We're proud that today's Supreme Court rulings are a historic step forward on road to #MarriageEquality. #LoveIsLove pic.twitter.com/Ug6YWaVRBZ
— Ben & Jerry's (@benandjerrys) June 26, 2013
Minutes after the Supreme Court struck down the Defense of Marriage Act and granted federal benefits to married same-sex couples, many marketers were on social media waving rainbow flags -- some literally -- and otherwise supporting the decision.
Goldman Sachs wasted no time in hoisting a rainbow flag outside its headquarters and tweeting a photo. Marc Jacobs tossed out images on Twitter of its storefronts decorated with Pride motifs. Google surrounded its search box with a rainbow stream for all searches related to "gay" or "marriage equality."
Congrats to everyone in California who have been waiting to make their marriages legal! #SCOTUS #marriageequality pic.twitter.com/vTNAeyT33L
— Marc Jacobs Intl (@MarcJacobsIntl) June 26, 2013
For brands that strongly back marriage equality, today is certainly the day to show up, said Sarah Hofstetter, president of agency 360i, which created the rainbow icing Oreo ad last year supporting gay pride. "Not every brand does have a strong point of view, but ones who do, it's great to be consistent in your communications," Ms. Hofstetter said.
Smirnoff even posted a wedding-equality photo to Facebook on Tuesday, a day before the ruling was released, which Ms. Hofstetter called bold but smart. The photo shows two rings at the bottom of a martini glass with the words "We do."
"If that's something that you believe in, then that should be part of your communications," Ms. Hofstetter said.
ABC Family and Mastercard were quick to the game on Wednesday, buying promoted Tweets linked to the hashtag #gaymarriage. ABC Family's upcoming series premiere, "The Fosters," is about a lesbian family, while Mastercard is running a sweepstakes giveaway for tickets to NYC Pride with the motif #AcceptanceMatters.
The Court's decision arrives just a couple days after Grey Poupon reimagined one of its classic ads from the 1980s to give it a revamp supportive of homosexuals. The original showed one man reaching from his car to hand a jar of Grey Poupon to a passenger in another car. An ad posted Monday on the brand's Facebook page showed the two men reaching out of their cars to hold hands instead.
Other marketers active on social media around marriage equality were Ben & Jerry's, HBO's "Girls," and Planned Parenthood.
Your rights happened, and your rights happened. http://t.co/3ldX9PJMwk
— Girls (@girlsHBO) June 26, 2013