In the midst of the madness that is the Olympics, I recently came across a blog post on the popular advertising blog and website Advertising Age. Although short and sweet, it really got me thinking. The post showed the Google Doodle from the other day which was a protest to Russia’s anti-gay legislation prior to the Sochi Olympics. The blog said that Google now joined other large companies such as American telecommunications company AT&T and British cosmetics company Lush in publishing advertising in support of the LGBTQ community and in condemnation of Russia’s new laws. I immediately thought of this as an advertising opportunity for businesses. It is a chance for them to use their huge influence in the advertising realm and the millions of people they reach for social justice and to promote social change. Although many companies do not like to take a political stance because of the risk of offending/losing existing customers, I think that the risk is worth it for companies to let the public know that they stand for equal rights for all people, regardless of sexual orientation.

In case you missed it, the Google Doodle featuring anti-discrimination text straight from the Olympic Charter