Ensuring fair, accurate, inclusive and diverse visibility for LGBTQ people in marketing and advertising campaigns.
GLAAD’s Advertising program works with brand and agency leaders to intentionally bring LGBTQ inclusivity and visibility into external campaigns and product development, backed up by internal policies that support LGBTQ employees, vendors, and stakeholders. Along with briefings, workshops, and consultancy with corporate partners, the program also measures the quality and quantity of LGBTQ inclusion in advertising.
The inaugural GLAAD Advertising Visibility Index measures LGBTQ visibility in advertising and consumer perceptions of inclusion in partnership with Kantar, the world’s leading data, insights and consulting company. Released at Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity in 2023, the Index is the first of an annual report on the state of LGBTQ representation in advertising and marketing.
Key Findings in the 2023 Advertising Visibility Index
- LGBTQ People Are Nearly Invisible In Mainstream Advertising:
- Of the 436 ads on national linear television from the top ten largest advertisers, LGBTQ people received 1.42% of screen time and are featured in only 3% of ads.
- LGBTQ-inclusive ads were deemed insufficient in their representation.
- Consumers support pro-LGBTQ brands
- 66% of Americans feel advertisers have a responsibility to give visibility within their content for LGBTQ individuals, couples, and families.
- Gen Z is nearly 1.5x more likely to say advertisers are not appropriately representing LGBTQ people.
- Consumers are not recognizing inclusion in ads
- 64% of consumers believe LGBTQ representation is explicit enough to be noticed by most people, however,
- Less than 40% of consumers noticed LGBTQ representation in advertising in Super Bowl ads that were intended to be LGBTQ-inclusive.
- Consumers place high importance on inclusive ads featuring universal empathy and realism, more than LGBTQ celebrities.
- 54% of consumers say quality representation includes LGBTQ people in realistic stories and 54% say LGBTQ people with instances of empathy and humanity.
- Only 31% of consumers say good representation is rooted in featuring a LGBTQ celebrity.
- Nearly 80% (79%) of non-LGBTQ consumers and 88% of LGBTQ consumers agree brands should strive for multi-dimensional and human representation when including LGBTQ people in advertising or content.
Methodology:
GLAAD’s Advertising Visibility Index utilizes two distinct methodologies in the development of this report. The first was the development of GLAAD’s proprietary Advertising Index Rating to quantify and qualify LGBTQ inclusivity in advertising. The second was a large-scale consumer survey with 1,000 U.S. Adults 18+ in partnership with Kantar. You can find more detailed information on this report’s methodology here.