i really don't get how it even helps their bottom line. like did IBM calculate supporting pride might attract a larger number of queer people and radlibs into buying their laptop than the number of bigots who'd genuinely avoid them for it? honestly doubt that with all the rabid chuds out there. are they hoping for some hate comments/people arguing under their posts in a "any publicity is good publicity" kinda way (boost themselves in the algorithm)?
corporate progressive posturing exists to trick the public into thinking there is progress in social issues and that the capitalist system and corporations are working together to fix them. the cost of turning their logo into a rainbow for a month is also completely negligible for IBM or any comparable company. it's just propaganda (that the people at the company might also believe themselves)
It might be like those defence contractor adverts - there's a couple of actual individual people that they want to appeal to, either socially or politically, so they make some mild public gestures to show that they're also cool. The public are irrelevant.
Or yeah, the vast egregore spirit of the company just thinks "This behaviour set appears to be popular, but is contested, therefore invest minimally in aesthetic appeasement".
i really don't get how it even helps their bottom line. like did IBM calculate supporting pride might attract a larger number of queer people and radlibs into buying their laptop than the number of bigots who'd genuinely avoid them for it? honestly doubt that with all the rabid chuds out there. are they hoping for some hate comments/people arguing under their posts in a "any publicity is good publicity" kinda way (boost themselves in the algorithm)?
corporate progressive posturing exists to trick the public into thinking there is progress in social issues and that the capitalist system and corporations are working together to fix them. the cost of turning their logo into a rainbow for a month is also completely negligible for IBM or any comparable company. it's just propaganda (that the people at the company might also believe themselves)
It might be like those defence contractor adverts - there's a couple of actual individual people that they want to appeal to, either socially or politically, so they make some mild public gestures to show that they're also cool. The public are irrelevant.
Or yeah, the vast egregore spirit of the company just thinks "This behaviour set appears to be popular, but is contested, therefore invest minimally in aesthetic appeasement".