Despite recent strides in balancing representation in advertising, other aspects of the marketing mix have a ways to go to achieve equity. A new study by the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media and Jel Sert on representation in brand mascots reveals just how widespread the issue is.
“Mascot images convey notions of who matters more in society,” the report reads. “Like representation in film, television, and other forms of mass communication, gender and race representations in the familiar images seen in brand advertising send subtle messages about which identities have the authority to confirm value on a product.”
On the gender front, brand mascots are twice as likely to be male than female, with fully 25 percent of female mascots presented as gender stereotypes—such as cooking in kitchens—compared to just 16 percent for men. Additionally, male mascots were 57 percent more likely to be depicted as carrying authority than female mascots.
“A sizable portion of mascots promote body standards for women and men that are difficult to achieve,” the report reads.
In terms of appearance and sexualization, the differences in treatment of male and female mascots diverge significantly. Female mascots were eight times more likely to be portrayed in sexually revealing clothing than men, and were 25 times more like to be portrayed as partially nude. One in ten men were displayed as having “unusually large muscles,” while one in five women were displayed as either “skinny” or “very skinny.”
“The widespread sexual objectification of girls and women in US media has been linked to higher rates of body shame and hatred, eating disorders, lower self-esteem, depression, lower cognitive functioning, impaired motor skill development, compromised sexual functioning, lower grade-point averages, lower political efficacy, and lower engagement in social and political activism,” the report reminds. “In short, product mascots commonly reflect and reinforce gender stereotypes.”
On racial lines, the divide is even more precipitous.
“People of color constitute 38 percent of the U.S. population, but only 15.2 percent of mascots,” the report reads. “This underrepresentation of people of color as mascots looks similar to numbers in other forms of media.”
For those people of color actually represented, a significant majority were depicted as racial or ethnic stereotypes. Two-thirds of mascots of color were portrayed with oversimplified cultural markers, reinforcing simplistic and harmful societal expectations. By comparison, only 3 percent of white mascots could be characterized as an ethnic stereotype.
Mascots of color were vastly over-represented in depictions of service, appearing more than twice as often preparing food as white mascots, and none whatsoever were shown eating or drinking.
“These representations reinforce notions of people of color as working to serve others, and white people as consumers,” the report adds. “The findings are stark.”
To solve these problems, the Geena Davis Institute put the impetus on marketers—it recommends seriously considering if one’s mascot upholds or challenges stereotypes. Though mascots on their own only possess a minuscule influence, the effect of “harmless” stereotypes adds up.
“Corporations can be a powerful force for interrupting and challenging gender and racial stereotypes by creating mascots that include these groups more often, and by portraying them in more positive, complex, and ultimately humanizing ways,” the report concludes.
