In Major Brand Campaign Via HERO
Are you the notorious "light leaver on-er" in your flatshare? Quell any infighting with this green energy news.
PrettyGood Launches Offering Brand & Media Solutions For Australasian SMEs
B&T applauds the charitable nature of this new agency. Although we'd hate to see it impact any Chrissie present sends.
A Blunt End: Dolphins Medicinal Cannabis Sponsorship At Risk
Yes, it's another NRL drug story. Yet, thankfully it doesn't involve coke in Kuta during the off-season.
Slew Of New Creative Hires At Leo Burnett Australia
Ahhh, all black! The outfit of choice for agency creatives, David Jones staff and everyone in Melbourne.
Under Armour Unveils Local “Live in UA” Campaign
American apparel brand set for yet another tilt at the Aussie market, as Nike declares "we'll see about that".
Pepsi Launches New Look, Refreshing Classic Fashion Staples Via Special PR
Are you always the bridesmaid, never the bride, as the old saying goes? How do you think Pepsi feels?
Pure Blonde Returns To A Place Purer Than Yours In New Campaign Via The Monkeys
B&T's always been a huge fan of the 'drink yourself thinner' diet plan. So big thanks to Pure blonde, vodka & tequila.
Spotlight On Sponsors: Carsales Strikes With Another Storm-Based Team
Think our hacks are living their sports journalist dreams vicariously through B&T? Confirm it with this reporting.
Commission Factory & AGL Energy Ignite Strategic Partnership To Empower Australian Energy Consumers
Concerned by global warming yet ran the fans non-stop over summer? Add to the guilt with this read.
Allied Nabs Nicola Gold From Pico International Dubai
Seasoned marketer relocates from Dubai to Sydney. Says the shopping's not as good but at least you can get a drink.
Nine’s Push For Gold, Silver & Bronze Ad Opportunities Could Break New Ground In Broadcasting
Nine insists that AI won't dominate its Olympics coverage. And not merely because Bruce McAvaney doesn't understand it.
TV Ratings (16/04/2024): Toxic City Girls Too Much For Farmer Bert
Fans calling out toxic behaviour on Farmer Wants A Wife, seemingly unaware that's the very premise of any dating show.
Kaimera Wins Afterpay ANZ Media Account
Have couriers even started to mention you're overdoing the online shopping? Probably best to avoid this Afterpay news.
Industry Reacts: Stuff Group Swoops In To Save 6pm News After Newshub Closure
As you'll read here, New Zealand's media's in a right state of flux. And nor have they forgotten 1981's underarm.