Rethinking Female Brand Archetypes

As we approach ‘peak content’, we look at why our industry needs to catch up with the real-world view of women in advertising, and posit one way we can start.

Research from the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media of 2,000 Cannes Lion ads from 5 markets, including ANZ, found 36.9% of characters on TVCs were women. Unfortunately those women that do make it on screen aren’t even the right kind of role models. A study by The Museum of Brands has identified there are six stereotypes of women in advertising ranging from the ‘domestic obsessive’ to ‘sex object’.