Diversity in Ad

The impact that the lack of diversity has on the advertising industry is huge.

It is no secret that the media, journalism professionals, marketing and advertising professionals, and even freelance PR professionals and writers are mostly white adult males. This doesn’t mean that our media is filled with racist, blinded white men with the agenda to socially harm women and minorities. This means, simply, that all decisions, insight, questions, history, background, understandings, etc. were coming from one demographic.

This may not be that big of a problem when three of the four men working on one advertising project are white and male, but it does have a very large impact when over several decades the only opinions and thoughts being expressed and viewed were those of white males.

Now we are starting to see an internal discussion about the ethics of our ad’s and marketing, and a question as to if the industry is hurting the people or if it is simply reflecting the people has been raised. I think it is both. I think that finally, women, people of color, people with disabilities, from all backgrounds and family histories, are finally coming in to the world of journalism. It is these people that have recognized trends in media, or were unable to relate to media because they were underrepresented. These people are now standing up and pointing out the issues with a media run by one demographic, and are starting to filter in and make changes.

You can see some of the changes taking places by the way big corporations like Budweiser are trying to step up to the “diversity discussion” and take a stand.

We know what will happen if one demographic continues to control advertising and the media, and should encourage a more diverse marketing approach/team. Ad’s will be most effective when they are being created by a team that understands and can reach every demographic, because part of every demographic is represented and spoken for.

Although important in advertising, and a problem in the past, diversity issues in business do not stop there. Across the board, companies are recognizing their role in communities, and the effects of a non diverse staff and board. Hopefully, big changes are coming to business and lack of diversity will no longer need to be a discussion.