NEW YORK – May 15, 2019 – The Association of National Advertisers (ANA), the largest marketing and advertising association in the United States, announced today that it has presented this year’s SeeHer programming award to the CBS drama MADAM SECRETARY. The annual award honors a primetime program that pushes boundaries on changing stereotypes and recognizes authentic representation of women and girls in programming.
Launched by the ANA in June 2016, the SeeHer mission is to accurately portray all women and girls in media so that by 2020 — the 100th anniversary of women gaining the right to vote — they will see themselves reflected as they truly are. With the ANA’s full support, its 1,700 member companies representing 25,000 brands that support $400-plus billion in marketing and advertising annually, SeeHer is the world’s most-influential voice for gender equality in programming, advertising, marketing and media.
SeeHer measures success through its powerful data-driven research tool Gender Equality Measure™ (GEM™), which identifies unconscious bias in content and ads. GEM™ measures perceptions of how female actors are portrayed in the media by asking consumers key characteristics about gender. GEM™ is widely known as the global gold standard measurement for gender equality in media.
“We are thrilled CBS’ MADAM SECRETARY has been recognized by the ANA for our commitment to the values and mission of SeeHer,” said Jo Ann Ross, President and Chief Advertising Revenue Officer, CBS Corporation. “We are very proud of this outstanding show for its fair and accurate portrayals of gender onscreen as well as our ongoing partnership with SeeHer.”
“We are delighted to honor our partners at CBS with this recognition. MADAM SECRETARY provides sophisticated, empowering and inspirational storytelling. It represents the core mission of SeeHer and is the kind of programming that SeeHer advertisers want to support,” added Bob Liodice, Chief Executive Officer of the ANA. “Just as importantly, it is exactly the kind of show our consumers tell us they do not see enough of on TV.”
“It is our honor to be shining a light on all types of strong, brilliant, creative women leaders who are doing great things in our world every day,” said creator and executive producer Barbara Hall and executive producer Lori McCreary.
“MADAM SECRETARY received the highest GEM™ score in the 2018-2019 season,” added ANA President and Chief Operating Officer Christine Manna. “We congratulate the talented women and men that make MADAM SECRETARY such an outstanding show.”
Among other initiatives, CBS also reinforced its commitment to SeeHer this March with a robust series of public service announcements (PSAs) during primetime on the CBS Television Network, paying tribute to 12 women pioneers in the fields of science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics (STEAM). In support of SeeHer and Women’s History Month, several ANA member companies sponsored these extended PSAs.
About CBS Corporation
CBS Corporation (NYSE: CBS.A and CBS) is a mass media company that creates and distributes industry-leading content across a variety of platforms to audiences around the world. The Company has businesses with origins that date back to the dawn of the broadcasting age as well as new ventures that operate on the leading edge of media. CBS owns the most-watched television network in the U.S. and one of the world’s largest libraries of entertainment content, making its brand — “the Eye” — one of the most-recognized in business. The Company’s operations span virtually every field of media and entertainment, including cable, publishing, local TV, film and interactive. CBS’s businesses include CBS Television Network, The CW (a joint venture between CBS Corporation and Warner Bros. Entertainment), Network 10 Australia, CBS Television Studios, CBS Global Distribution Group, CBS Consumer Products, CBS Home Entertainment, CBS Interactive, CBS All Access, the Company’s direct-to-consumer digital streaming subscription service, CBS Sports Network, CBS Films, Showtime Networks, Pop, Smithsonian Networks, Simon & Schuster, CBS Television Stations and CBS Experiences. For more information, go to www.cbscorporation.com.
About the #SeeHer Movement
Despite the strides made to accurately portray women and girls in media, an unconscious bias persists against women and girls in advertising, media, and programming. The Association of National Advertisers (ANA) launched the #SeeHer initiative in June 2016 in a partnership with The Female Quotient (TFQ) at the United State of Women. SeeHer’s mission is to increase the accurate portrayals of women and girls in media 20 percent by 2020, the 100th anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment, which gave American women the right to vote. The group developed a Gender Equality Measure™ (GEM™) to track progress and the marketing effect of removing unconscious bias from ads and programming. High GEM™ scores directly correlate to improved ROI. GEM™ won the 2017 ESOMAR Research Effectiveness Award. The methodology became the industry standard in the U.S., which led to a global rollout in 2018. For more information, visit www.SeeHer.com, and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
About the Association of National Advertisers (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 1,700 companies with 25,000 brands that engage almost 150,000 industry professionals and collectively spend or support more than $400 billion in marketing and advertising annually. The membership is comprised of more than 1,000 clientside marketers and more than 700 marketing solutions provider members, which include 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 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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Press Contacts:
ANA, SeeHer
Patty Kerr
310-344-4487
Kelli Raftery
212-975-3161
Rick McCabe
212-975-2602
