Speaking at the Cannes Lions festival in France, the company said that it will “unstereotype” all of its advertising after research discovered that just 2% of ads depict intelligent women. While some adverts were found to be overtly sexist, others use more subtle stereotypes with the problem particularly focused on the portrayal of women.
Unilever said that 40% of female consumers asked said that they did not identify with any women shown in advertising. In response, the company is hoping to show a broader range of women in its adverts.
More than 1,000 adverts were also studied, with 50% portraying women in a stereotypical way. Just 1% of the ads showed women being humorous and only 3% showed women in positions of power, with a disproportionate number showing females in domestic roles.
Keith Weed, Chief Marketing Officer at Unilever, said: “The time is right for us as an industry to challenge and change how we portray gender in our advertising. Our industry spends billions of dollars annually shaping perceptions and we have a responsibility to use this power in a positive manner.”
Unilever spends around €8bn a year on advertising and is currently the world’s second-biggest advertiser. It has already implemented changes with its Axe/Lynx adverts stepping away from their usual laddish focus. Dove Men+ Care has also begun showing males in less traditionally masculine roles.