KEY TAKEAWAY: 61% of women felt the way women are portrayed in advertising is completely out of touch with who they really are today, while 78% wished that more companies and brands would stand up for women. American women are more comfortable with traditionally masculine characteristics than they used to be, according to the research. Sixty-seven percent of American women ages 16 and older say they are in touch with their masculine side, up from 55% in 2014. (Source: Kantar)
American women also have a much more confident and assertive attitude than years past, which was reflected in the play and panache of the winning U.S. World Cup team. Seventy-seven percent of women ages 16-21 feel they have what it takes to get what they want in this world, compared to 56% in 2013.
Modern women aren’t looking for lip service about empowerment, they’re wanting real change that delivers them true equality, respect, freedom from harassment, and the power that men assume and they feel they deserve. And many women are simply tired of seeing the same tired tropes and empty clichés that don’t represent them and their needs in the #MeToo era.
Why is this happening? As of 2017, only 11% of creative directors at advertising agencies were women. 74% of centennial women believe advertising directed at them is “completely out of touch” with them and their needs.
Women are now the key decision-makers. Faith Popcorn, one of America’s consumer trend experts, says: “Companies think they’re marketing to women – who buy 80% of the products and control 80% of the money – but they’re not. They’re not talking to women. They don’t know how to talk to women. Just like they have no clue what to give their wives for their birthdays. They really don’t realize that women have a separate language and a separate way of being.”
