A First-of-its-Kind Look at Diversity Around the World Is Provided by “Gender and Age Diversity in Global Ad Creative”

According to a new diversity study released today by Extreme Reach (ER), the world leader in creative logistics, TV and video ads are more likely to feature cast members under the age of 40 and skew male in terms of the visual cast member composition and the voices heard in ads in every region of the world.

The Gender and Age Diversity in Global Ad Creative study makes use of tried-and-true machine learning and artificial intelligence techniques to examine how gender and age are portrayed in publically available video creative. The research provides analysis for nine United Nations-designated global areas in addition to comprehensive analyses of diversity in ad creative for 16 distinct nations.

The gender and age sections of our North American research, which was published in December 2022, have been expanded in this new report.

“Our first report set out to give brands and agencies in North America the baseline information needed to make diversity decisions that matter to their business and customers”, “The response to our first report revealed a thirst for this information and we’re pleased to now expand our analysis of publicly available ad creative to a global level, starting first with a focus on gender and age. Of course, progress happens over time, so we look forward to tracking these benchmarks at regular intervals. Each unique business has its own diversity goals and efforts, and we’re proud of the proprietary work we do with our clients in this area.”

Melinda McLaughlin, CMO, Extreme Reach

According to ER’s global research of advertising creativity, men make up a larger percentage of cast members in every continent except Antarctica. When it comes to the voices heard in advertisements, the male skew is more obvious, and in some areas, this skew is enormous, accounting for more than 70% of the voices heard in brand tales. Only in East & South East Asia do male and female cast members and voices closely reflect the region’s demographics.

The global advertising population is also substantially younger than the real population. Despite this age group making up only 25% to 33% of the population, the percentage of 20- to 39-year-olds who appear in advertisements varied from 76% to 83% among the eight areas.

“Sight, sound, and motion remains the most powerful ways to share an idea, promote a product, and offer a representation of the world around us”, “ER’s platform stewards and moves ad creative around the world, giving advertisers global scale as well as the insights they need to make the best decisions for their business. We’re excited about the opportunities that AI and machine learning present, as evidenced by this important work. The ability to measure and gain full visibility into creative assets is one of the most important advantages for brand marketers today, and we’re just beginning to see how ER’s artificial intelligence and machine learning enhance that insight.”

Tim Conley, CEO, Extreme Reach

North America, the United Kingdom, Europe, Latin America (LATAM), Central and South America, East & Southeast Asia, North Africa & West Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Australia and New Zealand (ANZ) are the nine regions examined in the Gender and Age Diversity in Global Ad Creative study. The research also provides detailed analyses of each of the following 16 nations in Europe: the Czech Republic, Hungary, Greece, Poland, Finland, Denmark, Germany, Austria, Norway, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Sweden, France, Belgium, and the Netherlands.

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