When they only had 30 seconds to get across a message, it was no wonder the Mad Men of yore relied on stereotypical characterisation.

When they only had 30 seconds to get across a message, it was no wonder the Mad Men of yore relied on somewhat stereotypical characterisation.

The ads of the past are peppered with kitchen-bound matriarchs, dependable dads, and smiley, obedient kids (all 2.2 of them).

In today’s more sophisticated media marketplace, such blunt characterisation doesn’t ring true with savvy consumers. They’re laughable actually, which is why brave advertisers have tried to present more realistic portrayals of our complexity as humans.

Challenging norms

A great example was P&G’s feminine hygiene brand Always which shook up the sector last year with its #likeagirl campaign.

Based around the insight that girls’ confidence plummets during puberty, the inspiring film showed how the phrase “like a girl”, which is often used to indicate something silly, negative or insulting, could be turned on its head to make a positive statement about what young women can be and do.

The latest iteration continues in similar vein with young women talking about the things that limit them in life, giving them a name drawn on cardboard boxes, and then exorcising them by kicking the crap out of them.

Always has also partnered with TED to produce content that aims to inspire confidence and provide practical advice on handling puberty.

It’s great stuff and shows how stuffy and unchallenging much retail marketing is by comparison. The big four typically think of women as stereotypical mums and not women for whom being a mum is just part of a wider, more complex role.

Genuine insight

It is particularly odd that supermarkets are so wedded to their stereotypes considering how their CRM programmes claim to treat us all as individuals.

Meanwhile fashion retail relies on celebrity endorsement. The only retailer I’ve come across that has used real women is LK Bennett, and even then, these women were made over to the extent that you wouldn’t know they weren’t models.

Boots’ Christmas 2014 campaign featuring the saintly nurse/mum who worked on Christmas Day was a brave attempt to try something different during the party season, but was it a one off?

For a retail campaign to break through the stereotypes it has to be based on a genuine insight. For Boots it was the fact that not everyone can enjoy Christmas – some people have to work, have other responsibilities, or they are alone.

As retailers start to thinking about their own Christmas 2015 campaigns, maybe there is an opportunity for them to think of this very issue. Who’s going to be brave enough to drop the fairies and tinsel, and try and say something real?

  • Matt Pye, chief operating officer at Cheil UK