Gender Stereotypes Advertising Needs to Ditch
Women are ready for something new, something fresh, and something relatable. The 600 women who participated in our attitudinal segmentation research and the insights we learned from them can help us advertisers usher in a new stereotype-free era.
Ending Gender Discrimination in Advertising
To advertise to women effectively, you need to understand their context. For many women, discrimination and gender disparities are realities they’ve faced and continue to face. These experiences are sources of pain, stress and are part of their daily lives. Advertising is more effective when it solves a problem, and many women have a big problem at work, at home, and just living in society.
How Advertising Can Help Solve Gender Equality
Advertising has a problem, and women want a solution. Women want better on-screen representation—to see themselves in ads the way they see themselves in life. And they want brands to wield their enormous power and influence to change society for the better. Our attitudinal segmentation research explores how women feel about advertising and what they want from brands. If advertisers want to get it right, they have to start listening.
Marketers are more obsessed with our looks than we are
How much of our lives has been spent on living up to impossible beauty standards? Standards created by the media, the patriarchy, and yes, advertising. Global ad spend in the beauty category continues to grow, but who’s really paying attention? Who is absorbing the nonstop barrage of content messaging and predetermined ideals? Apparently not women over 40.
Should Brands Be Responsible for Debunking Gender Stereotypes? Let’s ask the ladies.
These days women across generational divides, races, and industries are banding together to empower one another and fight for equality in women’s issues and beyond. But, they don’t think they should be doing it alone.
Is advertising messing with women's minds or am I just crazy?
Women and girls have been manipulated by the media in so many ways for so long that it’s simply a part of our culture. My Instagram feed is chock-full of ads for stuff that is meant to make life better but only gives a paralyzing anxiety from not living up to any of it.
Two winners and a couple of major fumbles in the Superbowl
Since I usually love a good laugh in a Super Bowl ad, it’s funny that this year I was drawn to those with a more serious tone. The Bumble ad with Serena Williams was spot on for the brand and for women in general.
Serena Williams wins the Superbowl!
The Bumble ad with Serena Williams was a win for women and for the brand. Reminding women that they have the power to make strong proactive choices in their lives made me a Bumble fan, and the colorful, pretty art direction was a nice reminder that, as Serena herself shows us, feminine fun easily lives hand in hand with female power.
Are brands responsible for advancing women's issues?
To find out what women are thinking, we did something radical: we went straight to the source and asked them.
Subverting Marketing Stereotypes
Fancy has a specialty in a group marketers often ignore: Women 40+. Katie and Erica sat down with Adweek to talk about why.
Mid-Year advertising industry report card
In the August 10, 2018 edition of Shoot Magazine, Katie shared her POV on the most significant strategic and creative industry trends we see developing this year.
The intersection of women and design at “Respect Me” opening
I was honored to be part of a panel at the opening of the fantastic Respect Me design show, at 16 Orchard Street, last week. Being surrounded by talented, smart, opinionated ladies was exhilarating and we all left inspired to continue to push for changes that support women and design…
Is The Way We Portray Women In Advertising Getting Any Better?
While there are some standouts, where brands are getting it right (Bravo to you GE, Kraft, and Twitter, though really Twitter, please pay attention to the amount of social media harassment of women happening on the platform and actually do something about it...), but women are still largely portrayed in very specific roles that tend to be deferential to others.
Campaign US Op-Ed: Making Women's History Month
Women's History Month is different this year as everywhere we look women's history is actually in the making right now. Women are rising, without competition, without judgment, focusing on what we can do for each other, how we can help one another, saying things have got to change, and they are going to change, right now. So really, we should actually call it MAKING Women's History Month.
"We all deserve to have pleasure and enjoy life." Word.
Shoot Magazine's 2017 Year in Review Survey. What we're proud of and our resolutions for 2018.