NewsLine Column: What Women Want
Recent research from the ASA has revealed that the number of complaints relating to sexist advertising has soared since the hey day of laddism in the early nineties, so why are advertisers getting it so wrong ? Charlotte Scales, from Naked Communications, claims the answer may lie in the gender imbalance in the ad industry itself…
This is the day and age of equality, or at least of perceived equality. We live in a time when according to the media, women’s lives bear an increasing resemblance to their male counterparts. An increase in the number of women in work combined with an increasing trend for people to live alone has meant that more and more women face the same financial and day-to-day pressures as men. Fewer women are having children, or are having them later in life. The lives of an increasing number of women are arguably no longer that different from men’s. The emergence of behaviour trends such as ‘ladette’ culture, where girls down their pints and chain smoke faster than the boys suggests that “women” are slowing morphing into “men”. Men don’t seem too concerned about this. They drool as Lara Croft flexes her biceps and throws a hefty punch or seven in a far from feminine manner (albeit boasting digitally enhanced breasts).
So according to the media, women’s lives have become more “masculine” in a multitude of ways. One consequence of this perceived reality has been for some agencies to suggest that men and women have become less disparate as consumer groups. It is true that men and women have many similar requirements as consumers. Mini-disc players, bank accounts, mobile phones, computers and cars all hold as much potential appeal for women as they do for men. However, despite a number of emerging and predominately urban trends, most women’s lives are still very different from their male counterparts. Those women who do work are often in part-time employment and women still tend to be responsible for shopping and childcare. Research also suggests that “ladettes” and modern career girls are unhappy with their beer swilling and executive lifestyles. They secretly long to be able to choose the role of motherhood and family-maker, and to be accepted by society and by themselves for doing this.
Not only is the reality of men and women’s lives still very different, men and women have different mind-sets and aspirations. Consequently, women respond to different messages and different nuances in communication. Women and men often want different things from and adopt different uses for the same product or brand. They are also likely to perceive that product or brand in different ways. Therefore, despite the number of products and brands today which appear to be ‘gender neutral’, there are very few circumstances where women and men should be targeted en-masse and where “gender neutral advertising” is truly appropriate.
Given this, we have yet to succeed in communicating effectively to women as a distinct consumer group. The solution obviously lies in understanding women, their lives and what they want. But this is harder than it sounds. Firstly, the industry is dominated by men who often fail to see the significance, benefit or financial importance in understanding female consumer groups. Those men, who do attempt to understand women, will naturally lack the empathy, understanding and insight into women’s lives which can only come from other women. Until more women are employed in advertising, agencies and brands will continue to get it wrong. The second, and more complex problem, is that today’s women are often unclear of what they want themselves, other than wanting it all. Faced with modern pressures, and a plethora of choices, we can never do or be enough. I personally want to be a career woman, I want to be intellectually stimulated, I want to be a mother, I want to have time for my family. I want to have my cake and a very large spoon to eat it with. But the reality is that something has to suffer (unless you are Superwoman or Nigella Lawson). So women are left in this predicament; we are unsure of who we are or what we want in the light of essential and impossible choices, making modern women’s lives and desires very difficult to simplify and comprehend.
But one thing which all women want is advertising which speaks to them. Understanding the complexity of women’s lives and understanding their desires in the face of their own confusion, is an immensely difficult task. However, employing more women, and investing more time into attempting to understand women is a simple, obvious and essential step on the path towards developing effective advertising targeted at women.
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