Advertising aims to grab the target consumer’s attention, create a desire for the product, and eventually persuade the consumer to buy the product (Armstrong, Ivas, and Armstrong, 2006). The challenge is to differentiate an ad from the others, which points to the trend of narratives in advertising. 

Advertising narratives connect with the consumer, enabling the viewer to relate to the story in the ad and generate positive emotions (Kissell, 2019). It has been proven that story ads allow advertising persuasion, through elements in the story such as the main character’s position and actions. This can also be featured in editorial, which is a narrower magazine content.

As the consumer population diversifies, it’s important for brands to authentically reflect various backgrounds and experiences in order to effectively connect with future customers (Brodzik et al., 2021). A failed example is Becca Cosmetic’s 2018 online advertisement, which was accused of blackface.

In the photo on their social media page, a white person’s hand had been photoshopped to appear black, which was not seamlessly done, and left the palm white. This pointed out the reluctance of brands to use black people in advertising, which does little to promote any diversity and inclusion. This caused a major backlash, and let viewers know that the brand was not authentic in inclusion and ignorant (Morris, 2020).

References:

Brodzik, C., Young, N., Drake, N. and Cuthill, S. (2021) ‘Authentically inclusive marketing’. Deloitte Insights, [online] Available at: <https://www2.deloitte.com/uk/en/insights/topics/marketing-and-sales-operations/global-marketing-trends/2022/diversity-and-inclusion-in-marketing.html> [Accessed 30 April 2022].

Kissell, T. (2019) ‘The power of storytelling in advertising’. RESEARCH AND IMPACT, [online] Available at: <https://annenberg.usc.edu/news/research-and-impact/power-storytelling-advertising> [Accessed 30 April 2022].

Morris, C. (2020) ‘How Insensitive Marketing Can Kill Your Brand Image’. Forbes, [online] Available at: <https://www.forbes.com/sites/deloitte/2022/04/28/employers-must-act-now-to-help-reverse-the-impacts-of-the-pandemic-on-womens-careers/?sh=718721673a3a> [Accessed 30 April 2022].