Progressive advertisements have positive impact on business, says ASCI

Advertising in India has a role in shaping our shared consciousness, and it can drive brand engagement greatly with a progressive depiction of women.
 

On Wednesday, the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) and consulting firm Kantar released a white paper explaining how mainstreaming positive gender portrayals has a positive impact on business.
 

GenderNext, a study by ASCI and Futurebrands that looked at 600 ads across categories and spoke to consumers from 10 cities, revealed that women considered themselves more progressive than how they were depicted in mainstream advertising. Then, it is not surprising that Kantar found progressive portrayals making advertising more effective.
 

The GenderNext study found that a majority of mainstream advertising continues to use non-aspirational portrayals of women. But, Indian advertisements that depicted progressive gender roles had a positive impact of 32 per cent in short-term product sales and improved a brand’s equity by a whopping 51 per cent.
 

“Women, particularly the younger generation, reject the stereotyping that creeps into advertising and see progressive advertising as their ally. It is amply clear that it makes good business sense for brands to portray positive gender roles, adding real value to business and society,” said Manisha Kapoor, CEO and secretary general, ASCI.
 

Kantar’s study, using the Unstereotype Metric, shows that within emerging markets, positive gender roles have an even higher impact for India.
 

“Subtle subversions on slice-of-life moments, gender roles and responses have the potential to make the viewing experience rewarding,” explained Preeti Reddy, chairman, South Asia, insights division, Kantar.