1. MA Advertising
Same Same, But Different:
Diversity in Advertising amidst the rise of Global Consumer Culture
Yoanna Sarigan
September 2013

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Bucks New University
Faculty of Design, Media & Management
MA Advertising
Same Same, But different:
Diversity in Advertising Amidst the Rise of Global Consumer Culture
Yoanna Sarigan
ID No: 21207143
Tutor: Beverley Lyle
Submission: September 2013
Word count: 6101
Module Code: AD705

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CONTENTS
Page n.
Introduction 4
SECTION ONE
Technology, Globalisation and Segmentation 8
SECTION TWO
Diversity toward a multicultural workforce 21
SECTION THREE
State of diversity in the UK ad industry 27
Conclusions 34
Account of Sources 38
Picture credits 40

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Introduction
“You need to encourage diversity and have different viewpoints. What might
work in one culture may not necessarily work in another, but you would not
find out unless you have people of different ethnicities within your workforce.”1
Debarshi Pandit’s (Head of OMG Ethnic, Omnicom Media Group) statement
suggests the importance of diversity and multiculturalism in the creation and
effectiveness of advertising communication. The statement also echoes the
necessity of audience segmentation in terms of consumer culture, focusing on
the global (interchangeably referred to in this study as cross-cultural) but it
does not recognise the possibility of shared “mental complexions” 2
that
consumers across different ethnicities may have in this day of globalisation
and technological advancement. When considered in relation to Steve
Stoute’s (Founder and Chairman of Translation LLC at Wharton) assertion on
“omniculturalism”, the supposition of this possibility becomes apparent:
More than just racial mixing, this is going to produce what I call
“omniculturals”, people of any or many particular races whose cultural
values are not aligned to a box that they can check on any form. These
consumers will be more defined by economic and educational
attainment, lifestyle interests and activities that will not be templates of
our current in-going assumptions of particular racial groups.3
1
Diversity in Advertising, The IPA, London, Richard Paris Wilson, 13
th
November, 2012
(video)
2
Stoute, S. ‘Omniculturalism in 2020’, The Wharton Future of Advertising Program,
<http://wfoa.wharton.upenn.edu/perspective/stevestoute/> (accessed 22 July 2013)
3
ibid.

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This statement is predictive; yet regard ever-present necessities of defining
the psychographic consumer base toward achieving communication
efficiency. Stoute’s idea also suggests the eventual breakdown of cultural
stereotyping in media, which is “a key consideration for marketers in the
changing face of society, particularly regarding ethnicity.”4
Although the booming multicultural market and continuous refinement of
communication strategies imply that narrowcasting applies to niche
segments,5
advertising agencies lag behind in successfully fostering diversity
and multiculturalism for organisational and economical reasons. The tempting
idea of cross-culturalism—a strategy directed toward multiple segments that
exhibit a global consumer culture positioning (GCCP), has therefore become
an increasingly plausible option.6
Lagging or not, the opening statement’s expression of the demand for
diversity and multiculturalism in the advertising industry must be considered in
line with how messages meaningfully resonate with and represent the target
segment.
While the advertising industry constantly adapts to respond to the shifting
needs of the global consumer, the industry itself recognizes the lack of
4
Kwai-Choi Lee, C., Martin, B. A.S., Yang, F. ‘The Influence of AD Model Ethnicity and Self-
referencing on Attitudes,’ Journal of Advertising, Vol. 33, No. 4, 2004, 27-37, p.31
5
Grier, S. and Brumbaugh, A. ‘Noticing Cultural Differences: Ad Meanings Created by Target
and Non-target Markets,’ Journal of Advertising, Vol. 18, No. 1, 1999, 79-93, p.87
6
Puntoni, S., Schroeder, J., Ritson, M. ‘Meaning Matters: Polysemy in Advertising,’ Journal of
Advertising, Vol. 39, No. 2, 2010, 51-64, p. 57

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diversity and multiculturalism at present due to hiring and cultural issues.7
Studies also show that there is a very slow transformation at the operational
levels of the industry, while areas of ethnic-shops ownership and skills
development have shown progress.8
Taking into account the importance of unearthing valuable insights to be able
to deliver relevant messages to the growing multicultural market, the purpose
of this research is to investigate:
How are advertising agencies responding to the call for diversity and
multiculturalism amidst the rise of global consumer culture?
The study is mainly a review of related literature, assessment of video
interview answers, as well as qualitative and quantitative analyses of reports
gathered from industry sources. The study aims to discuss topics such as
globalisation and technology, diversity and creativity, and how these factors
are at play in creating advertising messages for different target segments –
global and local.
Secondly, this research aims to observe and offer examples of how the
advertising industry employs mainly globalised strategies across different
markets, i.e. advertising classified as exhibiting cross-culturalism.
7
Bush, M. ‘Sorry State of Advertising is Not Just Hiring, But Culture Problem’ Advertising
Age, Vol. 82, No. 5, 31 January 2011, p. 0004
8
Duffett, R.,G,. Van der Heever, I,C., Bell, D. ‘Black Economic Empowerment Pprogress in
the Advertising Industry: Challenges and benefits.’ Southern African Business Review, Vol.
13, No. 3, 2009, 86-118, p. 112

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Finally, this study aims to explore the current state of diversity and
multiculturalism in the advertising industry in London, United Kingdom and
what initiatives are being done to address the situation.
Findings that emerged from this research can be used as a means to identify
recommendations for further study on diversity in advertising, and how factors
involved are relevant to different global consumer markets which are, as the
popular expression in emerging cultures goes, “same same, but different.”

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SECTION ONE
Technology, Globalisation and Segmentation
According to Steenkamp and De Jong, a “progressive global marketplace
incited by three things – one of which is the rise of media that is accessed
worldwide through the internet. The other two are the increase in international
travel in the past years”9
and growth in international trade and investment. All
three are “important challenges that companies around the world are
constantly encountering.”10
The former CEO of H.J. Heinz Co. talks about the Internet and cable TV as
being channels which are “powerful enough to cover immense areas, and
personal enough to reach the individual consumer…a technology that is
changing all the rules of global advertising.”11
This statement shows how
technology is so powerful and useful for companies in creating a global brand
that can shape different consumer preferences. As Duffet notes, “global
companies are shaping the perceptions and aspirations of citizens of various
nations, wherever they live.”12
9
Steenkamp, J. P. and de Jong, M. G. ‘A Global Investigation into the Constellation of
Consumer Attitudes toward Global and Local Products’, Journal of Marketing, 2011, 74 (6),
pp. 18-40.
10
Iversen, N. M. and Leif E. ‘Reciprocal transfer effects for brand extensions of
global or local origin: evidence from Norway’, International Marketing Review, 2011, 28 (4),
pp. 365 – 411.
11
O’Reilly, J.F. ‘The Emergence of the Global Consumer’, 1991.
12
Duffet, R. G. ‘Employment equity issues in the Cape Town advertising industry: A Black
economic empowerment perspective’, African Journal of Business Management, 2011, 5(15),
pp. 6271-6286.

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As a result, consumers around the world are buying electronically - a
possibility that makes different target markets more sophisticated and
demanding. This is something advertisers have always been keen to adapt
with, as these new tech-savvy global consumers value a fast and concise
response and expect high quality product or service delivery.
In effect, companies and corporations are paying more attention to cultural
diversity on a global as well as local scale. Ways in which marketing and
advertising should adapt to the different cultures present in both global and
local marketplace are becoming subjects of discourse and conferences. The
importance of unearthing specific cultural insights is highlighted in agency
workshops, as well as how global advertising messages work when various
cultural patterns are assessed.
With the aim of increasing growth and staying globally relevant, companies
are also looking at identifying common consumer traits and patterns that exist
across world cultures. As Alden pointed out, “the expansion of the global
marketplace has driven brands and corporations to seek global consumer
segments, i.e. niche markets across different countries who perceive patterns
of similarities in values and meanings of things, places, and people.”13
To address this emergence of a global consumer culture, Alden presented
and substantiated the idea of global consumer culture positioning (GCCP), or
in industry terms, “cross-culturalism”, as a strategy to reach global consumer
13
Alden, D. L. and Steenkamp, J. B. and Batra R. ‘Brand Positioning Through Advertising in
Asia, North America, and Europe: The Role of Global Consumer Culture’, Journal of
Marketing, 1999, 63 (January), pp. 75-87.

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markets. On the other hand, they identified a strategy in contrast with GCCP,
the local consumer culture positioning (LCCP), 14
which posits that the
advertising strategy should be tailored for each specific ethnic market.
Alden discovered that either of these two types of consumer segmentation
and positioning is demonstrated in over 85% of advertising messages. In the
application of either of the two strategies, it is of course necessary that
advertisers recognize and identify which strategy appropriately corresponds to
the identified target audience.15
The consumers, being at the centre of this global marketing and advertising
strategy repositioning, is considered within a cultural context in their
involvement in the points and processes of purchase.16
McCracken promotes
the idea that "meaning moves from culture to us through goods.” 17
Advertising, in this respect, has the responsibility for being a means of
transposing values and meanings from a specific cultural context to products
and brands, which makes the purchase more relevant to the consumer.
This is also in agreement with the assertion made by Alden that advertising
strategies and segmentations intend to imply the correlation that every
consumer in the planet purchases a specific brand, or that the brand is a
“conduit to feeling at one with the global culture.”18
14
ibid.
15
ibid.
16
McCracken, G. Culture and Consumption II Markets, Meaning, and Brand Management,
Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 2005.
17
ibid.
18
Alden, op. cit., p. 77.

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Some popular and successful examples of brands that have been using this
global consumer strategy include Levi Strauss (“Fit For Everybody”) (2010),
which indicated the brand’s expansive ventures in Asia as the brand offered
jeans sizes for consumers with a smaller physique; Johnnie Walker (“Keep
Walking”) 1999, with its universal message that successful men are not
judged by where they are but where they are heading; Benetton ("The United
Colors of Benetton"), with its slogan and portraits that exhibit the oneness of
humanity; Philips ("Let's Make Things Better"), which candidly employed
people with different nationalities and skin colour, which was also noticeably
employed by Benetton; and Coca-Cola’s on-going Happiness campaign,
which taps into one positive universal emotion and expresses the idea that a
moment of happiness can bring the world closer together.
Global Brand and Consumer Identity
Robertson defines globalisation as the "crystallization of the world as a single
place"19
and "the emergence of the global human condition".20
This means
that conceptualising the world as a single place then drives people to create
their own identity or perception of him or her self, in terms of relating to the
world culture they belong to, whether global or local. Moreover, Robertson’s
findings show that the development of such identities is influenced by
personality traits. Interestingly, brands can be seen in the same light: “…in a
world ruled by competition, brands bring clarity, safety, consistency, status,
19
Robertson, R. ‘Globalization and Societal Modernization: A Note on Japan and Japanese
Religion,’ Sociological Analysis, Vol. 47, September 1987, 35-43, p. 38
20
ibid.

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membership—meaning everything that a human being needs in order to be
able to define itself. Brands mean identity.”21
Consumers easily perceive brands as something that possesses universal
human characteristics and traits that form its identity.22
As explained by
Kapferer23
, brand personality must be just one of the main aspects of brand
identity. To illustrate, Kapferer depicts the brand identity model as seen in this
figure:
Fig. 1 Kapferer’s brand identity model. The figure has four main elements that are paired in
two separated poles: picture of sender to picture of recipient, and internalization to
externalisation. 1992.
The elements related to the sender are the personality and the physique,
whereas moving clockwise to the right side it can be observed that the
21
Olins, W. On Brands, Bucharest, Romania: Comunicare.ro, 2003.
22
Calkins, T. ‘Kellogg on Branding’. New Jersey, USA: Kellogg School of Management, 2005.
23
Kapferrer, J.N. The New Strategic Brand Management: Creating and Sustaining Brand
Equity Long Term, London, UK: Kogan Page, 2004, p. 107.

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personality aspect is closely related to the internal dimension while on the
opposite side the physique is linked to the externalisation. Elements perceived
by the recipient, such as reflection and self-image, are situated at the bottom
of the diagram. Again, self-image is linked to internalisation, and the element
of reflection to externalisation. However, the central part shows that elements
such as relationship and culture are found to be common between both
sender and recipient. These two elements are present in every dimension,
which can then be understood as connecting elements to the two main
elements found vertically.
In this diagram, culture plays an important role in the internalisation side of the
diagram. It serves as a bridge between the types of personality that the
sender wants to express to transforming it to the kind of self-image perceived
by the recipient, both being dependent on the type of culture that is being
considered. Relationship, on the other hand, is the link between physique and
the external reflection that the recipient exhibits.
Applying the principles of this model to how the examples of global brands
mentioned earlier are faring, it can be quickly observed that the universal
message that the target consumer received are the values and traits that the
sender or the company stands for. As an immediate case in point, Benetton’s
images that send messages of cultural harmony and racial unity still resonate
among a general-market segment until today, where forces of nationalism as
well as racial violence and war have always been on-going. Thus, it can be
argued that the connection between Benetton and the public is based on the

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effort of raising awareness towards serious issues that happen in the world
today.
Taking into account the whole sender-receiver process and the way
messages are delivered, perceived and reflected, Kapferer’s brand identity
diagram can be a useful means of determining how global brands (sender)
adapt and customise advertising strategies and messages to make it relevant
to both global and local consumers (recipient).24
Global Advertising and the Cross-cultural approach
Alden25
notes that GCCP vs. LCCP should not be confused with standardized
vs. adapted marketing strategies. While GCCP or cross-cultural strategy is
found to be more feasible to use across different markets than LCCP, these
two do not operate in the same equivalence. Thus, cross-culturalism may be
used as a standardized marketing strategy that advertisers employ, but not
automatically necessary.
Given this, the following discussion and examples will be founded on the
“same same, but different” idea, related to global and cross-cultural
advertising, as this research has been inspired by the idea that the global
marketplace is quickly growing, and that consumers’ insights and tastes are
converging, in a paradoxical state demanding for unity in diversity. Therefore,
it is necessary to underline one of the project’s limitations: the details of the
localized version of global advertising messages will not be developed more
24
ibid.
25
Alden, op. cit.

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in depth, but some examples are mentioned.
Advertising is such a worldwide industry that acts as “the most visible
manifestation of the globalisation of business in general and of brands in
particular.”26
Jones states that the term ‘global advertising’ is commonly
applied “to advertising for universally ubiquitous brands, such as Coca-Cola,
Marlboro cigarettes, Kodak photographic film, Benetton apparel, Gucci
accessories, Sony home electronics, and Perrier bottled water.”27
In addition, global advertising campaigns are launched by big companies with
competitive sales and are spread in a large number of countries. This means
that to be able to develop and implements a global advertising strategy, the
brand must adhere to “certain basic commonalities of consumption patterns
and demographic, psychographic, sociological, cultural, economic, and
lifestyle-related factors among its target consumers in each country where it is
marketed.”28
Furthermore, Jones states that it is not easy to find these
commonalities, but similarities can be detected based on the several factors
mentioned above. Encapsulated in the “same same, but different”
catchphrase is the notion that an effective and relevant global advertising
campaign focuses on similarities but simultaneously acknowledging the
differences that exist.
A good primary example is BBH London’s Johnnie Walker campaign [Fig. 2],
as mentioned earlier. When the Johnnie Walker brand suffered a decline in
26
Jones, J.P. International Advertising. Thousands Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 2000.
27
ibid.
28
ibid.

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the 90s, BBH was tasked to come up with an advertising strategy that will
adapt to both global and local consumer cultures. BBH explains that the
"Keep Walking" campaign was based on the “universal idea of personal
'progress'.” The campaign showcases the breadth and depth of "Keep
Walking," providing cultural diversity for the Johnnie Walker brand.”29
Fig. 2 The “Keep Walking” campaign. Implemented in 120 countries where value and volume
sales spiked up 48% and 94% respectively.
29
Johnnie Walker campaign, BBH London’s website,
<http://www.creativebrief.com/agency/work/686/12> (accessed 12 August 2013).

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Global advertising is assumed to be effective in a culture where consumers
are empowered and have the freedom to be selective of the ads they pay
attention to, as well as the brands they affiliate themselves with. This idea
perfectly fits the “Keep Walking” campaign ideals, and relates to the belief that
“at the heart of global campaigns is the insight that human beings everywhere
share similar aspirations, desires, and outlooks”30
- an assumption which is
the driving insight for the Johnnie Walker campaign strategy.
Another example is BBDO New York’s Gillette global advertising campaign,
as it showcases both a functional and psycho-emotional aspect. The slogan
“The best a man can get” [Fig.3] addresses the two key benefits of the
product: the buyer looks his best and simply affords it. Applying Kapferer’s
model, Gillette as the sender of the message succeeds in portraying itself as
“the world’s leading male grooming authority”31
, while at the same time
reflecting universally accepted values among its target audience
(achievement, success, manliness), therefore perceived as cross-culturally
relevant.
30
O’Barr, W. and Moeira, M. and Lazarus, S. ‘Advertising and society review’ – Global
advertising, E-ISSN: 1534-7311, 2008.
31
Gillette, ‘Gillette launches New Global Brand Marketing Campaign’, Gillette’s website, 1
July 2009, <http://news.gillette.com/press-release/product-news/gillette-launches-new-global-
brand-marketing-campaign> (accessed 23 August 2013).

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Fig. 3 Gillette’s global brand campaign “The Best a Man Can Get.”
Dove is representative of another successful global campaign. 32
Shelly
Lazarus, chairman of Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide, expresses that the Dove
campaign called “Real beauty” [Fig. 4] represents a universal truth, and that
what Dove stands for “can be related to, everywhere”:
Fig. 4 Dove Real Beauty. The campaign emphasizes women’s beauty in all shapes, color,
and sizes.
32
Dove, ‘Real Beauty,’ Dove UK’s website, 18 October 2010,
<http://www.dove.co.uk/en/Our-Mission/Our-Vision/default.aspx> (accessed 23 August 2013).

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“It’s about natural, real beauty. It’s not about the super made-up and
exaggerated beauty that cosmetics brands encourage. It’s about a woman’s
beauty, real and better.33
There’s nothing that links Dove to a particular
geography.”34
Global advertising thus has become a very plausible option for communication
strategy, but it’s not easy. It requires keenness to find inspiration, consumer
insight intelligence, cultural sensitivity and on the part of the agencies,
management skills. James Gregory concisely indicates necessary factors for
global operational success when he suggested that advertisers should
“determine first which characteristics of the key geographical markets are
similar; on that basis, a unified advertising campaign that addresses all issues
can be developed.”35
This then translates to important factors such as the
client’s request, available resources, assigned budget, product features, and
creativity of workforce, which must all be carefully sorted out in order to shape
an effective and efficient global advertising campaign.
In any case, the importance lies in the intrinsic understanding of the
universality of the brand – how and why it resonates among diverse cultures
through specific human insights.36
Effectively communication these universal
yet targeted advertising messages across global and cultural boundaries thus
represents the significance of a global advertising campaign.
33
Whittemore, C., ‘Dove – What is Real Beauty?’, Flooring the Consumer website, 1 July
2009, <http://flooringtheconsumer.blogspot.co.uk/2006/12/dove-what-is-real-beauty.html
(accessed 23 August 2013).
34
Lazarus, op. cit.
35
Gregory, J.R. Branding Across Borders, New York, USA: McGraw-Hill, 2002.
36
Lazarus, op. cit.

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However, there are brands of all sizes, they can be specific or generic,
national or global, cheap or expensive, but what makes them powerful is what
they represent and not at all, what they are.
However, Cox37
proposes that one of the global trends that has something to
do with achieving diverse insights in different markets is the shift in diverse
workforces, which is also a function of globalisation.
Having discussed the factors and processes that lead to a cross-cultural
advertising of a global brand, the discussion goes further into exploring the
importance of cultural diversity in the advertising workforce and how it might
be reflective of the creative outcome of a global advertising campaign
strategy.
37
Cox, J. The multicultural organization. Executive (19389779), 5(2), 1991, pp. 34-47.

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SECTION TWO
Diversity toward a multicultural workforce
“Employees are not only an important target audience, they are a channel of
communication, and, in reality, part of the company message itself.
Employees can make or break the brand.”38
Cox39
argues that due to effects of globalisation, rapidly growing diversity in
companies’ workforces all over the world will be experienced. The
heterogeneity, Cox adds, will be seen in terms of such as nationality, ethnicity,
race, and gender. Furthermore, possible advantages of this diversity should
involve improved decision-making, better levels of innovation and creativity, a
more significant impact in marketing to global, local, foreign and ethnic
segments, and a more egalitarian allocation of economic and social
opportunities. However, Cox also notes in contrast that “cultural differences
can also increase costs through higher turnover rates, interpersonal conflict,
and communication breakdowns.”40
Hoffman in Mannix and Neale41
presented a united, although somewhat
obvious assertion, regarding the importance of value of diversity in
38
Gregory, op. cit.
39
Cox, op. cit., p. 34.
40
Ibid., p. 34.
41
Mannix, E. and Neale, M. ‘What differences make a difference?’, Psychological Science in
the Public Interest (Wiley-Blackwell), 6(2), 2005, pp. 31-55.

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workgroups and their creative outputs. The proposition is founded on the
strength of different points of view. Considering the notion that diversity is a
concept that every group possesses and no individual does, this notion can
then be stretched to the reasoning that the intelligence that the masses do
have at present is starting to strengthen due to the Internet as a global village.
Mannix and Neale42
further stretched this argument to the effectiveness and
efficiency of diverse groups in relation to creatively challenging tasks. The
results conveyed that diverse groups were able to come up with better
problem-solving processes and more convincing solutions than undiversified
teams.
On the same note, Joshi and Roh43
examined diverse teams in service-
oriented jobs and observed the advantage that diverse teams have in catering
to diverse customers. Findings identified that a diversified consumer market is
more likely to be drawn to a shop that reflects the same characteristics, i.e.
having a diverse crew. So it can be assumed that if a brand intends to
broaden its reach beyond sales, it would then make sense that the target
segment would relate and respond better to an advertisement or product offer
from a spokesperson with whom they identify more closely with.
Therefore, a workforce that reflects the demographical make-up of a particular
market has benefits and advantages.44
As King argues, the composition of a
42
ibid.
43
Joshi, A. and Roh, H. ‘The role of context in work team diversity research: A meta-analytic
review’, Academy of Management Journal, 52(3), 2009, pp. 599-627.
44
King, E. and Dawson, J. F. and West, M. A. and Gilrane, V. L. and Peddie, C. I. and Bastin,
L. ‘Why organizational and community diversity matter: Representativeness and the

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workforce must be consistently linked with the demography of the segment of
the community wherein the workforce operates. “In light of global trends
toward increasingly diverse communities and workplaces, it is imperative that
management scholars and practitioners attend to demography both within and
outside of organizations.”45
In the same light, King also points out that workforces that do not represent
the community in which they work in may cause conflict and an inclination to
regress to stereotyping by way of social categorisation.46
“The results of the current study suggest that when organizations do not
reflect the demography of the communities in which they are embedded,
dysfunctional social categorization processes and manifestations of negative
intergroup behaviours can emerge.”47
Although this may not necessarily be
the case in every cultural context and community, there is a possibility of the
advertising message being misunderstood or perceived in an unintended way
may render the campaign efforts futile or worse, offensive.
Furthermore, whether a creative team or any other workgroup in an
advertising agency is highly diverse or not, there is still the possibility that the
organisational structure exhibits a dominant in-group. It would make sense to
posit that members of the in-group would demonstrate a higher degree of
identifying with the organisation than non-members of the said in-group.
emergence of incivility and organizational performance’, Academy of Management Journal,
54(6), 2011, pp. 1103-1118.
45
ibid., p. 1114.
46
ibid., p. 1114.
47
ibid., p. 1114.

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24
“Organizational identification refers to the extent to which a person personally
identifies with, and tends to define himself or herself as a member in the
employing organization.”48
Such situation is observed in the case of Shadi-Sade Sarreshtehdarzadeh,
Junior Strategist at BBH London. Sarreshtehdarzadeh relates how being the
only Asian member in her team results in outsider-member categorisation:
I remember when I came here feeling very different. I felt really aware
that I am brown. There aren't many other Asian people particularly in the
teams that I’m on, and I’m the only girl who doesn't have blonde hair on
my table.”49
As a big advertising agency that is also known for servicing brands that cater
to a diverse and global market, BBH London50
can then be seen as an agency
that is yet to move from a dominant in-group culture toward a more
multicultural one. Sir John Hegarty, Worldwide Creative Director of BBH,
echoes the same thought about the advertising industry in general when he
expressed that it would be unsubstantial to assume that the industry “can
continue to be successful and continue to be effective if it doesn't in some
way reflect the audience it is talking to.”51
48
Cox, op. cit., p.36.
49
IPA, Diversity in Advertising, The IPA, London, Richard Paris Wilson, 13
th
November, 2012
(video).
50
BBH London,60 Kingly St, London, W1B 5DS, visited 17 April 2013
51
ibid.

25.
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Cox52
puts forward that it would be implausible for an organization to have a
very uniform and all-inclusive organisational culture, when it must head
toward multiculturalism by means of a phase of growing acquiescence as well
as tolerance in order to arrive at a multicultural company culture. This then
connotes that it is necessary for an agency to promote incorporation of other
cultures that should consequentially eliminate partiality.
This is also for the purpose of facilitating the belongingness and
categorisation of minority or underrepresented demographic groups in order
to start having role models. Sarreshtehdarzadeh explains that being aware
that she is the only Asian member in her team is not a problem, but rather the
categorization arises from her awareness of her “history in general” 53
pertaining to having a social orientation that was accustomed to consider
socially and historically familiar career paths. The gravitas is more apparent
when Robin Wight, President of Engine and WCRS, expresses it succinctly:
There is terrible lack of diversity because lots of young people from
ethnic minority backgrounds do not know anything about advertising;
they don't have role models. They might know about finance, or sport,
but not advertising.54
Having looked into this matter, the research delves further into the state of
diversity in the advertising industry, focusing on agencies in London and how
52
Cox, op. cit.
53
IPA, Diversity in Advertising, op. cit.
54
ibid.

26.
26
advertisers want to create a work environment that would maximise culturally
creative potential to impact the overall diversity in the industry.

27.
27
SECTION THREE
State of diversity in the UK ad industry
Advertising messages are perceived and digested in a subjective manner,
and oftentimes in a cultural way, through culture lenses. The audience taps
into their concept of self, as well as their identity as an individual and as a
group member when it comes to interpreting the advertising message.55
This
is emphasised in a highly diverse society such as the Great Britain.
The rate of ethnic diversity in Great Britain is constantly increasing. It is
estimated that by 2051, Wales and England will be as diverse as London is at
present.56 According to the 2009 report of the Office for National Statistics,
Nearly 12% of England and Wales’s population is from an ethnic minority
background [Fig. 5]. “The largest non-White ethnic groups are the Indian
(accounting for roughly 3% of the population), Pakistani and Mixed (each 2%),
followed by the Black African (1.5%) Black Caribbean, Bangladeshi and
Chinese populations (each around 1%).”57
55
Grier, op. cit., p. 87
56
Creative Brief, ‘Can Advertising be Truly Diverse?’ Creative Brief Website, 21 November
2012 <http://www.creativebrief.com/blog/2012/11/21/can-advertising-become-a-truely-
diverse-industry/> (accessed 29 August 2013)
57
Ethnicity UK ‘Facts and figures about ethnic difference and inequality in the UK’ Ethnicity
UK website <http://www.ethnicity.ac.uk/population/size.html> (accessed 25 August 2013)

28.
28
Fig. 5 The non-white population by ethnic group, 2009. Office for National Statistics
In relation to this statistics, the Office for National Statistics also reports that
there are 300 languages spoken in London alone, but this is not reflected in
the workforce of advertising agencies across London and the Southeast. In
addition, the Public Relations Consultants Association (PRCA) Report 2012
states that ethnic minorities in the UK are estimated to have a collective
disposable income worth £300 Billion.58
With all these figures, it can be clearly
argued, albeit already heavily agreed on and supported by advertising
practitioners in the UK themselves, that there is indeed a lack of diversity in
the ad industry, especially in London.
If we were again to bring up King’s argument on how the composition of a
workforce must be consistently linked with the demography of the segment of
58
IPA, Diversity in Advertising, op. cit.

29.
29
the community wherein the workforce operates,59
it would seem that the UK
advertising industry is really lagging behind. Patrick Burgoyne, Editor of
Creative Review supports this claim when he stated “that ad agencies are
largely based in London and in the southeast where the non-white population
is high, it shows that ad agencies are not representative of the communities
that they come from.”60
In addition, the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising has reported in 2011
that 90.6% of the advertising industry staff come from a white background.61
However, the counter-argument to this is that when the white population in
England and Wales62
[Fig. 6] as reported as well by the 2009 report of the
Office for National Statistics is juxtaposed with this figure, it would make
sense:
Fig. 6 The population in England and Wales by ethnic group, 2009
59
ibid., p. 1114.
60
ibid., p. 1114.
61
IPA,
‘The
IPA
Report
2011’
Institute
of
Practitioners
in
Advertising
Website
<‘http://www.ipa.co.uk/UserAccount/RoadBlock.aspx?contentid=2021&redirec
t=http://www.ipa.co.uk:80/Page/Finance-­‐Departments-­‐Benchmark-­‐
Surveys?menu=open&monetised=False&viewable=2>
(accessed
28
July
2013)
62
Ethnicity UK, op. cit.

30.
30
Again, applying Grier and Brumbaugh’s assertion that targeted advertising
messages are seen to be resonating to the audience more due to the fact that
the messaging has been crafted to the perceived characteristic of the target
group,63
the figure reported on the IPA in relation to the figure reported by the
Office for National Statistics on white population in England and Wales is
somewhat proportional and can be argued that the advertising industry in GB
is actually representative of its population.
Every advertising practitioner interviewed on the Diversity in Advertising
video, including Sir John Hegarty, argues the antithesis of the previous
paragraph. This leads the assumption that the issue of lack of diversity in the
advertising industry in the UK does not necessarily pertain to ethnic diversity
alone.
That is to say, the lack of diversity could also have something to do with other
factors such as educational background or more likely, gender. The IPA
Agency Census 2011 reports that “85% of all advertising and marketing
messages are aimed at women,” while “90% of all communications
campaigns are created by men.”64
According to Emma Sexton, Director of SheSays, women are under-
represented at advertising agencies as well as the brands and clients that the
agencies are servicing. “When you look at statistics, 80% of consumer
purchasing power is led by women, so what we see is a lot of advertising that
63
Grier, op. cit., p. 87
64
IPA, Diversity in Advertising, op. cit.

31.
31
is not impacting or resonating with a female audience.”65
Laura Jordan-
Bambach, Creative Director at Dare, echoes the same sentiment when she
related that she tried to address the “imbalance between men and women
particularly in creative and planning” departments when she set up SheSays.
Bambach adds that the industry is still prevailed by men, mostly white, middle-
upper class.
On the other hand, Jonathan Akwue, Partner at Engine, proposes that it could
also have something to do with class. He furthers that most advertising
agencies offer entry-level positions that are not well compensated, and that it
would help to have a supportive family environment that could provide enough
money when starting a career in the advertising industry. “If you don't have
access to that kind of capital, then it is very hard to get into this industry.
Actually, I think it has more to do with class than it is to do with race.”66
What’s Being Done?
Going back to Wight’s proposition in the previous pages and relating it to the
previous paragraph above, it can be assumed that one of the main problems
with this lack of diversity is awareness among the youth. Relating this to
Francher's content analysis of TV advertisements, he posits that the language
of the agency with regard to youthfulness shows that this quality of the
workforce was necessary for the creative insights pertinent to creating
65
IPA, Diversity in Advertising, op. cit.
66
IPA, Diversity in Advertising, op. cit.

32.
32
effective advertising messages, both global and local.67
Given all these raised concerns, the advertising industry together with the IPA
discussed possible pathways to achieving solutions to this problem of lack of
diversity during the launch of the Diversity in Advertising video in November
2012. The first major point that was raised was that majority of the work
"needs to be doneat schools to make students aware that the advertising
industry is an option for them."68
This also goes hand in hand with Rob Norman’s (CEO of WPP's Group M
North America) statement regarding raising awareness among the young
population with regard to attracting a diverse group of talent:
Not only do you have to recruit people that are diverse, you have to
create environments under which those people are comfortable
working in. The hardest thing is making people aware that our industry
exists, that it's open to a broad range of talent and it's a credible
profession for people to seek out.69
Thus, hiring is clearly part of the problem. The failure to retain minority talent,
which many believe is due to the lack of an encouraging environment, is
another issue. In conjunction with Sir John Hegarty’s statement regarding
hiring diverse talents, the discrepancy becomes more evident:
67
Francher, J. S., “It's the Pepsi generation: Accelerated aging and the television
commercial.” International Journal of Aging and Human Development, No. 4, pp. 245-255
68
Burgoyne, P. ‘How Can Advertising be More Diverse?’, Creative Review, 14 November
2012 <http://www.creativereview.co.uk/cr-blog/2012/november/diversity-in-advertising>
(accessed 29 July 2013)
69
Bush, M. op. cit.

33.
33
It's odd to me that in an industry that is probably the most egalitarian
you can ever work in because this is an idea's industry, all it cares
about are ideas. Do you have a good idea or not. Whatʼs the idea?
And we don't care where the idea comes from. It can come from
anywhere. There is no barrier, so you wonder why are not more diverse
people coming to our industry? Is it that we're not looking? Is it actually
that they're not being exposed to what we do?70
In any case, it can be concluded that if brands and advertisers, especially in
the UK where diversity in the social and economic population is high, cannot
communicate effectively to its ever-changing consumer market, they will find
themselves losing in the market. With ethnic minorities in the UK currently
estimated to have a disposable income of £300 Billion, this issue of lack of
diversity for sure will become more relevant in the coming years as more and
more consumers are becoming increasingly diverse, multicultural, and global.
70
IPA, Diversity in Advertising, op. cit.

34.
34
Conclusion
We live in a very diverse world, and it’s an imperative for business success to
ensure that representation of the target segment is reflected in each brand,
advertising message, and workforce. The rapid evolution and spread of
technology also opens up all the possibilities of the emergence of a global
consumer and a global culture. This paper explored these drivers as key
factors in the evolution and impact of global brands upon consumers and how
technology is so powerful and useful for companies in creating a global brand
that can shape different consumer preferences. Reiterating Duffet’s
assumption, “global companies are shaping the perceptions and aspirations of
citizens of various nations, wherever they live.”71
As globalisation intensifies our awareness of different cultures around the
world and the interconnectedness among them, consumers as individuals
thus consequentially develop views of themselves in relation to the rest of the
world. Global and personal identification are among the possible self-views,
which can then serve as a basis for target segmentation.
The cross-culturalism positioning of examples of global advertising campaigns
that were discussed in this paper was analysed in conjunction with cultural
factors in an advertising communication process occurring in the highly
71
Duffet, R. G. op. cit.

35.
35
diverse and global marketplace.
The approach opted for that section of this study was to find out the elements
of those mentioned global advertising campaigns that made it successful to
have a worldwide relevance in terms of finding unifying themes amidst cultural
diversity. It was identified that similarities between people, despite different
cultural backgrounds, is important element of global advertising campaigns.
Following Kapferer’s brand identity model, it was observed that the universal
message that the target consumer receives is representative of the same
values and traits that the sender or the company stands for. This necessitates
then that the composition of a workforce must be consistently linked with the
demography of the segment of the community wherein the workforce
operates.72
That is to say, including the employees’ cultural orientation and background in
the message mix influences the outcome of the brand or advertising
message, especially in creative teams. In the context of delivering advertising
message in the global marketplace, it is more complicated as it has to be
consistent, clear and appropriate across all target groups given that the
strategy used is positioned to be cross-cultural. One of the most important
tools that an advertising agency, or any company for that matter, has at its
72
King, E. op. cit., p. 1114.

36.
36
disposal for promoting the global advertising campaign message is
represented by the workforce itself – that the workforce does not only
significantly influence the important message being sent to the target
audience, but rather they are a channel of communication, and, in reality, part
of the brand or advertising message itself.
Reasons for the plausible implementation of cross-culturalism and why it is so
appealing involves economic practicality: it is cheaper to make one
commercial or one single advertising strategt, translate it and run it worldwide,
than to make one for each individual country. This is not a problem as long as
it is effective and it resonates with the target segment. Also, it is important to
know that a single ad campaign has the ability to make a company seem
consistent and the same, anywhere in the world. The opposite approach,
when the company adapts and creates a different ad for every different
country, can easily give the perspective of numerous and separate
companies, having different goals and agendas. Furthermore, a single ad
campaign allows a greater control of the brand everywhere and does not
impede when it comes to national borders.
This researched therefore focused on thee main points: exploring how
technology and globalisation lead to the implementation of the global
consumer culture positioning or cross-culturalism, how it was successfully
achieved through the importance of diversity of the workforce, and the
exploration of diversity in the UK which is considered to have one of the most

37.
37
diverse of population, as well as a source of global advertising campaigns.
Despite these qualities, it is clear that the UK advertising industry is struggling
to find solutions to address the problem of lack of diversity. Nevertheless,
everything starts with awareness, and the acknowledgement of the industry
that the industry itself is responsible for finding solutions for this current state
that it is in.
As the advertising industry is an ever-changing industry, this topic can be
explored further on the differences between the cultures. It would then require
that a deeper and detailed research could be conducted for finding differences
among consumers in the world and possibly mapping the path to the
omniculturalism proposition stated in the introduction, where in the future we
will find out that “same same, but different” could possibly after all become
“different, but same same.”

38.
38
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VIDEO:
• Diversity in Advertising, The IPA, London, Richard Paris Wilson, 13
th
November, 2012
(video).
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th
November,
2012 (video).
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Office for National Statistics, 2009.
Fig. 6 The population in England and Wales by ethnic group, 2009