UK Regulator Cracks Down on Gender Stereotypes in New Campaign
The agency says ads like a recently banned Gucci ad stereotype gender.
— -- The United Kingdom’s advertising regulator has already banned certain ads that portray “unhealthily thin” body images and oversexualize models, and now it may add gender stereotyping to its crackdown list.
The Advertising Standards Authority announced today that it plans to investigate gender stereotyping in ads -- and it's asking the public for help. The watchdog group invited members of the public and organizations to share evidence of gender stereotyping in ads, saying that it wants to learn more about a number of issues, including the reinforcement of stereotyped views of gender roles on society and gender-specific marketing to children.
The agency said it also hopes to talk to interested parties like women's rights groups and those in the fashion, fitness and health industries.
The ASA is using previously banned ads, like a Gucci ad with an "unhealthily thin" model, as examples of gender stereotypes in advertising.
The Gucci ad was banned earlier this month after it was deemed "irresponsible" by the agency. "We considered that her torso and arms were quite slender and appeared to be out of proportion with her head and lower body," the ASA wrote on its website. In response, Gucci defended the ad, telling the agency that it appeared in The Times newspaper, which they said had a "mature" audience, and that the issue of an "unhealthily thin" model was a subjective one. But the ASA still ordered that the ad be pulled.
A statement to ABC News from Gucci said, "We take our responsibilities as an advertiser very seriously in the way models are selected for and presented in our advertising campaigns. We have noted, but are not in agreement with, the assessment of the U.K. Advertising Standards Authority, an independent regulator, in relation to one model featured in one image from our Cruise 2016 campaign. The campaign itself expired at the end of December 2015."
“What many people in general want to see are representations of humans rather than ideals in ads,” Kristina Monllos, staff writer at AdWeek, told ABC News. “That’s been the call to action by a lot of people when they see ads that don’t reflect reality.”
Guy Parker, chief executive of the British Advertising Standards Authority, said he looks forward to hearing from advertising "stakeholders" for the new campaign.
“We’re serious about making sure we’re alive to changing attitudes and behaviors," Parker said in a statement. "That’s why we’ve already been taking action to ban ads that we believe reinforce gender stereotypes and are likely to cause serious and widespread offense, or harm."
The British agency has previously limited and banned certain ads that starred celebrities including Beyonce and Julia Roberts, respectively.
“It’s an interesting message to send to the advertising community from this watchdog group. I don’t expect anything to happen just yet,” Monllos said.
