Channel 4’s 2023 Diversity in Advertising Award challenges UK advertisers on portrayal of LGBTQIA+ communities

28 July 2023

• 2023 theme responds to a range of new research data found to negatively impact the representation of LGBTQIA+ communities in UK TV advertising
• New Channel 4 research reveals in 2023 brands have stepped back from featuring LGBTQIA+ communities over backlash fears
• Award calls for allyship in the TV advertising industry by encouraging bold and ‘Proud all Over’ entries
• Further research finds LGBTQIA+ characters in UK TV adverts are three times more likely to be from a white ethnic background than Black, and twelve times more likely than from a mixed ethnicity background
• No TV adverts featured Asian or disabled LGBTQIA+ characters
• Almost all LGBTQIA+ TV advert characters are men aged from 16 to 49 years old

Channel 4’s £1m Diversity in Advertising Award 2023 will challenge the advertising industry to address the lack of authentic representation of LGBTQIA+ communities in TV advertising across the UK.

New industry-leading insight commissioned by Channel 4 and 4Sales has shown that brands have actively stepped back from portraying LGBTQIA+ communities, becoming apprehensive about promoting campaigns such as Pride through fear of backlash.

The award challenges brands to authentically reflect the under-represented by being bold and ‘Proud All Over’, a nod to the broadcaster’s ongoing Pride campaign which shines a light on allyship in smaller regional communities and promotes Channel 4’s vast collection of LGBTQIA+ programming, such as It’s A Sin and Queer As Folk.

This year’s initiative builds on the theme of 2019’s Diversity in Advertising Award, LGBT+ representation, in which there has been zero growth in representation since then, with LGBTQIA+ communities continuing to appear in just 3% of UK TV adverts.

Although this figure aligns with the latest UK Census data which indicates that 3.2% of the UK population identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or ‘other sexual orientation’ (c. 1.5 million), 7.5% of the total population did not answer the sexual orientation question at all, rising to 10% among those who were from non-white ethnic backgrounds. Due to this, it is widely believed the census could vastly underestimate and misrepresent this proportion of the population which identifies as LGBTQIA+ due to a fear of disclosing sexuality and a lack of understanding within society.

The LGBTQIA+ definition has evolved since 2019, embracing and recognising a broader range of diversity, sexuality and identity. The 2023 Award brief encourages brands to mirror this by challenging advertisers and creative agencies to pitch an exceptional TV ad that best features and portrays LGBTQIA+ communities at the heart of their campaign, ultimately promoting the brand’s product or services. 

The research also found a lack of authentic portrayal of LGBTQIA+ communities in advertising, with brands too often resorting to stereotypical representations skewing young, white and male, with ethnicity, age and disability considerations rarely covered. The research found:

• LGBTQIA+ characters are three times more likely to be from a white ethnic background (71%) than a Black background (23%), and twelve times more likely than from a Mixed Ethnicity background (6%)
• There was no representation of Asian or disabled LGBTQIA+ characters
• Two thirds (61%) of LGBTQIA+ characters are male (vs 26% female)
• LGBTQIA+ characters are 15 times more likely to be assumed 16-49-years-old (94%) than over 50-years-old

1000 adverts from 2022 were audited during the research carried out by independent research agency, Tapestry, as the fourth project in Channel 4’s ‘Mirror On The Industry’ series.

Verica Djurdjevic, Chief Revenue Officer at Channel 4 said: “This year we are looking for brands to be bold and ‘Proud all Over’ with their entries, reflecting authentic stories and experiences of LGBTQIA+ communities across the UK, and fearlessly going further than the stereotypical representation highlighted in our research. We are looking forward to the responses being as multi-faceted as the brief this year, and encourage brands to explore all aspects of this community and genuinely embrace and reflect the true stories of Britain’s communities”

“Diversity and inclusion in the advertising world still remains disproportionate, and Channel 4 and 4Sales are dedicated to loudly supporting LGBTQIA+ communities and improving representation in the industry. We are incredibly excited to present an enhanced LGBTQIA+ brief this year to reflect the full spectrum of this community and look forward to creative campaigns pushing new boundaries”

The annual Channel 4 Diversity in Advertising Award has so far given away over £8 million worth of commercial airtime, with previous award winners focussing on disability, mental health, ethnicity and the portrayal of women in the media.

The award is open until 7th September 2023 for submissions here: www.diversityinadvertising.co.uk with the winning brand receiving over £1m of video advertising space across Channel 4’s diverse portfolio of linear TV, streaming and Channel 4.0, its digital-first brand on YouTube. Additionally, the winning brand will have the opportunity to work with our market-leading social team, 4Studio, to create and launch a companion piece of social branded content worth a further £100k to the brand.

A judging panel, made up of advertising experts from across the industry, will determine the winner following finalist pitches in October.

The winning Diversity in Advertising Award advert and accompanying 4Studio campaign must follow AdGreen guidelines provided by the Advertising Association which helps eliminate the negative environmental impacts of production.

Last year’s competition focused on improving disability representation within TV advertising, with the winning campaign ‘Me & My Autism’ from Vanish and Havas going on to win a number of awards. Previous awards have also focussed on disability (Maltesers), mental health (Lloyds Bank), the portrayal of women in the media (RAF) the lack of representation and stereotyping of the LGBT+ community (Starbucks), Black, Asian & Minority Ethnic Culture (EA Sports) and age representation (TENA).                                                           

 

Ends.

• Details about the award and how to enter are available here:  www.diversityinadvertising.co.uk
• Entries are welcomed from any part of the advertising industry and for ideas covering all brands that are suitable and legal to advertise across Channel 4 platforms.
• Entries can be submitted by creative agencies, media agencies or by brands direct- but all entries must come with direct endorsement of the concept from a senior figure at the brand featured.

More information about the Award, including case studies from past winners, can be found at Diversity in Advertising Award.