The impact of woke culture and political correctness on advertising

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.34630/tth.v6i1.7258

Keywords:

Advertising, WokeCulture, PoliticalCorrectness, Inclusion, BrandActivism, Reputation

Abstract

In a context where brands are increasingly expected to take a stand on issues such as diversity, inclusion, and social justice, advertising has emerged as a key space for symbolic dispute. This article examines how woke culture and political correctness have reconfigured advertising communication. To this end, it explores three core dimensions: the shift in representational criteria, the consolidation of inclusive discourses and brand activism, and the escalation of public controversies, including allegations of opportunism and polarized audience reception. The paper´s primary contribution lies in demonstrating that this transformation cannot be viewed simply as progress or a threat. While it has increased the visibility of historically marginalized groups, it has also made brand legitimacy more heavily dependent on the alignment between discourse and practice.

References

Ahmad, F., Guzmán, F., & Al-Emran, M. (2024). Brand activism and the consequence of woke washing. Journal of Business Research, 170, 114362. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2023.114362

Åkestam, N., Rosengren, S., Dahlén, M., Liljedal, K.T., & Berg, H. (2021). Gender stereotypes in advertising have negative cross-gender effects. European Journal of Marketing, 55(13), 63-93. https://doi.org/10.1108/EJM-02-2019-0125

Canizales, S. L., & Vallejo, J. A. (2021). Latinos & racism in the Trump era. Daedalus, 150(2), 150–164. https://doi.org/10.1162/daed_a_01852

Childress, C., Nayyar, J., & Gibson, I. (2024). Tokenism and its long-term consequences: Evidence from the literary field. American Sociological Review, 89(1), 31–59. https://doi.org/10.1177/00031224231214288

D’Innocenzio, A. (2025, 31 de julho). American Eagle’s “good jeans”’ ads with Sydney Sweeney spark a debate on race and beauty standards. AP News. https://apnews.com/article/american-eagle-sydney-sweeney-jeans-dunkin-e4d0cfade207d3b1e1b4e93531bfc082

Duncan, P. (2026). Making America hot again: Aesthetic politics, from Walter Benjamin to Sydney Sweeney. Media, Culture & Society. Advance online Publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/01634437261440350

Durbin, D.-A. (2023, 31 de outubro). Bud Light brewer confident it can win back US drinkers, but sales are still down after backlash. AP News. https://apnews.com/article/bud-light-anheuser-busch-inbev-earnings-9de40c5189f9e8d11c142dc3961dde46

Eisend, M., Muldrow, A.F., & Rosengren, S. (2023). Diversity and inclusion in advertising research. International Journal of Advertising, 42(1), 52-59. https://doi.org/10.1080/02650487.2022.2122252

Ekmekci, A. (2025). Political correctness: A philosophical inquiry. Üsküdar Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi 20 (11), 1–25. https://doi.org/10.32739/uskudarsbd.11.20.150

Kern-Foxworth, M. (1994). Aunt Jemima, Uncle Ben, and Rastus: Blacks in advertising, yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Greenwood Press.

Kipnis, E., Demangeot, C., Pullig, C., Cross, S. N. N., Cui, C. C., Galalae, C., Kearney, S., Licsandru, T. C., Mari, C., Ruiz, V. M., Swanepoel, S., Vorster, L., & Williams, J. D. (2021). Institutionalizing diversity-and-inclusion-engaged marketing for multicultural marketplace well-being. Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, 40(2), 143–164. https://doi.org/10.1177/0743915620975415

Licsandru, T. C., & Cui, C. C. (2018). Subjective social inclusion: A conceptual critique for socially inclusive marketing. Journal of Business Research, 82, 330–339. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2017.08.036

Licsandru, T. C., & Cui, C. C. (2019). Ethnic marketing to the global millennial consumers: Challenges and opportunities. Journal of Business Research, 103, 261–274. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2019.01.052

Mirzaei, A., Wilkie, D. C., & Siuki, H. (2022). Woke brand activism: Authenticity or the lack of it. Journal of Business Research, 139, 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2021.09.044

Rajesh, A.M. (2023, 14 de junho). Bud Light loses top U.S. beer spot after Mulvaney ad boycott. Reuters.

https://www.reuters.com/business/retail-consumer/bud-light-loses-top-us-beer-spot-after-mulvaney-ad-boycott-2023-06-14/

Sanchez, G. R., Vargas, E. D., López-Cevallos, D. F., Valdez, C. R., & Oaxaca Carrasco, A. L. (2025, 24 de junho). The impact of deportation policy changes on Latino immigrant communities. Brookings Institution. https://www.brookings.edu/articles/the-impact-of-deportation-policy-changes-on-latino-immigrant-communities/

Schopper, T., Berbers, A., & Vogelgsang, L. (2025). Pride or rainbow-washing? Exploring LGBTQ+ advertising from the vested stakeholder perspective. Journal of Advertising, 54(2), 233–250. https://doi.org/10.1080/00913367.2024.2317147

Simpson, R.M. (2024). Self-censorship: The chilling effect and the heating effect. Political Philosophy, 1(2), 344-380. https://doi.org/10.16995/pp.15195

Smith, D. S., Boag, L., Keegan, C., & Butler-Warke, A. (2023). Land of woke and glory? The conceptualisation and framing of “wokeness” in UK media and public discourses. Javnost- The Public, 30(4), 513–533. https://doi.org/10.1080/13183222.2023.2273656

The Associated Press. (2023, 30 de julho). Transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney says Bud Light didn’t support her during backlash. AP News. https://apnews.com/article/bud-light-transgender-dylan-mulvaney-442d6d4c3f41d706586de8edd01ac13d

Vredenburg, J., Kapitan, S., Spry, A., & Kemper, J. A. (2020). Brands taking a stand: Authentic brand activism or woke washing? Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, 39(4), 444–460. https://doi.org/10.1177/0743915620947359

Warren, D. E. (2022). “Woke” corporations and the stigmatization of corporate social initiatives. Business Ethics Quarterly, 32(1), 169–198. https://doi.org/10.1017/beq.2021.48

Yoder, J. D. (1991). Rethinking tokenism: Looking beyond numbers. Gender & Society, 5(2), 178–192. https://doi.org/10.1177/089124391005002003

Yoon, H., & Kelly, A.J. (2023). Brand blunders and race in advertising: Issues, implications, and potential actions from a macromarketing perspective. Journal of Macromarketing, 43(3), 403–417. https://doi.org/10.1177/02761467231178550

Published

2026-07:-27

How to Cite

Gonçalves , F. (2026). The impact of woke culture and political correctness on advertising. The Trends Hub, Revista De Tendências Em Comunicação E Ciências Empresariais, 6(1). https://doi.org/10.34630/tth.v6i1.7258