How negative representation in ads affects the way women are perceived
We need to start spotting tokenism and reject body shaming in adverts says Joint London co-founder
Lori Meakin, ‘No More Menemies’ author and co-founder of creative agency Joint London speaks on the impact of how the advertising industry currently represents women and girls. “They’re not asking us to give them confidence and to empower them, they’re asking us to stop trying to destroy it,” she says.
This is an excerpt from the talk: Represent Me — what does it take to engage the audience of the future? from D&AD Festival 2023. Here, Meakin reports the insights that she and co-speaker, WACL President, Rania Robinson, gained from pupils at Kensington Aldridge Academy in West London on calling out negative impressions and limiting beliefs generated by today’s ad landscape. It explores how ads portray, or fail to portray, underrepresented groups, the effect it has on the real world, and what this teaches boys and men.
