This article is by Sean Muller, CEO, iSpot.tv, a company that tracks real-time paid TV media and related earned digital activity across social, search and video.
Advertising has long been seen as a culprit for promoting negative stereotypes of women and fostering unrealistic body images. But the so-called “Fem-vertising” movement is aiming to change that by emphasizing pro-woman images and themes in new ad creative.
Whether the Fem-vertising movement is a reaction to changing social attitudes or playing a part in shaping them is a debate for another day. But an analysis of the more recent efforts shows this message is working, with skyrocketing ad effectiveness ratings.
For example:
The spot, which focused on women with diverse body types in the company’s lingerie as a poke in the eye at Victoria’s Secret’s Angels campaign, earned an impressive 9.9 Ad Effectiveness Rating in an industry where the average rating is 4.1.
National Airings: 600
Online views: 1.8mm
Social actions: 28k
Always “#LikeaGirl”
The #LikeaGirl campaign began with a YouTube video posted in June of last year and racked up 80 million views across both YouTube and other channels, inspiring P&G to air a shortened version for the Super Bowl. That ad aired just twice, but scored an Ad Effectiveness Rating of 8.8, well above the industry average of 4.5.
National airings: 2
Online views: 5.3mm
Social Actions: 964k
Pantene “Not Sorry”
Running with the “lean-in” ball championed by Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg, the “Not Sorry” campaign encouraged women to speak up and be strong, and with only 35 national airings (seven of which were prime time) earned an Ad Effectiveness Rating of 9.5 amid an industry average of 5.1.
National airings: 35
Online Views: 15.8mm
Social Actions: 91k
It’s not just women-focused products getting the Fem-vertising treatment. Brands like Nike and
Nike “Inner Thoughts”
Focusing on drive, power, and determination, Nike takes it’s “Just Do It” message to women using their words and thoughts. The resulting Ad Effectiveness Rating was 9.9 compared to the 7.2 industry average.
National Airings: 45
Online Views: 1.6mm
Social Actions: 25k
Under Armour “Misty Copeland: I Will What I Want”
Solo ballerina Misty Copeland reads aloud as a voiceover her ballet school rejection letter that focused on her so-called physical shortcomings while visually performing amazing feats of strength and flexibility. The spot scored an Ad Effectiveness Rating of 9.8 while the industry average is 7.2.
National Airings: 540
Online Views: 11.7mm
Social Actions: 255k
So what’s driving this pro-woman message movement? Certainly the results are a factor. According to SheKnows, 52% of women have bought a product because they agreed with how the ad for it portrayed women. And with women controlling 85% of household purchasing decisions, that’s a strong endorsement of the strategy.
Dove deserves a lot of credit for championing this trend with its Real Beauty campaign, which started back in 2004 and has been credited in part for the company’s revenue increase from $2 billion the time to $4.5 billion today.
But the real driver here is the way social media allows consumers to hold brands accountable, and the way brands are responding. In the past, when a tasteless ad offended women (or men) for its objectifying imagery and other sins, the viewer was left to either stew silently or yell at the earless TV screen. But in an age of social media, brands are called out in social media channels for their missteps.
It hasn’t taken them long to also figure out that if a sexist ad can generate negative viral responses, a positive ad can harness social reactions to convert new brand loyalists. That’s why measuring the social response to ads instead of just the raw viewing ratings is so important.
Scan those ads above again and note the difference between how many times an ad aired on TV, versus the online views and social actions that airing generated. These figures show not just that people are watching these ads. They show that people are paying attention. They show that the ad is resonating.
To achieve this kind of impact, ads need to strike a chord in not just popular culture, but in your target audience in particular. Just getting viewer’s attention is not enough. Getting their endorsement is the end goal.
