Advertising not representative of lower-income households, finds study

UK – Advertising and media are too focused on wealthy and middle-class households, with poorer sections of society negatively stereotyped, according to research from UM.

Poverty purse spending money_crop

Of the 2,000 UK adults surveyed by UM, six out of 10 ( 62%) expressed concern that TV adverts often only portray wealthy homes, while two-thirds ( 63%) believe those with a lower income are negatively stereotyped in advertising.

Additionally, 41% of survey respondents from C1, C2, D and E social grades felt that media representations of those from their social background are often caricatured.

A third of respondents ( 32%) felt that public perceptions of those with low wealth have worsened over the past three years, and of those, 57% blame media coverage for the negative perceptions. When asked for their view on why poorer sections of society are not represented in advertising, 43% of respondents said it’s because it ‘makes people uncomfortable’.

The study, part of UM’s ongoing research on stereotyping in advertising, highlights the need for brands and the industry to address socio-economic diversity as well as focusing on gender, ethnicity and sexuality-based stereotyping.

Michael Brown, head of insight at UM, said: "We keep being told that successful advertising is all about authenticity, yet poorer Britons feel caricatured – if and when they appear in advertising at all. 

"Many brands are rightly taking a stance against gender- and sexuality-based stereotyping, backed by the recent moves by the Advertising Standards Authority, but there are still more harmful stereotypes apparent both in the media and in ads."

We hope you enjoyed this article.
Research Live is published by MRS.

The Market Research Society (MRS) exists to promote and protect the research sector, showcasing how research delivers impact for businesses and government.

Members of MRS enjoy many benefits including tailoured policy guidance, discounts on training and conferences, and access to member-only content.

For example, there's an archive of winning case studies from over a decade of MRS Awards.

Find out more about the benefits of joining MRS here.

2 Comments

Display name

Email

Join the discussion

Luis Caraballo

Hi Katie - please can you let me know what does UM stand for? I'd like to be able to find this report you're referring to in your article.Thanks!!

Like Report

Display name

Email

Join the discussion

Katie McQuater

Hi Luis, it's media agency UM: http://umww.co.uk/

Like Report

Newsletter
Stay connected with the latest insights and trends...
Sign Up
Latest From MRS

Our latest training courses

Our new 2025 training programme is now launched as part of the development offered within the MRS Global Insight Academy

See all training

Specialist conferences

Our one-day conferences cover topics including CX and UX, Semiotics, B2B, Finance, AI and Leaders' Forums.

See all conferences

MRS reports on AI

MRS has published a three-part series on how generative AI is impacting the research sector, including synthetic respondents and challenges to adoption.

See the reports

Progress faster...
with MRS 
membership

Mentoring

CPD/recognition

Webinars

Codeline

Discounts