The North Face blasted by fans for featuring drag queen Pattie Gonia in latest campaign
THE NORTH Face is the latest brand to face a consumer backlash after featuring a drag queen Pattie Gonia in its new ad campaign.
The clothing brand used the moustachioed drag queen to launch its “Summer of Pride” campaign, urging customers to “come out in nature”.
The company added: “We recognize the opportunity our brand has to shape the future of the outdoors and we want that future to be a more accepting and loving place.
“We’re partnering with Pattie because we believe the outdoors are for everyone.”
But some customers reacted angrily with one warning “Go woke, go broke” and others telling The North Face its share price will plummet on the back of the campaign.
One wrote “Well… y’all just lost another customer…. Go woke, go broke… I’m all about letting people be themselves… But don’t force feed me this crap.”
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The North Face is the latest big name brand to provoke criticism by edgy branding partnership deals.
Beer maker Anheuser-Busch - which makes Bud Light - has lost £15bn in sales since it partnered with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney, 26, for an ad campaign.
Adidas has also sparked controversy by using a male model with a hairy chest to promote its Pride women’s swimwear collection.
And Calvin Klein - famed for its sexy ads - is also caught up in a trans row after using a transgender man to model a sports bra.
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Nike also used American transgender campaigner Mulvaney as a model for a sports bra ad, prompting for Olympic swimmer Sharron Davies to call for a boycott of the company.
