Jordan Davies: How much does diversity mean to your business?
In recent years, the conversation around diversity and inclusion in advertising has become increasingly prominent, but what does diversity really mean to your business? Sydney-based senior copywriter Jordan Davies explores the complexities behind this shift—questioning whether brands have truly embraced diversity as a core value or if it’s simply a performative move to avoid criticism.
Throughout my career, I have been fascinated by the way brands have cast their ads. Because I’ve always had a customer-first approach to my work, and therefore been hyper aware of a brand’s relationship to their audience – the people they target and the ones they don’t.
We all know that in the last few years, there’s been a shift towards greater diversity and inclusiveness in ads. As in television and film, the diversity movement has been about promoting equality and visibility of minorities on screens and in ads. It’s been somewhat contentious at times (Dylan Mulvaney for Bud Light) and sometimes internationally applauded (Dove beauty campaigns). And whether it’s discussed in pre-production meetings or we’ve seen the work in the wild, a lot of big brands have adapted to this change.
But I’m curious about how and why that conversation started in marketing meetings? Like, did businesses complete an overhaul of their internal practices and policies to fully and wholistically embrace what it means to be a diverse and inclusive brand, or did they simply make it a casting policy to avoid criticism? Because there is a difference between incorporating diversity into a brand or product, and straight-up tokenism.
And, side note, I think audiences are becoming better at recognising the discrepancy.
To understand why a business or brand started embracing diversity can be boiled down to that one thing that guides all business decisions: profit. And with that in mind, I wonder: would a brand stop casting diverse talent in their campaigns if it was proven to reduce sales or brand loyalty?
If some over-priced consulting firm used all the science in the world to track how your advertising directly affected your sales, and it was concluded without a doubt that diverse casting in ads had a negative effect in profit, would you continue to do it?
I have, of course, asked myself if intention even matters. Because whether or not a brand truly believes in diversity or is simply following a trend, doesn’t matter if it achieves the same result of greater equality and visibility. Having said that, if you could put a dollar value on it, maybe it does.
So, if someone said without question that a Pride campaign featuring a gaggle of queer people and drag queens is going to have a negative impact on sales, would brands still do it?
If the all-or-nothing paradigm is too much, let me pose the question another way; if you were told that the agnostic “Happy Holidays” negatively affected your sales compared to “Merry Christmas”, which would you choose?
And if it made no difference to profit, would that make it easier to have an opinion?
Whether or not we’re actually seeing the cultural benefit of greater diversity in ads isn’t the point of posing this question. It’s more about understanding what diversity means to your business. And identifying those who truly understand and appreciate the value of diverse thinking, or if it’s just a box that you think you need to tick.
If you like a senior creative with a customer-first focus, I am currently available to work.
Contact: jordan@jordandavies.work