Brand owners stand accused of under-representing black, Asian and minority ethnic groups in their advertising, amid warnings that they could be missing out on a potentially lucrative revenue stream.
According to a new IPA-backed study, just over 5 per cent of TV ads feature people from black, Asian or minority ethnic (BAME) groups, reinforcing the view that the advertising and marketing industry is dominated by the white middle-classes and is out of touch with reality in Britain. The recent IPA Agency Census showed that 90 per cent of agency staff are from a white background.
As of December 2009, agencies have had the option of stating whether the actors within their TV ads are from BAME groups, through the addition of two tick boxes on the Clearcast submission form; ‘Ethnic (BAME) featured artist?’ and ‘Ethnic (BAME) walk-on artist?’
The additional boxes were introduced following discussions between the IPA and Clearcast about tracking the portrayal of people from ethnic diversities in advertising, although they are not obliged to complete the form.
The IPA has now published data produced by Clearcast, which reveals the portrayal of BAMEs within TV ads.
Of the 34,499 commercials cleared by Clearcast and aired on mainstream UK TV channels in 2010, 1,845 (5.3 per cent) contain BAME actors, according to the data supplied by agencies when they upload the commercials.
But brands in food, motoring, mail order, retail, travel and transport, telecoms, household stores and clothing industries are found to be under-representing BAMEs, with an index of less than 60, on a scale of 100. Meanwile, according to the data, no BAME actors at all appeared in gardening or household appliance ads.
Saad Saraf, chairman of the IPA’s Ethnic Diversity Group and chief executive of Mediareach, said: “I have spent over 23 years marketing to diverse audiences, and what this experience has shown is that people react better to advertising when they see themselves reflected in it.
“So what these figures reveal, rather disappointingly, is that commercials are drastically under-representing the diverse make-up of the UK population, of which BAMEs comprise 13 per cent (ONS Mar 2010), and consequently that advertisers are missing out on an important and rapidly growing revenue stream.
“I would therefore advise them to take a better look at who their customers are, and hope that these figures will become markedly more representative over the coming years.”
