Divided Coverage of Backlash to Hershey Women's Day Advertisement

Hershey’s Chocolate drew criticism from voices on the right this week for an International Women's Day marketing campaign that featured a transgender woman.

Details: The Hershey’s website for the marketing campaign states, “this International Women’s Day, celebrate the women changing the future in your community.” It then includes biographies of the five women included in the campaign, one of which is Fae Johnstone, a transgender woman that the website describes as a “leading voice in the conversation around Canada’s 2SLGBTQIA+ issues, advocating for transgender rights and banning conversion practices.”

How The Right Reported On It: Right-rated outlets tended to highlight criticism of the campaign, mostly voiced on Twitter, that argued the chocolate company was erasing women by including Johnstone in the campaign centered around International Women’s Day. Coverage typically noted previous instances of corporations creating marketing campaigns that aligned with values and views seen more in lean-left and left communities, noting the popular phrase “go woke, go broke,” which argues corporations suffer financially when crafting marketing campaigns around political causes.

How The Left Reported On It: Left-rated outlets tended to highlight statements from Hersey’s and the transgender woman involved in the campaign and characterized the backlash as a culture war issue. Coverage typically included notes on recently proposed and passed legislation regarding transgender Americans, such as bans on transgender procedures for minors in Utah and Mississippi, positioning the candy backlash as part of a larger attack on LGBTQ Americans.