While strides have been made in showcasing diverse portrayals of family units in advertising, there is still a ways to go. Checking in with Jenny Glover, Chief Creative Officer at Zulu Alpha Kilo, we chat about depicting more realistic family dynamics and pushing past the need to show utopian families.
How has the depiction of parenthood in advertising evolved?
In a nutshell, not enough. While there have definitely been changes in the past few years with brands steering clear of those very traditional role depictions of Mom the caretaker and Dad the breadwinner, we’re not adequately reflecting the new dynamics or the changing face of parenting and family.
How are agencies and brands adapting ad comms to inclusivity around parenting?
I think changes have been made into casting differently. There’s certainly more diversity and inclusivity reflected. But again, we’re dipping our toes and it’s time to cannonball into reality. We’re still showing a very narrow view on who parents are today.
In what ways does your role as a parent inform your work?
The lens we bring to the table is always important and as a career mom and adoptive parent, my lens is definitely unique. You can’t help but use that perspective to inform your work in some way.
What are some areas regarding parenthood that you feel could use more visibility in advertising?
We definitely need to stop politely skirting reality. It’s time to more purposefully and intentionally reflect the new social realities and the new faces and roles of ‘mom and dad.’ Things like divorce, adoption or guardianship should be part of our normal. Beyond merely representing something new, I’d love to see a change in the actual stories we tell.
Our tendency to skirt things that are messy, uncomfortable or different (like these new parenting and family realities) means we’re playing it so safe that we’re depicting a largely unrealistic and unrepresentative view. We need to do better.
Legal guardians can play a significant role in the lives of children who are no longer with their birth parents. How can brands balance the importance placed on these other parental figures in their messaging?
As mentioned previously, the face of parenting isn’t obvious or singular. I’d love to see every possibility reflected. Every time we show a parent, a family, a child we define what that is. That means we have the power and potential to really exclude or we can use our positions to create a much broader sense of belonging and understanding.