Increasing gender diversity in OOH
A competition run by Transport for London which challenged diversity in advertising, saw brands from across the UK apply with interpretations of the competition’s theme ‘Women We See.’
Monday, 25 Feb 2019 09:07 GMT
Health retailer, Holland and Barratt was the winner of Transport for London’s inclusive advertising competition with its Me. No. Pause campaign
Holland and Barrett was the winning brand with its ‘Me. No. Pause’ campaign. The various adverts within the health retailer’s campaign featured a variety of women of all shapes and sizes, including those with disabilities.
The theme is part of the Mayor of London’s commitment to tackling gender inequality in the capital and his #BehindEveryGreatCity campaign.
To enter the competition, brands submitted a draft creative and details of the proposed advertising campaign which included a storyboard, a design of a static digital display, and a supporting statement describing how each brand’s campaign highlights the outputs of the ‘Women We See’ theme.
London Gov released a study which found that the main form of lack of diversity in advertising was images of young, thin, white women. The study found that when diverse women were included, they were often heavily sexualised in stereotypical ways.
There’s a lot of body image pressure, especially on young girls like us that we feel insecure about our bodies”
One respondent to the study states: “If you see advertisements with men, they are wearing more clothes. There’s a lot of body image pressure, especially on young girls like us that we feel insecure about our bodies.”
Age was also a factor in the research with 54% of respondents saying that they felt older people are underrepresented, claiming that advertisements are “still fixated on thinness and able-bodied people.”
Despite the underrepresentation, the report revealed that advertising in public spaces (OOH) has a greater social impact and contributes more to a city’s culture than other forms of advertising.
London Gov revealed that public advertising viewed by the women was encountered differently than media consumed in private because public advertising cannot be turned off, or as easily ignored.
The campaign features images of women from all walks of life, in a bid to challenge the lack of diversity in adverts across London
Commenting on the issue, Transport for London states: “Existing studies show that a wide representation of men feature more in adverts – men are portrayed as sportier, they wear more clothing in adverts and are less likely to be found in the kitchen.
“Women, by contrast, are still largely portrayed in outdated and often negative stereotypes, with a distinct lack of diversity.”
Holland and Barratt won £500,000 value of digital advertising to be launched across Transport for London’s estate for a four-week period. This will consist of 15% share of time on 132 bus shelter panels; six digital escalator panel runs; Canary Wharf premium iconic digital screens; and 75 D6 digital displays on the rail network.
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