Trump’s executive orders regarding Diversity, Equity and Inclusion have created a country that does not care – and it shows in our advertising

Since the beginning of Donald Trump’s second term as the President of the United States, he has signed several executive orders with the goal of largely rolling back diversity, equity and inclusion efforts in federal offices and across America. While these orders may not directly affect privately owned advertising agencies and companies as much as they do public schools, universities, non-profits and federal agencies, they are the reason why fewer marketing teams are critically analyzing how advertisements could be taken by the public.

Converse and American Eagle are both brands that have recently been globally criticized for their insensitive advertising campaigns. While these brands may not have gone out of their way to offend anyone, they certainly did not go out of their way to not offend anyone. Last year, American Eagle’s “Sydney Sweeney has great jeans” campaign featured a blue-eyed, blonde-haired Sweeney bragging about her “great genes.” Converse recently designed an ad with a photo of a model in a long white skirt holding a black pair of converse. While the photo staging is not the issue, the lighting makes it appear as though there is a white KKK robe with a pair of black Converse dangling that resembles a lynched person. Neither of these ads may have even realized what they stood for before being rolled out. Regardless, it is more important than ever to call out these brands for their mistakes and to question how this is even happening in the first place. Both Converse and American Eagle are huge brands that most likely have very diverse marketing teams looking at their campaigns months before they launch. So, why is no one catching the insensitivities that the public is?

One possible answer is that brands don’t have to pay attention anymore. The rollback of DEI efforts has created a culture in America that is complacent with offending anyone for any reason. These days, being a “snowflake” simply means wanting basic respect. Brands may be becoming lazy because they assume the public won’t care – so why should they? These brands are trying to be edgy but at the price of being socially conscious. Marketing teams should be able to critically analyze their campaigns from every perspective. It says a lot about our country’s current culture that not every marketing team can do this.

I do not think that Converse, American Eagle or any brand necessarily rolls out controversial ads on purpose, but I do believe that the rollbacks of DEI have generated a lack of understanding and analysis that is a necessity when working in the advertising field. It is not impossible to be edgy and ethical in the advertising industry.