Diversity Representation During the Big Game Ads

Advertising has long been the subject of criticism when it comes to diverse representation. As minority groups continue to grow in the United States, these segments are still not proportionally represented or authentically depicted in current advertising. Consumers are demanding inclusion, with 61% of respondents in a recent survey from Adobe saying that diversity in advertising is important. [1] With the advertising industry’s biggest evening last night at the Super Bowl, many big brands did not live up to expectations.

In a single 30 second TV spot during the Super Bowl, companies have the chance to reach almost 100 million consumers. These consumers not only want to see themselves in these ads, 34% of them say they have completely stopped supporting a brand that didn’t represent their identity in its advertising. [2]

While marketers have claimed that diversity and inclusion are top of mind in all of their business efforts, especially following the momentum of social and racial justice movements this past year, do their highest dollar ads truly reflect those initiatives?

Many brands played it safe by filling montages and the background of scenes with diverse actors, rather than granting them speaking or leading roles. In one spot from Squarespace, a Black woman is given the ‘lead’ non-speaking role, but she appears to be light-skinned, racially ambiguous and pictured with perfect bouncy curls, which falls into the casting trope of Black women, as other diverse dancers appear in the background. Other diverse representations of Black people were present in Rockstar Energy’s ad, for example a dark-skinned woman with 4c hair as well as a man with albinism, but they were limited to background characters. While these little steps show the effort that brands are making to be more inclusive in their ads, many are still missing the mark.

Other diverse groups received little to no recognition in the big game spotlight. Notably, the only disabled person to appear in any Super Bowl commercial was Paralympian swimmer and double-leg amputee, Jessica Long. Toyota originally created the spot for the Summer Olympics but has featured Paralympians in their Super Bowl spots twice prior to this year’s compelling story of hope and determination. The LGBTQ+ audience was mostly represented through celebrities such as Lil Nas X, Dan Levy, and RuPaul in full drag during the Paramount+ streaming ads. The only other ad with LGBTQ+ representation was in Nintendo Switch’s ad featuring Serena Williams and her white gay male trainer. His voice inflection paired the dancing continues to perpetuate stereotypical tropes. Unfortunately, there was no portrayal of the LGBTQ+ audience in any day-to-day activity.

Out of 68 total ads, 68 featured male characters. Ten of these spots featured an all male cast and four from Jimmy Johns, Dr Squatch, Mt. Dew and Doritos featured no diverse representation at all. Several others have already been criticized of their very White casting. When asked about the lack of inclusion in this year’s ad in a recent AdAge article, a representative from Tide said that “At Tide we’ve made an open and intentional commitment to highlight a wide diversity of American families in our advertising. We agree advertising affects our perceptions. We have a responsibility to ensure those perceptions are accurate and respectful. This year’s Super Bowl spot takes you through a day in the life of one teenager’s sweatshirt. In this spot, the hoodie is the star.” [4] It’s important to note that the face of a white male is spread across the front of the hoodie.

Some brands were more guarded when it came to representation in their Super Bowl Spots. In the same AdAge article, Vroom CMO Peter Scherr said they were “particularly watchful this year to make sure we are not coming off as insensitive,” and didn’t think of their Super Bowl ad featuring two white male leads “as a place to make a social statement.” Pringles stated that their ad, where the only three speaking roles were handled by white males, “reflects our fan base, which includes people from all walks of life. With a moment like Big Game that reaches a mass audience, the idea needs to appeal to a broad, diverse audience.” Too bad the diversity was portrayed in the ensemble.

Beyond the political sphere, women involvement in male dominated sports is increasing. Sarah Fuller became the first woman to score a point in a Power 5 college football game as a kicker for Vanderbilt. Nicole Lynn, was named to Sports Illustrated’s ‘The Unrelenting’ list which honors the most powerful, most influential women in sports after she became the first Black woman to represent a top-3 NFL draft pick in 2019. Maybe the most relevant of all was the fact that during Super Bowl LV, women played essential roles. Sarah Thomas became the first female referee to officiate a Super Bowl, while the Buccaneers had two female assistant coaches on the sidelines — Maral “MJ” Javadifar and Lori “Lo” Locust.

Given the historical significance of these moments, one would think a brand or brands would have seen this as an opportunity to uplift women. Even if a woman was leading the spot, i.e. Serena Williams in the Nintendo Switch ad, a male character was brought into the narrative.

As always, the Super Bowl ads were filled with celebrity cameos of a variety of ethnicities and races. In these instances celebrities often play a role that is not too far off from their celebrity persona. For example, in T-Mobile’s ad featuring Gwen Stefani, Adam Levine and Blake Shelton, Blake plays the role of a very ‘country’ man. Beyond these cameos, white people were given speaking roles to portray more everyday characters, while Black people were not given the same opportunity. Out of all ads, non-celebrity Black speaking roles were present in six: Bud Light, Hellmans, Bud Light Seltzer Lemonade, WeatherTech (American Dream), Microban and Amazon Alexa. Out of these, only three had no celebrity features.

The greatest take away from all of this is that numbers don’t always tell the whole truth. Yes, on paper the ads included very diverse representation and more Black characters appeared on screen than ever before, but overall they may have missed the mark. Going forward, brands should stop seeing diverse characters as simply checking a box. Instead, they should look to use diverse casting as a way to establish a connection with their intended audiences. They can start by listening to the representation pain points of their audiences. Not every ad needs to have a message behind it where a brand shares its take on diversity. In reality, people just want to see themselves represented in all types of roles, not just the roles they always play. During the one time of the year, where all eyes are on ads, brands must do better at increasing positive representation.