The North Face created a stir when it announced its “Summer of Pride” outdoor events series with a video on social media starring drag queen Pattie Gonia, who encourages viewers to “come out.”
The ad opens with Gonia, dressed in all-rainbow North Face gear and donning a full mustachioed face of multicolored makeup, saying: “Hi, it’s me, Pattie Gonia, a real-life homosexual.”
He continued: “I’m here with The North Face. We are here to invite you to come out … in nature with us!”
The tour, dubbed “Summer of Pride,” invites North Face fans to gather outdoors for hikes “to celebrate Pride and bring camp to the outdoors,” the tour’s landing page says.
“This tour has everything: hiking, community, art, lesbians, lesbians making art,” Gonia says in the promo video.
North Face has also dropped its 2023 Pride collection, which boasts a selection of rainbow-clad clothes for children, including a T-shirt that says “outdoors together.”
The collection’s landing page boasts the line’s slogan: “We roar. We heal. We become. Mother Nature guides us to where we need to be — and we dress to honor her,” and shows tots modeling the themed apparel.
The rainbow motif is also printed on adults’ tees, hoodies, jackets, shoes, hats, and more on offer for up to $165.
The North Face didn’t immediately respond to noti.group’s request for comment.
North Face said its second yearly Pride event includes plans to “gay sashay across the nation,” with events slated in Portland, Ore., Denver, Colo., Columbus, Ohio, San Francisco, Calif., plus two new cities this year — Salt Lake City and Atlanta.
“Atlanta G-A…Y? because you’re there,” Gonia says in the ad while strutting across an open field.
The tour’s Salt Lake City stop on July 8 is already sold out. Registration is still open for Atlanta’s event, scheduled for Sept. 16.
The ad was shared on Gonia and North Face’s Instagram accounts on Tuesday, to their 528,000 and 5.3 million followers, respectively.
Social media users quickly descended on the brand over the racy ad, citing Bud Light’s ill-fated partnership with trans social media star Dylan Mulvaney.
“I will no longer be buying these products. This is in bad taste to the nation at this moment,” one user commented on Instagram.
“Why is one’s sexuality important when it comes to advertising gear?” another commenter queried.
Sentiments on Twitter were similar, where many also wondered if the ad — which featured a drag queen named Pattie Gonia, a spin on North Face competitor Patagonia — was satire.
“I’m being serious. Did someone make this ‘ad’ as a spoof or is that real?” one tweet asked.
“And every company will realize that they too, can become the next Bud Light,” another user wrote.
“This is going to get interesting. How many companies are going to continue to do this?” another said.
Target also recently released a Pride-themed line for kids, with pro-LGBTQ+ messaging on infants’ onesies and children’s T-shirts that say “Pride Adult Drag Queen ‘Katya,’” “Trans people will always exist!” and “Girls Gays Theys.”
Harsh feedback about the line has led Target to remove some of the LGBTQ-friendly clothing from its stores, though it’s unclear exactly which pieces will be yanked from shelves.
“Since introducing this year’s collection, we’ve experienced threats impacting our team members’ sense of safety and well-being while at work,” a Target spokesperson said.
”Given these volatile circumstances, we are making adjustments to our plans, including removing items that have been at the center of the most significant confrontational behavior.”
[Written in collaboration with other media outlets with information from the following sources]
