Extreme Reach Study Finds Global Video Ad Creative Is Dominated by Male Actors and Voices

‘Gender and Age Diversity in Global Ad Creative’ Offers First-of-its-Kind Look at Diversity Around the World

New York - May 4, 2023 - TV and video ads in every region around the world skew male in both visual cast member composition and the voices heard in ads, and are also more likely to showcase cast members under the age of 40, according to a new diversity study unveiled today by Extreme Reach (ER), the global leader in creative logistics.

The Gender and Age Diversity in Global Ad Creative study leverages proven artificial intelligence and machine learning models to analyze how gender and age are represented within publicly available video creative. The report offers analysis across nine global regions, as defined by the United Nations, while also providing detailed breakdowns of diversity in ad creative for 16 individual countries.

This new study is an expansion of the gender and age portion of our North American analysis that was released in December 2022.

“Our first report set out to give brands and agencies in North America the baseline information needed to make diversity decisions that matter to their business and customers,” said Melinda McLaughlin, CMO of Extreme Reach. “The response to our first report revealed a thirst for this information and we’re pleased to now expand our analysis of publicly available ad creative to a global level, starting first with a focus on gender and age. Of course, progress happens over time, so we look forward to tracking these benchmarks at regular intervals. Each unique business has its own diversity goals and efforts, and we’re proud of the proprietary work we do with our clients in this area.”

ER’s global study of ad creative shows that males represent a greater proportion of cast member visual composition in every region around the world. The male skew is more pronounced when it comes to voices heard in ads, and in some regions, this skew is significant, accounting for more than 70% of voices heard in brand stories. East & South East Asia is the only region whose composition of male and female cast members and voices closely mirrors its population.

Meanwhile, the complexion of advertising around the world is much younger than the actual population. The composition of 20-39 year-olds seen in ads ranges from 76% to 83% across the eight regions, despite that age group representing only 25% to 33% of the population.

“Sight, sound, and motion remains the most powerful way to share an idea, promote a product, and offer a representation of the world around us,” said Tim Conley, CEO of Extreme Reach. “ER’s platform stewards and moves ad creative around the world, giving advertisers global scale as well as the insights they need to make the best decisions for their business. We’re excited about the opportunities that AI and machine learning present, as evidenced by this important work. The ability to measure and gain full visibility into creative assets is one of the most important advantages for brand marketers today, and we’re just beginning to see how ER’s artificial intelligence and machine learning enhance that insight.”

The Gender and Age Diversity in Global Ad Creative study looks at nine regions: North America, United Kingdom, Europe, Latin America (LATAM), Central and South America, East & Southeast Asia, North Africa & West Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Australia and New Zealand (ANZ). Additionally, the report offers individual analysis of 16 European countries: the Czech Republic, Hungary, Greece, Poland, Finland, Denmark, Germany, Austria, Norway, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Sweden, France, Belgium, and the Netherlands.

Additional findings include:

• Advertising in Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest male skew, with 73% male cast members seen and heard, though men comprise 50% of the region’s population.
• The regions with the highest percentage of cast members under 40 are LATAM (95%), East & South East Asia (94%), and North Africa & West Asia (92%).
• No global regions skew toward a significant representation of older cast members, but ANZ (15%), North America (14%), UK (13%), and Europe (12%), exhibited the highest composition of cast members age 40 and above.

Overview of ER’s Proprietary Methodology
ER employed a robust, multi-point process to analyze every occurrence of every face seen throughout each video ad in addition to isolating the audio speech track to identify each unique voice. ER’s research leverages 8 well-known existing solutions for different aspects of the analysis and then creates advanced models and continuously-fed machine learning that generates data more specific to advertising content. Additional methodology detail is provided in the report.

Download the full report here.

About Extreme Reach
Extreme Reach (ER) is the global leader in creative logistics. Its end-to-end technology platform moves creative at the speed of media, simplifying the activation and optimization of omnichannel campaigns for brands and agencies with unparalleled control, visibility and insights.

One global creative-to-media supply chain answers the challenges of a complex marketing landscape and an equally complicated infrastructure under the global advertising ecosystem. The company’s groundbreaking solution integrates all forms of linear TV and non-linear video workflow seamlessly with talent payments and rights management. Now, brands and agencies can optimize campaigns as fast as consumer consumption shifts across linear TV, CTV, OTT, addressable TV, mobile, desktop, and video-on-demand.

Extreme Reach connects brand content with consumers across media types and markets, fully illuminating the marketing supply chain for a clear view of creative usage, waste, performance and ROI.

With the acquisition of Adstream, Extreme Reach operates in 140 countries and 45 languages, serving 93 of the top 100 global advertisers, and enabling $150 billion in video ad spend around the world. More than half a billion creative brand assets are managed in ER’s enterprise platform.