Happy International Women's Day!  

Advertisers are now doing so much more to ensure that the worlds they show in their ads reflect the real world we live in (people of color! same sex couples! people with disabilities!) However, as my colleagues' posts have shown, a disturbing amount of advertising content and practices still rely on out-dated views of gender.  Indeed, a recent report (linked to the article mentioned here) notes that women are still portrayed in ads inappropriately and that targeting of ads is still done along outdated gendered lines.  (I happen to know for a fact that men DO buy diapers and laundry detergent!)

Someday, perhaps, showing the world along outdated gendered lines will trigger a claim of false advertising.  But, before we get there, let's just all call on brands and their agencies to get ahead of the curve  -- to show the world as it is and how we want it to be -- rather than lag behind it.