AdReaction: Getting gender right

Highlights

• Marketers think they’re getting gender right. The vast majority are confident that their organisations are creating advertising that avoids gender stereotypes and contains balanced content. But more female marketers think the industry is missing a beat with on average 13% fewer women agreeing.
• Meanwhile, consumers on the other side of the scale think that marketers are getting it wrong, with 76% of female consumers and 71% of male consumers believing the way they are portrayed in advertising is completely out of touch.
• Research respondent samples show that females may be over-targeted in categories like laundry and household products and under-targeted in other areas, like automotive.
• Sometimes progressive targeting can be as simple as challenging outdated and over-simplistic assumptions. While it is true that more women than men are primary grocery shoppers, it is strange that almost 100% of the people we talk to about baby products, laundry products and household cleaners are women.
• Despite progress, gender portrayals in advertising remain stereotyped, with female depictions particularly skewed and delivering less impact. This simple fact has enormous consequences. When we look at the bigger picture, we understand that gender stereotyping in advertising is leading to male-skewed brands which are less likely to grow.
• Even marketers who acknowledge gender bias may be blinded by the status quo, because they are delivering far fewer aspirational portrayals than they believe. Even advertising that is relatively successful could be more impactful if it were to eliminate hackneyed images and strive for greater balance

The full report can be downloaded here.