• by Danielle Oster , Yesterday

Over the past two years, many brands have pulled back from Pride Month partnerships with LGBTQ+ creators, even those that haven’t ceased all Pride marketing altogether.

Last year, Skittles ended its multiyear “Pride Pack” approach of surrendering the rainbow to LGBTQ+ artists given the opportunity to design a Skittles pack for Pride Month. And Target stopped teaming up with LGBTQ+ designers and artists for its Pride Month collection, which has since become a shell of its past self.

But earlier this month, Häagen-Dazs expanded its multiyear partnership with nonprofit Allies in Arts (AiA) for the fourth consecutive year, kicking off a national campaign celebrating Pride month through mural art, as part of brand’s broader campaign celebrating life’s slower moments.

The brand collaborated with three LGBTQ+ artists on large-scale mural installations in New York City, Los Angeles, and San Francisco, which will be up through July 20. Each of the murals is inspired by one of two of the brand’s most recently launched flavors—either Salted Brown Butter Cookie or Salted Caramel Macadamia Bar—and are designed to reflect the brand messaging that “true indulgence should never be rushed.”

For the New York City mural, artist Subin Yang reimagined “an intimate moment of connection,” while incorporating softer textures designed to evoke the new Salted Caramel Macadamia Bar flavor. Los Angeles’ mural, created by Loveis Wise, was also designed to evoke that flavor, incorporating warm tones in a sunny scene. Alice Lee was the artist behind the San Francisco mural, depicting a peaceful city retreat in a scene using the colors of the Salted Brown Butter Cookie flavor’s packaging.

The partnership with Allies in Arts originally launched through the brand’s “#ThätsDazs” platform, and is part of its investment in up-and-coming creators—also now in its fourth year, which connects emerging artists and their communities to opportunities for well-paid creative work.