Mars’s strategy to achieve gender equality in advertising

Stephen Whiteside

Mars, the food manufacturer, is taking various steps as it seeks to achieve true gender equality in its advertising.

Mars Inc. has some work to do in achieving true gender equality in its advertising.

The McLean, Virginia-based company – which owns candy brands like Twix and Milky Way, grocery lines including Dolmio and Uncle Ben’s, and pet-food offerings such as Pedigree and Whiskas – assessed 200 of its TV spots, as well as 300 different characters, and discovered:

  • the ratio of men to women in its ads stood at 3:2;
  • male characters were nearly twice as likely to be shown working than their female counterparts;
  • 22% of men were portraying leaders, falling to 17% for women;
  • 26% of males...

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