NBC Using Olympic Platform to Promote #SeeHer Movement to End ‘Gender Bias’ in Advertising and Media

AP Flags Olympics

Comcast NBC Universal and the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) said they are taking advantage of the millions of people tuning into the 2018 winter Olympics to promote the #SeeHer campaign.

An initiative which is “dedicated to powerful global, national and regional brands working together to eliminate gender bias in advertising and media.”

The announcement said the #SeeHer was started in June 2016.

“The #SeeHer mission is to achieve a 20% rise in accurate portrayals of women and girls in advertising and media by 2020—the 100th anniversary of women gaining the right to vote,” the announcement said.

Since its launch, #SeeHer has become the industry voice in providing advertisers, agencies and media executives with state-of-the-art insight and activation strategies and tools to identify and eliminate unconscious bias in ads, entertainment content and media planning. To date, the movement includes more than 60 of the largest and most well-known marketers in the world, representing more than 1,000 brands and $50B in U.S. ad spend.”

The #SeeHer website features videos about gender equality and statistics about parental concern for their female children.

“90% of parents are concerned with TV programming. #1 concern is ‘no role models for girls,’” the website states.

One of the ads on the website for “Always” feminine products has a video that makes the case that describing doing someone “like a girl” is a humiliating term.

It also has the 2014 Coca-Cola Super Bowl ad celebrating multiculturalism.

The #SeeHer partnership was announced on Tuesday by both organizations.

“The partnership begins with a #SeeHer Presents ‘takeover’ celebrating America’s female athletes on NBC Sports’ morning and primetime coverage and other NBCUniversal properties and platforms in the coming days and weeks,” the press release announcing the partnership said. “Supporters of the initiative include #SeeHer members AT&T, Procter & Gamble, USAA, and Verizon.

“While the entire country’s eyes are on the Olympics, we at NBCUniversal thought it was the perfect opportunity to share this stage and attention with the #SeeHer movement,” Linda Yaccarino, chairman for advertising and client partnerships at NBCUniversal, said. “Alongside our friends at the ANA, we’ve put together a comprehensive program that will begin during our Olympic coverage and run throughout our entire portfolio on every screen.

“We are united with many other companies behind a common brief – to use our voices in advertising to promote gender equality through the #SeeHer movement,” Marc Pritchard, ANA chairman and chief brand officer at Procter & Gamble, said.

“P&G brands are stepping up to address unconscious bias in advertising, and we’re proud to join the ANA and NBCUniversal to reinforce that commitment on the Winter Olympics stage,” Pritchard said.

“AT&T is proud to support the #SeeHer movement,” AT&T Chief brand officer Fiona Carter said. “As viewers around the world watch extraordinary female athletes compete on sport’s biggest stage, we commit to deliver the same message of equality and empowerment in our advertising.

“Our movement has expanded beyond our shores and has gone global,” #SeeHer Chairwoman Stephen Quinn said in the announcement. “We are pushing the boundaries on changing stereotypes in advertising and programming all over the world now.

“Teaming up with NBCUniversal on its Winter Olympics coverage is a natural progression in our efforts to inspire women and their daughters—and fathers and brothers,” Quinn said.

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