December 5, 2019, New York, NY— Earlier today SeeHer, the Association of National Advertisers’ (ANA) leading movement for gender equality in advertising and media, announced that celebrated storyteller, performer, and social media influencer Busy Philipps has joined the SeeHer advisory board. Philipps, a multitalented fan favorite who has become one of social media’s brightest — and funniest — stars, brings a new perspective to the SeeHer advisory board.
She joins an accomplished group of advisors that includes Lisa Borders, former WNBA CEO; Laura Brown, InStyle magazine editor in chief; Katie Couric, journalist and author; actor and gender equality activist Geena Davis; Muffet McGraw, Notre Dame women’s basketball coach; Yara Shahidi, actor, producer, and change agent; Michael Strahan, TV personality, sportscaster, and NFL Hall of Famer; and literary agent Jennifer Rudolph Walsh.
An actress, writer, producer, and director, Philipps has found success in platform after platform. She played attention-getting roles in such cultural touchstone series as Freaks and Geeks, Dawson’s Creek, and Cougar Town (for which she received a Critics’ Choice Television Award) and films such as White Chicks, He’s Just Not That Into You, and The Gift. In 2018 she became a best-selling author with the publication of her essay collection This Will Only Hurt a Little, and she debuted as the late-night talk show host of Busy Tonight. Philipps has also conquered social media and become a major influencer, “the Instagram MVP” as Elle magazine described her.
Philipps made her mark on society as an advocate and activist. She has testified before Congress on reproductive rights and is keenly aware of the need to help build a bias-free future for her two young daughters. She told Shape magazine, “I want my girls to have equality and quality.”
“Already a powerful force in media and advertising, SeeHer just became even more versatile! Busy is unique and a true innovator who moves effortlessly across platforms,” says SeeHer co-chair, AT&T Communications Chief Brand Officer, Fiona Carter. “She is a powerful voice and a fighter for a better future for all of us. I’ve been watching and admiring her since Dawson’s Creek. We are excited to have her on-board!”
“I am so honored to join the creative advisory board of SeeHer. As a woman who has been a working actor and creator in Hollywood for over two decades, I’ve heard seemingly endless discussion about the problems with representation, parity, and equality in entertainment, with few proposed solutions and seen even fewer of those ideas actually implemented. What’s the holdup?” Philipps says. “The truth is, if you want things to change, you change them. SeeHer and its partners in the ANA are changing the way women and girls are represented and supported in media right now, and I am thrilled to be a part of it.”
“Busy Philipps brings expertise in navigating social media and a large, fast-growing following,” concludes Bob Liodice, chief executive officer of the ANA. “We are delighted to have her join the movement.”
About SeeHer
Despite strides made in recent years to truthfully portray women and girls in media, unconscious bias persists throughout advertising and entertainment. The average age, race, and body type of women depicted in media today still represents only a small fraction of the female population. The SeeHer movement is the leading global movement for accurate portrayals of women and girls in media. Led by the Association of National Advertisers (ANA), SeeHer is a collective of marketers committed to creating and supporting content that portrays women and girls as they really are. It launched in June 2016 in partnership with The Female Quotient (The FQ).
To help marketers benchmark success, ANA’s SeeHer developed the Gender Equality MeasureTM (GEMTM), the first research methodology that quantifies gender bias in ads and programming. GEMTM shows that content that portrays females accurately dramatically increases purchase intent and brand reputation, increasing return on investment (ROI) by as much as 30 percent. GEMTM won the 2017 ESOMAR Research Effective Award, and the methodology became the industry standard, which led to a global rollout in 2018. In 2019 the movement began expansion into new verticals including sports (#SeeHerInSports) and music (#SeeHerHearHer).
Visit SeeHer.com and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter @SeeHer2020.
About the ANA
The ANA (Association of National Advertisers) makes a difference for individuals, brands, and the industry by driving growth, advancing the interests of marketers, and promoting and protecting the well-being of the marketing community. Founded in 1910, the ANA provides leadership that advances marketing excellence and shapes the future of the industry. The ANA’s membership includes more than 1,850 companies and organizations with 20,000 brands that engage almost 100,000 industry professionals and collectively spend or support more than $400 billion in marketing and advertising annually. The membership is comprised of more than 1,100 client-side marketers and more than 750 marketing solutions provider members, which includes leading marketing data science and technology suppliers, ad agencies, law firms, consultants, and vendors. Further enriching the ecosystem is the work of the nonprofit ANA Advertising Educational Foundation (AEF), which has the mission of enhancing the understanding of advertising and marketing within the academic and marketing communities.
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Contact: Patty Kerr PKerr-cw@ana.net
