Transgender people feature in less than 1% of adverts and LGBTQI+ people feature in just 3% of ads, according to Channel 4’s ‘Mirror On Transgender’ report.
The study, which comes as part of Channel 4’s five-year long Mirror On The Industry series, analysed over 1000 television adverts in order to measure how well represented minority groups are in TV advertising.
The survey drew on targeted community research with 50 transgender participants, as well as a consumer community and a professional community of three transgender people each, found that almost a third (30%) of non cisgender respondents felt they had seen no improvement.
The report, which was commissioned by Channel 4 in partnership with Wavemaker and Karo and carried out by The Diversity Standards Collective, comes after E45 won the broadcaster’s Diversity in Advertising award with a spot focused on transgender skincare.
The report 59% of non cisgender people feel they feature too little in adverts, and responses also identified a gap between an increase in visibility versus authentic representation.
Suggesting five key areas of improvement, it highlighted that four in ten non-cisgender people felt that one of the best ways to improve representation is to look more natural and in essence keep it boring and everyday.
Participants also felt that it was crucial to include fewer stereotypes according to half of non-cisgender people, with an emphasis on normalising being trans without sensationalising ‘transness’ at the forefront of adverts.
Subscribe to Marketing Beat for free
Sign up here to get the latest marketing news sent straight to your inbox each morning
Thirdly, non-cisgender were 50% more likely to say that hiring more people and identities in the advertising industry would help improve representation.
Additionally, they were a third more likely than cisgender people to say that more research into the groups being represented would help improve things. There was an emphasis on getting the details right, for instance giving subtle nods through for example a character wearing a pronoun badge.
Finally, the report found that it was crucial for advertisers to remember that the community is not a monolith and that it’s impossible to represent everyone. It highlighted the need for a focus on selecting one person and getting it right instead.
Channel 4 research manager Samantha Cannons said the research was “clear on why the need to normalise Transgender visibility on screen is so important.”
“Advertising holds tremendous influence, which is why we need to see more ads with positive, creative and thoughtful portrayals of Transgender people. Doing so not only has the potential to shift perceptions, but would also connect brands with Transgender people in a way they haven’t been able to so far,” she continued.
Featured Image: E45’s award-winning campaign
