Over 60% of female consumers believe women are commonly depicted using negative stereotypes in ads, research conducted by A+E Networks has found.
Joetta Gobell, A+E Networks’ VP, Primary Research, Ad Sales, and Strategic Insights, discussed a variety of studies it has undertaken with girls and women. “Sixty-three percent of the women that we spoke to agreed that there are more negative stereotypes about women in advertising than there are positive. They’re very much saying, ‘that’s a frustration for me’… And we didn’t see significant difference in that across race and ethnicity,” Gobell reported.
“When we looked at the images—along with how they were talking about what they wanted to convey—a really clear theme came through: Women were saying, ‘I want to see depictions of women that are strong. I want to see depictions of strength’.”
In quantitative research, participants were asked to specify what they would like to see more often in advertising, thus offering some useful guidance for brands.
Among the top three answers was a diversity of body types. Featuring women at a range of life stages was similarly popular. Seeing a mix of races and ethnicities depicted in ads was another priority.
Women See Too Many Stereotypes in Ads. (2018, March 1). WARC.