evidence: - It was crucial that the brand be seen as authentic and not like it was capitalising on Pride Month, which is why it didn’t put any paid media behind the social post - The campaign was designed to be supportive and celebratory in tone rather than attacking people outside of the LGBT+ community - While Ford followed its digital campaign by creating a real-world car, the brand was careful not to let the idea consume its entire inclusivity strategy. [...] Shields: It was vital. We were approaching Pride Month at that point, so we wanted to land the campaign in time for that for the greatest impact and relevance. It all coincided with the 25-year anniversary of Ford’s internal pride community, which was the first in-house group for LGBTQ+ employees to be launched by a large-scale company in Germany. So, all of these things came together to make a quick turnaround crucial to its success. [...] Watt: The problem with rainbow-washing is when a brand jumps on the issue of inclusivity for a certain time (eg, Pride) and then doesn’t do anything for the rest of the calendar year. It’s glaringly obvious when a brand isn’t committed to a cause outside of a cultural moment. Ford felt confident that it wouldn’t be perceived this way because it wasn’t a planned campaign, there was no marketing plan. It was a reaction to a comment that was made out of the blue.