October 11, 2017, New York, NY — Kellogg Company, the world’s largest cereal maker, second largest producer of crackers and savory snacks; and a leading North American frozen foods company, has joined the industry’s most influential movement to eliminate unconscious gender bias in advertising and media. Earlier today, the blue-chip marketer announced that it is joining the Association of National Advertisers’ Alliance for Family Entertainment’s #SeeHer, a U.S. industry movement to increase accurate portrayals of women and girls in advertising and media.
The ANA/AFE launched the #SeeHer initiative in 2016 in partnership with The Female Quotient to see accurate portrayals of women and girls in advertising and media rise 20 percent by 2020 — just in time to commemorate the 100th anniversary of women gaining the right to vote in the U.S. It is the first time that U.S. advertisers have joined together in a unified large-scale effort to address this critical challenge and press for positive, accurate change.
“Increasing the accurate portrayal of women in advertising has always been a creative mandate for our Special K cereal brand’s advertising and marketing strategies,” says Craig Bahner, president of U.S. Morning Foods. “The brand has a longstanding commitment to encouraging women to ‘OWN IT,’ embrace body confidence, and leverage inner strength to succeed. Evaluating our creative is an important step in ensuring we are investing in advertising and media that represent women equitably and without unconscious bias.”
Last March, the movement released its proprietary Gender Equality Measure (GEM™), a potent, data-driven methodology to identify — and eliminate — gender bias and to help marketers track progress toward the movement’s goal. GEM is increasingly being integrated into national advertisers’ media plans and RFPs. The methodology has been used to evaluate 27,500 ads over the last year. Among those receiving some of the highest GEM scores is Kellogg’s Special K cereal brand, which is a leader in food and nutrition — an area that has a significant impact on girls’ and women’s sense of self.
“Understanding and communicating to our primarily female consumers is already part of our DNA, so teaming up with #SeeHer was a natural fit for us,” said Bahner. “We were delighted that our cereal brands, especially Special K, scored so well with GEM and look forward to continuing to deliver inclusive, relevant content that resonates in the marketplace.”
“We welcome Kellogg’s to our movement,” added #SeeHer Chair Stephen Quinn, the former CMO at Walmart. “Their brands have a thorough understanding of what female customers want, and what we all need for the next generation of consumers, no matter what gender. #SeeHer affects everyone, and we are glad to add Kellogg’s to the growing group of decision-makers.”
Sharing the GEM methodology is the latest element in an ongoing movement to support marketer and media efforts to create content that is free of gender bias. The initiative also has developed toolkits for advertisers to help them create unbiased messaging, and holds boot camps for #SeeHer members that are customized to each company’s business goals and marketplace realities.
In September 2017, #SeeHer won 2017 ESOMAR’s most prestigious Research Effectiveness Award, “ANA/AFE #SeeHer Movement Addresses Unconscious Bias in Media.”
“We are all husbands and fathers, mothers and daughters, brothers and sisters,” concluded Quinn. “ #SeeHer movement is not just good for business — it’s the right thing to do.”
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) Alliance for Family Entertainment (AFE) launched the #SeeHer initiative in June 2016 in a partnership with The Female Quotient, after the Obama administration announced the elimination of gender bias in media as critical to the nation’s future. The #SeeHer Initiative mission is to accurately portray all women and girls in media by 2020, the 100th anniversary of women winning the right to vote in the U.S. For more information, visit www.SeeHer.com, follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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 1,000 companies with 15,000 brands that collectively spend or support more than $400 billion in marketing and advertising annually. The membership is comprised of more than 750 client-side marketers and 300 associate members, which include leading agencies, law firms, suppliers, 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. For more information, visit www.ana.net, follow us on Twitter or join us on Facebook.
About the Kellogg Company
At Kellogg Company (NYSE: K), we strive to make foods people love. This includes our beloved brands –Kellogg’s, Keebler, Special K, Pringles, Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes, Pop-Tarts, Kellogg’s Corn Flakes, Rice Krispies, Cheez-It, Eggo, Mini-Wheats and more – that nourish families so they can flourish and thrive. With 2016 sales of $13 billion and more than 1,600 foods, Kellogg is the world’s leading cereal company; second largest producer of crackers and savory snacks; and a leading North American frozen foods company. And we’re a company with a heart and soul, committing to help create 3 billion Better Days by 2025 through our Breakfasts for Better Days global purpose platform. To learn more, visit www.KelloggCompany.com or www.OpenforBreakfast.com and follow us on Twitter @KelloggCompany, YouTube and on our Social K corporate blog.
Patty Kerr
pkerr-cw@ana.net
(310) 344-4487
Kellogg Media Hotline
Media.Hotline@Kellogg.com
(269) 961-3799
