The share of women holding an “aesthetic or inactive” role in television commercials has fallen from 50% in 2017 to 18% in 2022, according to a study by Arcom.
Is television advertising done with the role of the “green plant” woman? “The numbers are there to prove it”believes Caroline Darmon, Director Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) at Publicis France, while the proportion of women occupying a role “aesthetic or inactive” in television spots has fallen from 50% in 2017 to 18% in 2022, according to an Arcom study published on March 6.
“Today at Publicis France”responsible for advertising SNCF, Carrefour or Orange, conveying a sexist image of women “don’t pass”, insists Caroline Darmon. And if for the 4,500 employees, “with an average age of just over 30, gender equality is no longer a subject”the company continues to “train and raise their awareness, explains the CSR director of France’s leading communications group. Publicis has, for example, set up a “charter for a better representation of diversity and inclusion” and organize a “annual debate”in particular with the association Chiennes de garde.
“We must be a reflection of society.”
Caroline Darmon, CSR Director Publicis Franceat franceinfo
“I don’t have in mind to have seen potiches” in a television ad “over the last two years”abounds Marie-Noëlle Bas, president of this organization specializing in the defending women against sexist insults, including in advertising.
Continue to “train and raise awareness”
“The advertising sector accompanies the feminist revolution and the revolution of society”still believes Marie-Noëlle Bas. “Today, the public is increasingly involved in its consumption, and is reluctant to buy products from brands that depict sexism in their advertisements.” A trend that seems to be confirmed by the 2022 report “Advertising and Image and respect for the person” of theProfessional Advertising Regulatory Authority (ARPP), which identified six breaches out of 14,504 advertisements analyzed, all media combined.
“As an advertiser, you almost have to be one step ahead” on social issues, abounds Magali Faget, founder of the Mlle Pitch agency, in Paris. “The woman remains an object of seduction, but we are trying to change that. In perfume advertisements for example, before, the woman was a bit the object of the man. Today, the advertisement will show a woman who chooses his lovers. Moreover, “a good idea is sometimes illustrated with something else” than a model, underlines the professional who works in particular with the Red Cross and Doctors of the world.
Sectors still lagging behind
Nevertheless, some sectors “especially banking, insurance and automotive, which are extremely masculine”still have efforts to make, warns the president of the association Chiennes de garde Marie-Noëlle Bas. “The work that needs to be done is to show that women are competent absolutely everywhere”while they have become the majority, at 51%, in the advertisements broadcast in 2022, but they only play an “expert” role there at 34%, according to Arcom.
“We must continue to do pedagogy.”
Marie-Noëlle Bas, president of the Chiennes de garde associationat franceinfo
We also need more women “in creation, and at the head of major advertising agencies”adds Magali Faget, of Miss Pitch. “There may be men who can fight”but “the first people concerned, who are ready to fight and try to move the lines, are the women”concludes the advertiser.