Two years worth of global ad research and studying by Unilever has found that from the women surveyed, 40% did not identify in any way with women they see in advertising, and just 3% of ads featured women in managerial, leadership or professional roles. Due to these findings Unilever have kickstarted their #unstereotype campaign, pledging to drop all sexist stereotypes from their advertising.
And this is not the only recent case of opposition to adverts perceived to be sexist.
For instance, after the uproar of Protein World’s Beach Body Ready campaign, London Mayor Sadiq Khan has moved to ban body-shaming ads from London transport proclaiming that this type of advertising demeans women and encourages them to conform to unrealistic body types – a subject that Women Not Objects explored in their What Our Kids See campaign.
One of the key oppositions towards the portrayal of women in advertising is the simplicity of the characters that they are play. We can arguably break this down to three roles, the mother (think Dove, Unilever, sadvertising etc.), the body (anything in which women are shown merely for aesthetic reasons) or the activist (think any NGO to promote a cause).
So, do we have a real problem with the way women are being advertised? Or are these ads merely a reflection of new form of ‘feminism’ embraced by the likes of Kim Kardashian and Emily Ratajkowski?
“People like the Kardashians are more harmful to young girls than any advertiser can be.”
The way women are being portrayed in the media is and will always be unfair (to the people that care). Growing up in America, I rarely saw myself reflected in adverts, therefore they don’t speak to me as much as they would other women. This is a complicated argument because I can say that women are very sexist towards each other, doesn’t make it right, however, who’s fighting for the equality cause in that case? It goes deeper than sexism in adverts, it comes down to the people in charge, if it’s not diversified than we will be fed the same thing over and over again, sex sells.
I don’t believe these ads are a new form of ‘feminism,’ I believe savvy marketing people are trying to package it up and sell it that way, which is the smart thing to do because it’s all about perception. People like the Kardashians are more harmful to young girls than any advertiser can be. With the prevalence of social media, what advertisers are presenting is minuscule in comparison. Over one million likes for Khloe Kardashian in a ‘waist trainer’ wearing the Kardashian line of leggings flaunting her abnormally large derriere and magically plumper lips is easy insight to advertisers. Sex sells remember, so a Kardashian telling me to purchase her lip kit is sexier than Unilever’s #unstereotype campaign. I understand the Kardashian argument is a deflection from advertisers taking responsibility for producing harmful content, nonetheless people that are engaging in the ‘likes’ and ‘reposting’ era, in my opinion are further exacerbating the issue.
Media on every platform is very influential, that is an undeniable fact, however effective parenting can make a world of difference on how children perceive themselves. It is getting increasingly harder to filter what children are exposed to, I’m by no means suggesting adopting Amish living standards, but creating a strong foundation for your children is necessary now more than ever. The initiatives of Mayor Sadiq Khan and Unilever are commendable and necessary as well, due to these changing times. Someone famous once said ‘I believe the children are our future, teach them well and let them lead the way, show them all the beauty they possess insideeeeeee.’ That’s what’s important at the end.
“Trying to ban these adverts will solve nothing. The issue lies within the person already.”
Okay, so we’re going to ban ‘body-shaming ads’ dotted around the London underground – ooh, and while we’re at it, please can we ban adverts of a juicy, fat dripping, cheese oozing burger – just in case we offend the grass eaters? It’s society gone mad.
Not so long ago, I wrote an article on why men are more popular than women in adverts. It’s slightly off-topic, but it certainly draws some strands with the topic I’m tackling here.
I mention Everyday Sexism, a movement which goes far beyond a campaign and platform which points out the blatant sexism experienced by the public and spotted in advertising. But in my opinion, we don’t really need a project like this to draw out attention to this, as it’s already shoved in our face wherever we go. Women will always be sexualised within media, and for the record – so will men. Trying to ban these adverts will solve nothing. The issue lies within the person already.
A wise man (Laurent) once told me that you can’t change someone’s behaviour, and never has that line made more sense than it does whilst I’m writing this. Advertisers don’t give a monkey’s whether you’re upset about an advert they’ve put out. They’ve caught your attention and that’s all they care about – so in the case of Protein World’s Beach Body Ready campaign, I’m pretty sure they’re enjoying dipping in the ‘bad publicity is good publicity’ pool. And anyway advertising has never and WILL NEVER cater to all – they have a target in mind, and they will market their idea to them. Besides, politically correct adverts are such a bore.
Kennya’s right – sex sells. These ads aren’t a new form of feminism – advertisers are trying to package it this way, but we all know it’s a load of rubbish. With teenagers tapping their fingers on Instagram everyday, flicking through the Kardashian tripe that’s uploaded on the platform, this actually does more harm. We should be weeping for humanity for ‘content’ like this – not bikini posters plastered on the Northern Line. This is the rubbish girls become obsessed with and aspire to. Getting your tits out isn’t being feminist – it’s just stupid. It’s just fuelling what Sadiq Khan is looking to ban. It’s a mess. So you can try all you want to wrap us in cotton wool but it will change sweet FA.