Understanding Advertising: Portrayal & Imagery

Portrayal & imagery in ads

This is the second report in a series looking at the results of our research into the ad related issues people are concerned about.

The survey was conducted in response to the ASA’s 2024-2028 strategy, AI-assisted collective ad regulation, which sets out how we will prioritise protecting vulnerable people, using research tools to understand the issues that are the most important for us to tackle. We commissioned independent research agency, YouGov, to conduct a UK-wide online survey of over 6,500 respondents (aged 16+)[1] in July 2024.

Our first report set out the importance of understanding the public’s priority concerns to contextualise concerns about the media landscape and advertising. We found that across the wide variety of national issues, such as the availability of healthcare services (mentioned by 54% of the UK population as one of their top three concerns, from a list of 11 national issues) and the cost of the weekly shop/other household bills (48% say it is one of their top three concerns), the media landscape ranks lowest (6% say it is one of their top three concerns).

When we focus on the media landscape, we see that there’s a range of issues people say they are more concerned about than advertising. For example, misinformation/’fake news’ (mentioned by 46% of the UK population as one of their top three concerns from a list of 15 media-related issues) and a perceived lack of impartial news sources (29% say it is one of their top three concerns) are of much greater concern.

However, while concerns around ads that may be misleading, harmful or seriously offensive are relatively low (11% say it is one of their top three media-related concerns), the adverse impacts of these ads, which people may experience in difference ways, should not be dismissed. As the UK’s advertising regulator, it’s important for us to explore and understand those concerns further to inform our priorities.  

The survey explored concerns around a range of specific ad-related topics. Respondents were presented with a list of issues and asked which ones they were concerned about. They were not limited to the number of issues they could mention – those selecting more than one were also asked to select the one they are most concerned about. This provides both a wide perspective of the issues and a more focused one.

Advertising concerns: Focus on portrayal & imagery in ads 2

In this second research report, we focus on a list of topics relating to portrayal and imagery in ads.[2]

We found that almost half of the UK population is concerned about the depiction of women and girls in ads - 45% say they are concerned about ads that include idealised body images of women and 44% are concerned about the objectification of women and girls. This is followed by violent or distressing images (38% are concerned), which 17% say is the one issue they are most concerned about when compared with the other issues listed.[2]

Around a third of the population say they are concerned about the depiction of men and boys in ads – 32% are concerned about the use of idealised body images of men and 29% mention the objectification of men and boys.

Typically, those from the demographic group that a particular issue is focused on are more likely to say they are concerned about it. For example, those aged 55 or over are more likely to be concerned about the adverse stereotyping of older people (43%, vs 29% of the UK). Those from an ethnic minority group are more likely to be concerned about the adverse stereotyping of race or ethnicity (40%, vs 35% of the UK). And 36% of those who told us their day-to-day activities are limited by a health problem or disability[3] say they are concerned about the adverse stereotyping of disabilities – compared with 28% of the population as a whole.

However, in terms of gender, we found that women are more likely than men to be concerned about all the issues asked about, including those relating to the depiction of men and boys. When we look at the use of idealised body images of men – 36% of women say they are concerned about this, compared with 29% of men. And while 25% of men are concerned about the objectification of men and boys – this rises to 32% amongst women.
 

We also asked those who said they were concerned about each issue, who the focus of that concern is – are they worried about it for themselves personally, is their concern on behalf of others in society, or both? Levels of concern on a solely personal level are relatively low across the question. For some issues focused on the portrayal of a specific group, people are more likely to be concerned for others in society, such as the adverse stereotyping of the youth (60%), objectification of men and boys (56%) and the adverse stereotyping of disabilities (51%).

However, those concerned about ads featuring certain content are more likely to say they are equally concerned for themselves and others in society, such as the use of violent/distressing images (65%), nudity/sexual imagery (55%) and offensive language (55%).
 

Spotlight analysis: Women

As mentioned above, women are more concerned about all of the issues covered in this question. As would be expected, their concerns around the portrayal of men and boys are more likely to be focused on others in society. For example, 67% of women who are concerned about ads that include idealised body images of men, say they are concerned for others in society – compared with 55% of all those concerned about that issue.

Importantly, women are more likely to be concerned for themselves and others in society when we look at issues relating to the depiction of women, girls or gender more broadly. Around two-thirds of women who are concerned about the objectification of women and girls (67%) or the adverse stereotyping of gender (64%) say they are equally concerned for themselves and others in society.

 

Further analysis of higher levels of concern amongst women highlighted some areas that are more likely to be mentioned by young women.

We found, for example, that while 44% of the UK population is concerned about the objectification of women and girls, this rises to 54% amongst women and rises further to 59% amongst women aged 16-34. However, this group is significantly less concerned about the adverse stereotyping of older people, at 21% compared with 47% of women aged 55 or over.

Exploring key concerns

These findings and those presented in our first report help us to understanding the ad-related issues people in the UK are most concerned about. It shows they have concerns that don’t necessarily affect them personally but may impact others in society – and that some groups in society may be particularly vulnerable when looking at specific areas of portrayal and imagery in ads.

Here are some examples of how we’ve already sought to better understand some of the issues highlighted above:

• In 2022, we published the findings of a major project looking at the extent to which portrayal of race or ethnicity in UK ads might give rise to harm or serious offence. This research led to new guidance being published in 2023.
• Our review on body image in advertising, which included an open call for evidence, a youth roundtable and content analysis, was published in October 2024. The review found that while there are other environmental factors (such as cultural and social influences) driving concerns around body image in ads, which fall beyond the scope of advertising regulation, existing protections in the UK Advertising Codes enable the ASA to continue to take action, where required.
• And today, we’re publishing the findings of our first monitoring study of in-app ads, looking at the online supply pathway of ads which harmfully objectify women, to better understand how and why they appear. Read the full report.

This demonstrates the importance of the evidence-based approach we take, through our programme of research and other proactive projects, to help prioritise our work to protect vulnerable audiences.

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