We’re still waiting for B2B advertising’s feminist revolution

The most astute commentary I’ve read on the topic was from Amy Brown, who popped up in my LinkedIn feed to share her insight on why this ad has been a runaway success:

Shockingly simple, right? The Calvin Klein marketers have achieved that elusive prize to which we all aspire: figuring out what a target audience really wants, and showing it to them.

What do women want in B2B advertising?

Getting inside the minds of female audiences has presented a seemingly insurmountable obstacle for quite some time – even Freud was baffled by the question of what women want. Growing understanding of the ‘female gaze’ – using women’s desires, viewpoints and lived experiences as the subject rather than object, the viewer rather than viewed – was a hard-won battle for pioneering women in the ad industry, highlighted by Channel 4’s recent Mad Women documentary.

These women bestowed on us, the grateful viewing public, the opportunity to ogle the Levi’s launderette man. Or see ourselves as can-do mechanics thanks to Pretty Polly tights, instead of disembodied pairs of sexy, stockinged legs.

I can’t help but think we’re still waiting for that same feminist revolution in the big bad world of B2B. So many B2B ads feel as if they’re made by men, for men. The assumed or default subject/viewer is, at best, gender-neutral but, in many cases, distinctly masculine.

Some of these ads are rife with gendered tropes. Without sounding flippant, a lot of them to me seem big, brash, and blue, depicting phallic skyscrapers and touting the language of corporate boy guff. ‘Transform’, ‘power’, and ‘innovate: I’m looking at you.

Now I’m not necessarily suggesting that B2B ads with buff men in their undies are needed to sell HR software or Decision Intelligence platforms (although, if any of my clients do have Jeremy Allen White-level budget, I’m open to exploring this).

But beyond the obvious box ticking – a cynical stock image of a smiling woman in a power suit, or a diverse group of colleagues crowded around a screen – there’s a gaping void of B2B ads that feel distinctly ‘for the girls’. The only example I’ve come across is Sage’s lauded ‘Boss It’ campaign, with the pertinent line: “He thinks he’s the boss, but I’m definitely the boss”.

The power of using a gendered lens

Time and time again, consumer advertising has proven that a gendered lens is a powerful brand differentiation device. With B2B’s strong emphasis on personalization, the gender angle feels like a huge missed opportunity to communicate and resonate with buyers on a more individualistic level.

The number of women in decision-making roles is growing every year – according to McKinsey, women now make up 28% of C-Suite roles, a 6% growth over the last five years. The number of women appointed to FTSE boards is also on the rise. Most client-side senior B2B marketers I work with every day are women. I even host a podcast, 43% and Rising, dedicated to spotlighting these brilliant women in the marketing industry. To reflect these encouraging changes in workplace demographics, we need more B2B campaigns that see the working world through the eyes of a woman.

I recently sat down with colleagues to discuss our shared experiences as women navigating the world of work for the Christmas special of the podcast. While there is, of course, no singular, universal ‘female experience’ of the workplace, it was clear from our conversation that we’ve all had common experiences which are influenced by gender. Like the stress and guilt of juggling care responsibilities with work. Or being spoken over in meetings, taking on more of the ‘invisible office work’ than our counterparts, or diligently deleting all of the ‘justs’ and ‘sorrys’ from our emails.

For real change, women and underrepresented groups must call the shots

It’s time for more B2B ad campaigns that are clearly born of diverse experiences and perspectives. A more gendered approach could be an especially powerful tool when targeting job roles and industries where women are already relatively well-represented – such as sustainability and corporate social responsibility (CSR), human resources, healthcare, government, consumer services, and education.

For these kinds of underlying creative strategies to become more prevalent, we need more women and other underrepresented groups calling the shots in B2B creative and strategic roles. And we need employers that champion and make space for their views and lived experiences.

So, to answer Freud’s notorious question ‘What does a woman want?’: this woman wants B2B ad campaigns to be a little less ‘Boy2Boy’. Although, some more Jeremy Allen White ads wouldn’t hurt either.

To hear more first-hand experiences from senior women in the workplace, listen to the new season of 43% and Rising.