Bias and inclusion in Advertising: An analysis of 2018 Cannes Lions Film Craft Ads

Major findings:

Gender

• Male characters outnumber female characters in 2018 ads (59.8% men, 39.9% women), but by a smaller margin than in the previous decade.
• Male characters are twice as likely as women to be shown working in 2018 ads (26% compared with 11%), an even larger discrepancy than that found in ads from 2006 to 2017.
• Overall, gender differences within stereotypical activities and settings in 2018 ads showed marked improvement when compared with ads from the previous decade.
• Male characters in 2018 ads are twice as likely as female characters to be shown as having an occupation (25.6% compared with 13.8%), comparable to findings from the previous decade
• Male characters in 2018 ads are twice as likely as female characters to be portrayed as leaders (16.4% compared with 8.3%), comparable to findings from the previous decade.
• Although female characters remain sexualized in 2018 ads, there is marked improvement compared with ads from 2006 to 2017.
• Male characters in 2018 ads are 1.5 times more likely than female characters to be shown performing physical comedy (13.3% compared with 8.5%), and twice as likely to be shown preforming verbal comedy (9.8% compared with 4.1%).

Race

• People of color make up 43.1% of characters in 2018 ads.
• White characters are more likely than characters of color to be depicted as having an occupation (22.9% compared with 17.9%).

Sexual orientation

• LGBTQ characters are underrepresented in 2018 ads, making up only 1.9% of characters despite the fact that 10% of people identify as LGBTQIA globally.

Disability

• Characters with disabilities are underrepresented in 2018 ads, making up only 0.8% of characters. This is in sharp contrast to the 15% of people globally with some form of cognitive or physical disability. 

Source: Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media