From the Office of the President & CEO, Sarah Kate Ellis
Our 2024 Visibility Perceptions in Advertising study updates groundbreaking research from 2021, when GLAAD surveyed 200 decision-makers and marketing executives from advertisers and advertising agencies to understand perceptions, commitments, and challenges to featuring LGBTQ people in advertising.
This year, we found major increases in how industry leaders value and recognize the power of LGBTQ inclusion. Compared to 2021, our 2024 Visibility Perceptions in Advertising study revealed an +80% increase in the advertising industry agreeing that the LGBTQ community is very important to their business. Our study surveying industry leaders also yielded a better understanding of the importance of transgender representation in advertising, with the industry saying the importance of featuring transgender people has increased by +71%; the importance of bisexual representation in advertising increased by +69%; and the importance of nonbinary representation in advertising increased by +34%.
While GLAAD’s research on representation in advertising has found LGBTQ people are underrepresented, our 2024 Visibility Perceptions in Advertising study revealed that an overwhelming majority of decision-makers and executives in the advertising industry want to include LGBTQ communities in their adverts and campaigns.
As media distribution and consumer behaviors continue to evolve rapidly, consumers have more options than ever before as to how they spend their time and money, especially Gen Z—a generation that is more than 20% LGBTQ. Brands wishing to attract the attention and loyalty of young, diverse consumers must expand their efforts for inclusive storytelling now and remain steadfast if fringe anti-LGBTQ activists respond. Our research found that companies that have faced backlash are up to 1.6x more likely to increase their commitment to feature LGBTQ people than companies that have not.
Our 2024 Visibility Perceptions in Advertising show that significant work remains to empower brand and agency leaders to not only “get it right ” but also to partner with organizations like GLAAD as business partners to meet shared goals.
Now is the time for action and to put years of data to the test to meet this bifurcated cultural moment. One path leads to turning your back on millions of new consumers entering the marketplace and workforce, while the other welcomes growth and new business opportunities.
The question is not if LGBTQ people should be included, but how. Our teams look forward to partnership that places companies on the path of inclusion and success.
In solidarity,
