New year, same old s***?
British audiences want TV ads that reflect the full diversity of British society, but is that what they're getting?
There is a persistent gulf between advertisers and audiences that we have long known exists but which many marketers are now determined to address. This crisis of faith and a lack of trust that consumers harbor towards brands and the businesses behind them, has been cast into the spotlight over the last year.
In September 2020, the ISBA launched its Diversity & Inclusion Tracking research. With the aim of reducing the persistent gulf between advertisers and audiences, its early findings make for uncomfortable reading.
Within the advertising audience, 68% of respondents believe that TV ads should reflect modern British society yet only 42% believe they do. And in the follow-up question, “do TV ads do a good job of representing all groups within British society?” only 36% agreed with the statement compared with 42% in March 2020.
Whether this worsening of perception is attributable to higher TV viewing during the pandemic or the heightened visibility of inclusion issues like Me Too and Black Lives Matter, the results are clear – advertisers have to work harder if we are to meet the standards our audiences expect.
It is no coincidence that we founded Atalante in 2020 in the wake of this advertising-audience gulf. We know there is a better way of doing things, but we also understand why so many advertisers continue to fall back on stereotypes and tropes to promote their brands.
In this 2020 round-up we take a look at who is doing it well, who scores points for trying and who really needs to take a good look at what’s going on in their marketing departments and creative agencies.
THE GOOD
1. Durex ‘sex positive’
In February 2020, announced that it was “creating a new brand purpose and visual identity to try to combat harmful stereotypes in porn.” With younger audiences in mind, Durex launched its new campaign on Valentine’s day, urging its audience to “Take a stand for sex. Worry less about how it ‘should’ look. Celebrate how it can feel. Where porn’s not the norm. And STDs are kinda real. Women aren’t judged too quick. Guys aren’t told they need a big ****.”
2. Nike ‘dream crazier’
What is so empowering about this social content ad from Nike is that it shows women athletes for good and for bad, removing the stereotype that women should always be pretty, meek and mild. There is lots to unpack with Nike though – for example, they don’t pay maternity cover for their athletes – and it isn’t enough just to talk the talk. But when it comes to giving women and girls a balanced and ultimately more positive image of them as physical beings, this ad hits the mark.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWfX5jeF6k4
3. Starbucks ‘every name’s a story’
Winner of the 2019 Channel 4 Diversity in Advertising award, this campaign just scrapes into our 2020 list as it fully launched in January. Building on the simple ‘service feature’ of names on cups, this campaign focuses on the journey of a young trans boy trying out his name for the first time. Why it matters? It is estimated that around 1% of the population identify as transgender but only 0.3% of adverts feature or include transgender people.
https://www.marketingweek.com/starbucks-wins-channel-4-diversity-award/
4. AA ‘love that feeling?’
When you identify the attitudes, motivations and feelings of your audience, you can begin to understand what drives them. And when your marketing strategy reflects this, rather than simply the way you see your audience, you have the potential to create memorable and distinctive ads. As the AA have so beautifully illustrated, once identified, the human truth can be portrayed by a dog… and not even a real one!
https://www.theaa.com/about-us/love-that-feeling-advert
5. Naga Munchetty ‘because I want to’
Not a marketing campaign although arguably Naga is living her personal brand. The level of scrutiny that women in the media still face for the way they dress is astounding. Naga’s response to John Nurden’s tweet is priceless and needs no further introduction.
6. Spotify ‘2020 wrapped’
Spotify’s 2019 meme campaign proved, much like the AA, that when you identify a human story that connects your audience to your brand, a world of creativity opens in the way you dramatize the message in your ad. Spotify’s annual wrapped campaign for 2020 focused on “recognising and celebrating the human stories of the year.”
7. B&Q ‘build a life’
It’s fair to say that the pandemic brought out the best and worst in marketers and ad creatives everywhere. Cue the schmaltzy piano music, the oh-so-caring voice over and the home-grown video of us all just giving it a go – and then insert brand name.
B&Q’s build a life campaign stands out above the rest simply because they stuck to their knitting. Not only are the brand codes all there – the strapline, the logo, the block orange colours – but the message hits the right tone of positivity. The launch film does a pretty good job of reflecting modern British society too.
https://www.creativeboom.com/inspiration/build-a-life/
8. Tesco ‘about b****y time’
It seems like such a simple product extension to have figured out but the fact that it took a major retailer until 2020 to do is astonishing. Still, here it is, plasters for a range of different skin tones.
9. Sainsbury’s ‘the gravy song’
It wasn’t the best Christmas ad out there, but we wanted to put a shout out for Sainsbury’s gravy song ad – part of a wider Christmas campaign for the supermarket. The backlash that this ad caused is unfathomable – the idea that a narrative based on family traditions wasn’t relatable because it depicted a black family, is bonkers. So, you can’t identify with this family but you’re all over Kevin the Carrot? Give us a break.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GqtcpLywgRU
POINTS FOR TRYING
10. Mothercare ‘#bodyproudmums’
Whilst we applaud Mothercare for helping to normalise post-natal bodies, we’re not sure what the benefit is that they’re trying to sell. However, if #bodyproudmums is simply the start of a journey towards using realistic models to demonstrate modern parenting, then we’re all for it – what’s more, if Mothercare demanded that their suppliers do the same on their packaging and in their advertising then this could be a real movement for change.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BvLrFATH4nZ/
11. Lynx ‘hot since 1995’
It’s good to see a girl taking some control in this ad, but why still a pretty girl paired with a geek? Why are we still telling men being sexually successful or attractive is what matters? If Lynx could dig a little deeper, there’s bound to be a more aspirational human truth about how we get to feel confident and comfortable in our skin – if Unilever can do it for Dove, they could do it for Lynx too. And what’s with the humping squirrel at the end?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBxmuz3JBok
12. Bodyform ‘#wombstories’
Hurray for the movement to normalise periods – and for the abolition of VAT on sanitary products. We do need big brands to be lobbying for this kind of change, but there’s a difference between being on my side and holding a mirror up to my life.
Bodyform’s #wombstories campaign was divisive. Many applauded the stark-naked truthfulness it depicted whilst others just don’t want to see all the pain and gore of it. Ultimately, though, a brand needs to show how it fulfils a need and this campaign doesn’t quite hit the mark.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZoFqIxlbk0
13. Tena Lady ‘ageless’
In a similar vein to Bodyform, there are some things to applaud with this ad – the depiction of older women and the ‘normalising’ of the type of incontinence we experience as we age.
Tena’s research showed that 44% of women under 50 think bladder leakage would affect their sex life compared with just 10% of women over 50 who agree. Where the story narrative seems to fall is the connection between having sex with incontinence and Tena Lady.
It’s not enough to for a brand to take on big topics, even when it is authentic. We’re all for them being on our side, but they still need to have a solution and we’re not sure this one quite resonates.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5yPmIckIjo
14. Representation of BAME communities
Another not strictly marketing entry in our top 20 with admittedly a lot to unpick. Creative Diversity Network research into representation within the TV and broadcasting industry shows that things are moving in the right direction but that there is still much to do, particularly when it comes to off-screen contributions. What is more, the way in which the media report this research is revealing – take this headline in the Daily Mail for example. Whilst it is a factual and balanced piece, the headline seems unnecessarily provocative.
15. Peleton ‘workouts for the family’
After its disastrous Christmas 2019 ad with its deeply disturbing and almost dystopian take on what drives a woman to exercise, Peleton had some work to do. Their 2020 ad is a much ‘safer’ showing and at the very least begins to demonstrate some of the features and benefits of the brand. It stops short of having nailed a true emotional benefit, but it’s a step in the right direction. Great choice of soundtrack too!
https://www.lbbonline.com/news/peloton-christmas-ad-gets-whole-family-feeling-good-with-nina-simone
16. Covid-19 public broadcasting
Public broadcast messaging is tricky stuff. In the early part of the pandemic, the government’s messaging reflected best-practise – simplicity of message, easy to understand and recall, consistently delivered through targeted media. The same can’t be said of the public messaging as government advice has changed. Had the campaign attempted to find a unifying theme higher-up the benefit ladder from the outset, the shifting sands at a practical implementation level may have been more easily handled.
THE SAME OLD S***
17. People Per Hour ‘girl boss thing’
You can’t just take a cultural reference (#girlboss) and replay it without context. Need we say more?
18. Amazon’s advertising for cleaning products
Men clean too!
19. PC Specialist ‘the beginning of the end’
If only this campaign had lived-up to its title. When you focus only on product-level feature-benefit messaging, it’s easy to see how this brand could get locked into reflecting only one aspect of its potential audience. Just imagine how powerful PC Specialist could be in the gaming industry if it opened its offer to the other 50% of the population? It may be true that gamers are predominantly male, but it’s a changing market and an opportunity missed.
20. Netflix ‘cuties’
When Netflix created an English language poster for the French-language film, Mignonnes (which has been translated as ‘The Cuties’), here’s what they went with…. (compared with the Bac Films theatrical poster for the same film).
Any shockers you want to share? We'd love to hear from you.
