Brands that stereotype

As companies and ad agencies try and present men and women in non-stereotypical roles, they need to ensure that the change in roles does not end up creating a subplot that is confusing

Earlier this year UN Women in partnership with Unilever and industry leaders such as IPG, WPP, Facebook, Google, Mars, Microsoft and J&J announced the launch of the Unstereotype Alliance, a new global alliance set up to banish stereotypical portrayal of gender in advertisements and all branding content.

The fact that brands tend to use stereotypical images is something that has been written about and researched extensively. Enough to say that there is little love lost between the liberal arts academic world and the world of advertising.

One of the early works on studying gender presentation in advertising is the book,