Nissan is the latest longtime sponsor confirmed to have
canceled its partnership with San Francisco Pride Parade this year.
The company joined a list of former sponsors, including Diageo, Comcast, and Anheuser-Busch -- which also recently
ended its sponsorship of St. Louis PrideFest after
more than 30 years.
Nissan had already withdrawn from its sponsorship of Toronto Pride, the largest Pride event in North America. The automaker was a sponsor of the San Francisco Pride Parade
for at least nine years.
“Nissan has informed us they will not be participating,” San Francisco Pride Executive Director Suzanne Ford told “Outward,” an LGBTQ+
podcast produced by Slate. “They cited a decline in sales…I think the record does reflect that as far as their sales, their revenue as a company [is affected]. And they’ve
been longtime partners. We were quite disappointed. But that’s the reason that they provided for pulling out.”
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Nissan recently reported that unit sales in the U.S. were up 5.7% for
the first quarter of 2025. However, in its most recent earning report for Q3 of the 2024 fiscal year, the company revised its outlook for the full 2024 fiscal year downward due to net revenue
declines.
Nissan is also facing setbacks due to the 25% tariffs on automotive imports implemented on April 3, which could hit the company especially hard. Bloomberg Intelligence estimated the
cost of the tariffs for the company to be the equivalent of 336% of its operating profit. “Nissan was already saddled with incentives and selling poorly,” Bloomberg Intelligence senior
analyst Tatsuo Yoshida said. “The impact will be huge.”
“Nissan is currently reviewing all marketing and sales spending, including auto shows, sports properties and other
entertainment activations, to maximize both efficiency and breakthrough effectiveness," a company spokesperson told Marketing Daily. "Nissan remains committed to promoting an inclusive
culture for employees, consumers, dealers and other key stakeholders."
That statement seems to contradict assertions made by far right influencer Robby Starbuck on social media last December
in which he claimed he pressured Nissan into “ending a number of woke policies,” including committing to “review future funding of events to ensure that sponsorships align with brand
standards and business priorities.” Starbuck characterized this step as meaning “no more funding for Pride events that expose kids to sexually inappropriate content like the San Francisco
pride event they sponsored recently.”
The withdrawal of sponsorships from major brands, and decreased spending by others, have resulted in significant financial setbacks for the
country’s second-largest Pride event. San Francisco Pride is down some $200,000 in anticipated contributions from corporate sponsorship partners, according to Ford.
“I think we all
know that the mood in this country, that corporations are trying to have it both ways,” Ford told "Outward" host Christina Cauterucci. “I think some of those corporations have a lot
of customers that [might] really drag them right now if they were to support us. I wanna find wins for people. If a corporation wants to do the right thing, and make a donation [but] not be a [named]
sponsor, they certainly are welcome to do that. At least they would be supporting their LGBTQ employees," said Ford.
“The people that we had relationships with, like at Nissan, I know
them personally, we have been partners for a long time. Those people I feel compassion for, because I feel like they’re not the ones that made these decisions. And so I wanna make sure that we
make that clear,” Ford said. “A lot of them are from our community…and they’re still part of our community, and we want to make sure we say that, but we also want to hold
corporations accountable. Do you really support us, even when it’s maybe not as popular as in years past?”
Tanya Gazdik contributed reporting to this story.