Bowing to the Inevitable, Advertisers Embrace Advocate Role
- 7 years ago
Bowing to the Inevitable, Advertisers Embrace Advocate Role
That was “to my surprise,” he said, “with believe me, no effort on our part whatsoever.”
Mr. Hudson said he was proud that most of his senior team is made up of either women or ethnic minorities but he has wondered, “Do I do
that quietly or do I become more public about it?” He added, “The for-profit private sector is going to be playing a stronger role in the next number of years at trying to reset the bar, for fear that the bar shifts in such a way that it’s not healthy for society.”
A separate panel focused on the representation of women in commercials and highlighted recent research from the advertising company J. Walter Thompson New York and the Geena Davis Institute
that showed men get far more screen time in ads compared with women, who are less likely to be depicted as funny or even employed.
To be sure, advertising is not traditionally seen as a moral arbiter — just last month, California attorney general’s office said it had reached a settlement with Gatorade over allegations
that the brand made a mobile app for teens and young adults that cast water in a negative light — but American companies are in a new postelection era, when advocating for diversity can be seen as a political statement.
While appearing on a panel of chief executives discussing diversity and inclusion, J. Clifford Hudson, the chief executive of Sonic Drive-In, which franchises its restaurants and is based in Oklahoma City, said he has been stymied on how public to be about efforts made within his company after a report last year showed
that more Sonic customers associated with President Trump than any other presidential candidate.
“We know advertising creates stereotypes which shape culture
and it’s our responsibility to change culture so more women will have education and economic empowerment and less abuse.”
That prompted Jeffrey Rothman, vice president of marketing strategy and innovation at Dannon, to bring up the yogurt brand’s sponsorship of the N.
“You just have what I would actually liken to a gold rush in the content space,” Rob Master, vice president of global media, categories
and partnerships at Unilever, which owns brands like Dove soap and Lipton tea, said during a presentation.
That was “to my surprise,” he said, “with believe me, no effort on our part whatsoever.”
Mr. Hudson said he was proud that most of his senior team is made up of either women or ethnic minorities but he has wondered, “Do I do
that quietly or do I become more public about it?” He added, “The for-profit private sector is going to be playing a stronger role in the next number of years at trying to reset the bar, for fear that the bar shifts in such a way that it’s not healthy for society.”
A separate panel focused on the representation of women in commercials and highlighted recent research from the advertising company J. Walter Thompson New York and the Geena Davis Institute
that showed men get far more screen time in ads compared with women, who are less likely to be depicted as funny or even employed.
To be sure, advertising is not traditionally seen as a moral arbiter — just last month, California attorney general’s office said it had reached a settlement with Gatorade over allegations
that the brand made a mobile app for teens and young adults that cast water in a negative light — but American companies are in a new postelection era, when advocating for diversity can be seen as a political statement.
While appearing on a panel of chief executives discussing diversity and inclusion, J. Clifford Hudson, the chief executive of Sonic Drive-In, which franchises its restaurants and is based in Oklahoma City, said he has been stymied on how public to be about efforts made within his company after a report last year showed
that more Sonic customers associated with President Trump than any other presidential candidate.
“We know advertising creates stereotypes which shape culture
and it’s our responsibility to change culture so more women will have education and economic empowerment and less abuse.”
That prompted Jeffrey Rothman, vice president of marketing strategy and innovation at Dannon, to bring up the yogurt brand’s sponsorship of the N.
“You just have what I would actually liken to a gold rush in the content space,” Rob Master, vice president of global media, categories
and partnerships at Unilever, which owns brands like Dove soap and Lipton tea, said during a presentation.