Portrayals of the Black British community in ads have improved says survey

77% of Black British consumers surveyed by The Voice newspaper said they believed portrayals of Black culture in advertising had improved relative to those seen ten years ago. 55% said that portrayals in TV, print and out-of-home (OOH) advertising were “somewhat better,” while 22% stated they had become “much better.”

Joel Campbell, lifestyle and entertainment editor at The Voice, says the sentiments found by the survey “highlight how conscious Black people were that we were omitted from ad campaigns” in recent years.

“From a personal perspective, I’ve seen better representation and effort on behalf of the advertising world to engage with or reflect our community,” he adds.

Recognition of the commercial opportunities lost by ignoring the Black British community and the strength of the “Black pound” have gradually led advertisers to pursue more diverse portrayals in advertising creative, says Campbell. “Things have changed,” he tells The Drum.

The study was first launched back in 2021 with the support of British agency group M&C Saatchi, which launched a campaign called ‘Tick it to change it’ to boost the profile of the project.

It surveyed over 11,000 Black British people across a range of topics – asking for their opinions on racism, health, identity, Britishness and media and advertising. The Voice published its findings in a 104-page report launched at the House of Commons.

Campbell said that brands that have worked directly with media titles set up to reach Black audiences had been more successful in getting portrayals of that community right.

The Tate group of galleries, for example, has worked with The Voice for several years. “They made a concerted effort to work with The Voice, to better understand how they can deliver content to our audience in order to service their end goal, which is getting more punters through the gates.

“They’ve understood it and gone above and beyond in order to have that dialogue.”

Recent studies exploring the demographics of the UK’s ad industry have suggested a more negative picture. According to the All In Census, an industry-wide survey conducted by the Advertising Association, Institute for Practitioners in Advertising (IPA), and ISBA, Black agency staffers were more likely than staffers of any other ethnicity to say they were planning on leaving the ad sector due to discrimination.

The Voice’s survey found that 98% of Black British people say they have had to compromise how they express themselves to better fit into workplaces, including changing their hairstyle. The survey found that 90% of young Black people expect to experience racial prejudice as adults.

Of the 11,000-strong group, less than half (49%) said they felt proud to be British, while 39% said they did not consider Britain their ‘permanent’ home.

Lester Holloway, editor of The Voice, noted upon the survey’s release that: “We cannot keep ignoring racial disparities and its impact. There needs to be a national conversation about this, and we need race back on the political agenda, so we can tackle the causes of this disconnect between Black Brits and the only country they know.”