Perform Less, Empathize More
The road to advertising to women is often paved with good intentions. But good intentions are not enough to reach women. Performative feminism is advertising’s lip service, and women deserve better. Sure, the 50s housewife no longer features in ads, but sexism is still there; it’s just covert.
And though the strong, empowered boss archetype features prominently in many ads today, is she just a surrogate for the 50s housewife?
Ads have swapped out pink color palettes for floral motifs. While men’s advertising still presents a rugged individualism in earth tones. Most ads feature women who are white, slim, and conventionally beautiful, with shiny hair and clear skin. And though the strong, empowered boss archetype features prominently in many ads today, is she just a surrogate for the 50s housewife? Another box advertising has trapped women in? Instead of telling women they need to fix their appearance, ads tell women they need to fix their behavior. Unfortunately, perfectionism is still alive and well.
Then we have femvertising, which sells female empowerment, but often flies too close to the sun. Brands that have capitalized on women’s insecurities have transitioned to this model because it can be more profitable. But the downside is it can slip into performative advertising when it’s not done with acknowledgment of the brand’s past actions and influence, ongoing intentional efforts to change the status quo, and with input and feedback from women along the way. And as our research shows, when an ad only touches the surface of women’s lived experiences, women know.
Women can tell when you’re pandering.
Brands have the power to change the culture. Think of Goop, the wellness conglomerate started by Gwyneth Paltrow as a newsletter in 2008. Since its inception, the brand has expanded to eCommerce, a podcast, a Netflix docuseries, and even a wellness summit. That evolution has come with controversies, mostly related to unsubstantiated health claims, causing the brand to rack up hundreds of thousands in legal settlements over the years. Goop has profited from women’s insecurities, selling bold promises dusted in shatavari powder, but it’s paying for its missteps on the pathway to faux empowerment.
Chicken vs. the egg — it doesn’t matter. The wellness industry sells and is estimated to top $7 trillion in valuation by 2025. But is wellness another word for weight loss, perfectionism, impossible beauty standards, and unrealistic body ideals? Is it a form of covert sexism, sending women a message that they are not okay as they are and that jade vaginal eggs have simply replaced radioactive face cream.
Brands have a choice; change the culture for the better, or hold women back. And women are tired of being held back; they can tell when you’re inauthentic and patronizing. And they don’t like it.
Just under half (48%) of respondents to our research believe that marketing catered to women is authentic about half the time and performative the other half. For context, only 6% say it’s usually authentic. Let that digest for a moment. Regardless of industry, product, or brand — only 6% of women say marketing catered to women is usually authentic.
And Boundary Pushers and Female Favorers are significantly more likely than Brand Approvers to say marketing targeted at women is usually performative. So if you have these two segments in your customer base, a performative, stereotype-perpetuating, sexist, unrealistic standard-upholding ad will be painfully obvious. And it will make your ads less impactful.
Avoid slipping into performative action.
Fortunately, there’s a lot brands can do to bypass performative action and lead with empathy in their advertising.
Ask women behind the scenes to offer their input into your campaigns. You need their perspectives to assess how women will receive it. Consider focus groups, product testing, surveys, etc., to gather information you can use to tweak your messaging and position your brand. Unless you’ve listened to multiple women’s voices, you should not release your ads to the general public.
Better yet, have women involved in the ideation of campaigns. That includes in front and behind the camera, strategy, writing, art direction, casting, everywhere.
Educate yourself about women’s lived experiences by reading their stories, learning about their concerns, and understanding your unconscious biases. Approach it from an inclusive angle and understand each woman represents multiple identities. Don’t assume anything — ask, inquire, and learn. Surface-level and trite ads are going to resonate poorly.
Do the research. Identifying as a woman can come with blindspots, biases, and a lack of firsthand insight into other women’s experiences. Women are not a monolith, so it’s vital to explore other women’s perspectives, preferences, and pain points with research like attitudinal segmentation (our research methodology), focus groups, interviews, etc. You don’t know unless you ask.
Be careful of performative action inertia. Just because everybody’s doing it doesn’t mean you should too, or you should do it the same way they are. Be authentic to your brand and empathetic to your customers. Showing up for women should be every day, not reserved for Women’s History Month.
Check out our executive summary to learn more about how women of all ages, household incomes, marital statuses, and more feel about advertising. And if you’re working on an ad that needs women at the creative helm, connect with our team. We’re ready to help!
