This is an excerpt from MarketerHire's weekly newsletter, Raisin Bread. To get a tasty marketing snack in your inbox every week, subscribe here.

It feels like every brand right now is this man with luscious sideburns.

But when it comes to rainbow logos, the marketers who read Raisin Bread (and, frankly, the ones who write it) have mixed feelings.

When we asked if your brand’s logo “goes rainbow” in June, only 33% of you said yes — 67% said you skip it.

Why skip it?

The people who skip it did so for a variety of reasons, including...

• It’s divisive. “I don’t get political.”
• It’s not a differentiator. “We used to and now it feels like a bandwagon.”
• It makes LGBTQ+ issues seem weirdly seasonal. “[Q]ueer and trans people exist all the time.”
• They’re homophobic. Unfortunately a real, minority reason.

What about the pro camp?

They weren’t as vocal, but they said…

• They support the LGBTQ+ community. “[E]quality and human rights for all.”
• But the marketing move has to be backed up with donations. “F*** corporate pride... unless of course there's meaningful monetary contributions.”

Our takeaway?

Silence on social and political issues feels safest to a lot of marketers.

But that’s… most culture… and there’s upside to engaging authentically with culture, as Calm demonstrated last November.

Keyword: authentically.

Brands need to put their money where their rainbow motif is, and stick with the issues they care about long-term.