Advertising is failing to connect with young men, with just one in four (26%) saying they regularly see advertising that reflects “the man they want to become”.
The findings are part of Channel 4’s ‘Mirror on the Industry’ series, which explores diverse representation within the advertising industry.
The latest installment, produced in partnership with National Research Group (NRG), focuses on masculinity and reveals a disconnect between how men aged 18 to 34 see themselves and how they’re portrayed on TV ads.
Advertising is failing to connect with young men, with just one in four (26%) saying they regularly see advertising that reflects “the man they want to become”.
The findings are part of Channel 4’s ‘Mirror on the Industry’ series, which explores diverse representation within the advertising industry.
The latest installment, produced in partnership with National Research Group (NRG), focuses on masculinity and reveals a disconnect between how men aged 18 to 34 see themselves and how they’re portrayed on TV ads.
One in three young men say they rarely or never see men they “would like to be” in advertising. Meanwhile, over a third of men aged 18 to 34 say advertisers must do more to include men who better reflect them in advertising, rising to 50% among those aged 25 to 34.
For example, while men are visible in TV advertising, the portrayal skews significantly older. Just 17% of male characters are assumed to be aged 19 to 29, compared to 28% of female characters.
“This isn’t about shifting the focus necessarily, or sidelining older men. If anything, it’s just about balance,” noted Channel 4 research manager, Katya Des-Etages.
“If we’re mainly showing older male characters on screen, younger people are missing the opportunity to see themselves. So there’s an opportunity here to show young men as they are now, as well as who they can be in the future.”
The research also highlights that the dominant portrayals of men in advertising are ‘strong’, ‘successful’, ‘intelligent’ or ‘overly masculine’. Young men say this “narrow, glossy” version of masculinity doesn’t reflect reality.
“Young men want, and expect, aspirational advertising, but they want it to be anchored in some sense of realism,” one respondent noted.
Simon Gunning, CEO of CALM (Campaign Against Living Miserably), and a former marketer at Virgin and EMI, noted the statistics are not “pleasant to consider”. He highlighted that men under 40 are three times more likely to try to take their lives than they were 10 years ago.
“We’ve been talking largely about the most addressable male audience at risk for advertisers. In the past, it has been older men who really dominated those horrible statistics,” he said. “That is changing really fast. Today, 16- to 24-year-olds are now the fastest growing group in history.”
He noted that, as brands can “influence culture”, there is a “responsibility and opportunity” to change that.
Channel 4 also points to the business case. Its Male Gender Unstereotype Metric – using Kantar’s Link+ global ad-testing database – predicts that positive portrayals of men in advertising improve brand equity by 37 percentage points and short-term sales by 27 percentage points.
This ties with research from Ipsos and Effie, which found campaigns that feature a progressive masculine portrayal are 38% more likely to have a positive impact on brand equity.
“Ultimately, it’s not just about showing them on screen. If you get it right, there are some benefits for brands as well,” explained Des-Etages.
In response, Mirror on Masculinities makes recommendations for brands and marketers, including advising them to build on what matters to young men, such as emotional depth, vulnerability and growth. It also suggests reflecting masculinities shaped by race, class, gender identity, sexuality and disability, and celebrating male friendships.
