Tayler explains the himbo stereotype in her TikTok video.

The hapless dad stereotype is one recognised by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) rules on gender stereotyping introduced in June 2019. The Philadelphia Cheese ad featuring ‘hapless dads’ so entranced by their cheese snacks they absent-mindedly place their kids on the airport-style conveyor belt meant for the food, was banned in 2019. The rules also led to a ban of People Per Hour’s "You do the girl boss thing. We'll do the SEO thing" following complaints that it perpetuated harmful gender stereotypes by depicting a woman running a business in a patronising way. 

The Philadelphia ‘hapless dad’ ad that was banned for perpetuating harmful stereotypes.

These ads are recent and they demonstrate a real gulf between what consumers want and need, and how they see themselves compared with the way that marketers see them. 

Research conducted by Cunningham & Roberts for their recent book Brandsplaining: Why Marketing Is Still Sexist & How To Fix It, analysed 120 UK and US brand ads, their websites, packaging and social media. They also surveyed 14,000 women in 14 countries across four continents to understand their attitudes and beliefs about marketing and advertising.

More than half (59%) of the women surveyed say advertising has an out-dated view of women, with 76% suggesting they mainly see very thin women featured in ads. Women featured in ads also tend to be young, with 68% saying there aren’t enough older women in advertising.

Most women (68%) also do not feel represented in advertising, with the vast majority (81%) saying they want to see all types of women used by brands to promote their goods.

Physical attractiveness, getting married and having children is still most often depicted as the great ‘aspiration’ for women. Yet appearance is not what women want to be defined by – the characteristics that women most want to be associated with are intelligence, their relationship with their family and sense of humour. Appearance doesn’t even make the top 10.

Tayler commented: “I think there is progress. It feels like there are brands like Nike Women that are doing a really good job of female representation and diversity. Their ads are really progressive and break down gender and racial stereotypes but then when you look at their board that isn’t reflected in the organisation.

"Even if brands are doing a better job of diversity and inclusion, there is still an issue when the power (in the film making or advertising and creative industry) is held by a very narrow ‘type’ of person. Certainly, in the US film industry this is this case. The USC Annenburg Inclusion Report recently found in 2019 only 10.7% film directors and 19.4% of writers were female and of all the popular films made 2007-2020 only 6.1% of directors were black, 3.7% Hispanic/Latino and 3.3% Asian American.

"And while you don’t necessarily need to be from a community to depict them authentically (if you research and engage them correctly) the reality is that underrepresentation is translating into what you see on screen. In the top 100 films in 2019 the ratio of male characters with a speaking role to women was 2.2:1. Only 1.4% of films had a speaking role for a LGBT character, and only 2.4% of speaking roles were someone with a disability”.

Tayler talks about diversity behind the camera in another of her TikTok videos.

Full USC Annenburg Inclusion Report here.

These stats are echoed in the advertising and creative industry.

It’s estimated that only 14% of creative directors in the UK are women. 13% of the creative industry workforce identify as coming from Black and Minority Ethnic backgrounds (which is in line with the % of UK population identifying this way) but only 8% of senior positions have BAME representation.

Tayler says: “It’s an issue that the industry is falling short in terms of representation behind the camera as it points to more systemic bias and discrimination and this needs resolving. However, the issues in the outputs come down to an arrogance about what people think they know about other people’s lives which would be greatly helped if they just talked to the people they are writing about and depicting.

"It’s not to say a man can’t make a good film/ad that portrays a women – we have seen this done when writers and directors have taken time to really understand the subject. People often think they ‘know’ a consumer and don’t realise they are making unhelpful or inaccurate assumptions.

"Actually, even Spike Lee, who is an applauded black film maker, known for authentic and positive representations of the black community made a film called Chi-raq about the impact of gun violence on the drill-rap community and their families in Chicago. There was a huge backlash – people felt really poorly represented and they found it demeaning and alienating. He assumed he got it and had permission to talk about this issue but he is not from Chicago and didn’t engage and talk to the community he was depicting. Just talk to people about what you are saying about them before you say it. I’m sure that’s as applicable to advertising and marketing as film”.   

Chi-raq attracted controversy

This complex example demonstrates the breadth and depth of the issue. The bottom line is that doing your research and finding true insight and understanding of all the people you are talking to and representing is an imperative in film and advertising. 

Brands, and the marketing teams behind them, are still failing to spot the bias demonstrated in their ads.

Only recently Gap came underfire for an ad that many interpreted as an embodiment of the  ‘Side Kick of Colour’ where the little black girl is literally propping up the main character.

Tayler explains the 'side kick of colour' trope and Gap came under fire in their recent ad.

It’s not just comms and casting in adverts that needs to be considered for inherent bias. Products and packaging are often developed without broad insight and consideration. Whether that be ‘feminised’ cleaning products or recent examples such as automatic handwashes and medical equipment that don’t recognise black skin.

Tayler highlighted the example of Prada’s sambo bag charms which included un-relatable and offensive depictions of PoC.

“It feels hard to believe that these have been developed with any engagement of the people they seem to be attempting to depict," she said.

The bag charms were eventually pulled

Even before marketers get to packaging or representation through creative development or ad casting, their marketing strategies have often made assumptions about people based on demographic characteristics that translate into campaigns, activity and products skewed towards a particular type of audience rather than a particular ‘need’ which is much more universal and not couched in gender, age or race identity.

Tayler observed: “I’ve noticed some low quality, cheaper brands like sugary drink brands, try to associate themselves with an urban audience, they cast the stereotype of that type of person and use stereotypical music in their ads. I often wonder if that is because they assume that audience are from a lower economic status so are more likely to buy that product? Or is it trying to ‘lend’ edginess to the brand – either way stereotypes are at play.”



This is also seen in industries like cleaning where marketers set out to target women rather than target the cleaning ‘need’ that is more universal. This then translates into more female focused ads, product design and targeting, perpetuating the stereotype of cleaning being a women’s role. 

Apart from the obvious societal impact for brands, it alienates valuable customers. The advent of digitalised media channels, on-demand TV and music means consumers don’t passively consume biased adverts and media anymore. They can choose the TV, films, programmes and articles they want to watch or read. They can pay not to see ads at all or accept advertising based on what they are engaged with and interested in. Audiences who are not being well represented or portrayed will disengage with media and become unreachable to those brands.

Tayler summed up: “The fact that people are now watching streamed content through web series or channels like Netflix means they really can choose what they want to watch and that’s the future. People don’t have to put up with media or shows that don’t represent them. There is so much choice and particularly for the younger generation, this is mainly how they seem to be watching now. It’s a trend that’s helped to create opportunities behind the camera too which has naturally spawned more diverse programming. 

“I think the message is just talk to people, talk to people that are not like you to find out about them. Don’t assume you know them or their life experience or what they want. Whether it’s film or advertising, it starts with understanding your audiences and making sure they are represented authentically.”

Thank you so much to Tayler Scriber for taking the time to talk to us about these issues and for her fantastic work educating on equality and respect in media. We recommend following Tayler on TikTok  - her content has been really instructive and helpful for us to lean in.

Tayler Scriber is a Doctoral Student at Northwestern University, Illinois Screen Cultures program. She previously majored in Film and Sociology and runs a popular TikTok account centred on media, mutual respect and learning. She is open to compensated speaking opportunities and content creation. Follow her at linktr.ee/Tay.Jpeg

Sources:

• Kantar - Getting Gender Right
• PWC - Are You Missing Millions?
• Brandsplaining by Jane Cunningham and Philippa Roberts, Feb 2021 (a fantastic read - available to buy here)
• Creative Review - Female Creatives
• Creative Industries Federation - Diversity Booklet
• The Dots - Championing Diversity