American brewing giant Anheuser-Busch, the company behind Bud Light, probably have more reason than most to remember. After all, the advertising campaign built around Mulvaney triggered a public backlash which saw sales fall by 30% and $15.7bn wiped off the market value of the company in 2023.
For the record, Mulvaney a biological male who identifies as a transwoman was the face of a high profile advertising campaign by Anheuser-Busch in March 2023. No doubt the idea of a transwoman fronting an advertising campaign for popular beer Bud Light sounded like a good idea at the time especially to the advertising people who came up with it. However, the same campaign backfired spectacularly with the American public meaning it ultimately did untold reputational damage to Bud Light.
The Mulvaney/Bud Light debacle shines a light on a somewhat overlooked theatre of war in what is increasingly a global culture war – namely Adland. The advertising landscape that we experience on a daily basis is no longer about merely informing us about consumer products and their price. Today, Adland reflects the culture and politics of a society as much as it informs us about this week’s special offers in the local supermarket.
It’s a topic that’s now as relevant in Ireland as it is in America. Speaking of which – the biggest issue in Adland Ireland these days would appear to be a belief that there are too many recognisably Irish people in Irish ads. The belief that advertising should reflect a changing Ireland appears to be driving this. In essence, this is as much a political activist view as it is an advertising trade view.
That a country’s advertising imagery should reflect that country is a reasonable view but is this really what Adland Ireland is now doing? Considering that the most recent 2022 census returns put Ireland’s black population at just 1.5% it would appear that black representation in Irish advertising is now a multiple of what it actually is in the Irish population.
Take drinks giant Diageo’s recent 2023 advert for its Rockshore lager. The 30 second ad called ‘Refreshingly Irish’ purports to showcase its lager in a variety of settings which reflect today’s Ireland. As part of this, the representation of ethnic Africans would appear to be wildly disproportionate to what the most recent census returns would suggest.
The vexed question of representation based on race and ethnicity is especially evident in adverts relating to the GAA. It would appear that Adland Ireland now views the world of Gaelic games as some sort of cultural trophy which has to be delivered on a plate before the high altar of a woke ideology based on diversity and inclusion. The emerging rule of thumb in many GAA-related ads now appears to be that about one in three of those featured should be ethnic Africans or otherwise not recognisably Irish.
Judge for yourself this 2023 Bord Gáis Energy ad about the game of hurling. Called ‘It’s Anyone’s Game’, this 30 second television ad in its own words seeks ‘to champion hurling across the country, promote positive discussion around inclusivity and demonstrate that hurling is a place for everyone.’ High minded and noble these aspirations may be but you have to ask if this is simply another rehash of some progressive activist vision for Irish society rather than an accurate reflection of the GAA and Gaelic games in Irish society today.
Underpinning all advertising is the need for accuracy and truthfulness. This applies not just in terms of what is being offered to the consumer but also in terms of the accompanying imagery. It begs the simple question – is Adland now reflecting an Ireland that exists or is it projecting some make believe vision of a country as envisaged by people who appear to be allowing their political activism get the better of them.
Neither is it part of some racist trope to question the disproportionate use of groups in advertisements based on nothing more than their ethnicity. In fact, it could be argued that the disproportionate use of such people based on nothing more than their ethnicity is racist to begin with.
The idea that Adland – just like RTÉ or the Irish mainstream media – is really made up of people ‘just like us’ and so is only reflecting popular sentiment is something that needs to be questioned.
In 2023, TAM Ireland published a fascinating study which looked at how those in Ireland’s Adland compared to the general population in terms of demographics and TV viewing habits. The findings showed that Ireland’s Adland was heavily weighted towards Dublin with 77% of respondents living there compared to 28% of the general population. It also showed Adland to have a younger age profile with 57% of those in the age demographic 25 – 44 compared to 36% of the general population.
The study also showed Adland to be marginally more female than the general population. Another interesting finding related to TV viewing habits. It transpires that Adland watches considerably less television than the rest of the population. This results in the somewhat extraordinary situation whereby Adland collectively is less likely than the rest of the population to consume the advertising content which it is responsible for creating!
The same people were also less likely to watch live television in front of a conventional television set and more likely to watch it via the internet. Not surprisingly for this age cohort, Adland was also more likely to use streaming services and social media than the rest of the population.
Overall, what strikes the observer is how closely Adland’s demographic corelates to that of the classic woke demographic. In political terms, you could well imagine Adland voting solidly for a Holly Cairns led Social Democrats more so than any other Irish political party.
The question of the representation and indeed, over representation of groups based on ethnicity and race in advertising is by no means confined to Ireland. Nigeria, an overwhelmingly ethnic African country with a less than 1% white population, had a similar issue with the disproportionate over representation of whites in its advertising landscape.
Interestingly, in 2022 Nigeria became one of the first countries in the world to pass laws banning such advertising practices. In doing so, it’s unclear if Nigeria was just shoring up the position of its own local advertising industry or if it was seeking to address the wider cultural issues around the disproportionate use of a particular ethnic group in its advertising imagery. Either way, the move shone a light on an aspect of Adland that few in the advertising sector like to talk about.
Perhaps the real lesson from the Dylan Mulvaney debacle is that activism in advertising is a high risk undertaking which can have all sorts of unintended outcomes. Bringing your political activism to work is not always something that is guaranteed to go down well. At the very least, it carries the risk of undermining public trust not just in the product or idea being sold but also in the advertising industry associated with selling it.
Think of the activist house painter who insists on painting the latest iteration of the Progress Pride flag on the front of your newly painted house and you’ll quickly realise that most people are distinctly iffy about mixing activism and work.
It’s something that Adland Ireland could do well to remember.
Loading ...
I consciously made a decision a while ago to reduce or cut out altogether buying products that promote the hate filled woke agenda. Nearly every single ad on TV these days is a blonde/red haired white woman with a black husband, because yeah, that’s representative of society. No, all it is is a stereotypical representation of a black male fantasy.
Any and all institutions that demonstrate an inability to police their own behaviour in relation to ideological capture need to be dismantled and their woke employees fired. Milei is doing it in Argentina, DeSantis is doing it in Florida… there is no reason why we cannot turn the tables on those who seems saint’s when most they play the devil.
I never knew that there were so many blondes in Ireland.
The thing about that Rockshore ad that irks me is the fact it is ok to have a laugh at the Irish people (which is fine, we’re generally up for a bit of craic) but could you imagine the uproar and pearl clutching that would have happened if one of the African’s in the ad was the but of one of the jokes???
I actually don’t mind that ad, it demonstrates that indigenous Irish always have done, and hopefully will continue to take the pi$$ out of each other without offense being taken. There are too many softies out there ready to burst into tears and run to their smartphone to complain on X or Facebook that someone has hurt their little feelings. There’s nothing wrong with a bit of gentle ribbing, I say it helps to build resilience 😜
This TV Advert by the LGFA and LIDL should be reported to the Advertising Standards Authority.
The Ad entitled “level the playing field” is stirring HATE towards men.
The Ad re-iterates over and over that Women were “told” they couldn’t play gaa , they couldn’t do this , they couldn’t do that. .. when exactly were they told this and who told them ?? where is the supportive evidence ??
Women could always play GAA, . there is Nothing or No barriers stopping women from going to matches or playing the game .if they chose not to or if people dont go as much to the games , thats not the fault of Men which this Tv advert is suggesting.
The advert is clearly stirring up hate against men whether intentional or not I’m sure its a breach of advertising standards.
There is no supporting evidence because women were never told these things. It’s just another example of the fake victim narrative that sustains the feminist myths on which their multi million euro victim -feminist industries are based.
It should also be mentioned that this diversity in advertising is mandated by regulations. Thus it is another example of the EU inspired drive for deracination and socially engineered multiculturalism. These regulations are socialising people to the on-going project to dilute the political power of indigenous homogeneous ethnic groups across Europe. Just because some countries in Europe have resisted this project better than others, doesn’t mean it isn’t happening.
Whever I see an advertisement attempting to deracinate the indigenous Irish ,I make a conscious effort never to support the product or business.
This is the long established and effective weapon of the Boycott.
Withdrawal of custom, business and money is a very powerful equaliser weapon. USE IT AND OFTEN.
I try to do the same, unfortunately the practice is so widespread that it is almost impossible to buy clothes, especially if you have kids, and avoid these offensive marketing shenanigans. But boycott long and hard whenever you can. It is effective.
Mulvaney first came to the scene dressed as a man on the quiz show the price is right. He is being used by blackrock and vanguard to destroy businesses. He has no breast and the thing is completely fake, he only pretends to be a woman and has not altered his body. Blackrock and vanguard are the ones that are pushing inter relationships with other races in advertisements by threatening companies as part of the kalergi plan because they control these companies through shares just like they control Ireland’s bonds which our criminals sold them through the central bank. Blackrock and vanguard are the machine driving the anti white agenda.
All part of a multi level attack on society. Sell your crap product by all means but stick your ideology where the sun don’t shine.
Good article
And ironically.
It’s such a condescending patronising campaign.
It’s fake!
It’s projection!
As long as he is not a white male who embraces traditional European views anything goes.
Love the Bord Gais add, where the woman is pretending to be a gas technician and will come to your house if you smell gas. If you ring Customer support a woman will probably answer the call and you are guaranteed some lad with turn up!
Good. A fella will no what he is doing and is highly unlikely to blow up your house
Interestingly if you look carefully at the first few seconds of the Bord Gais ad, you will see that the female gas technician has no tools in her tool box. This says it all, more fake advertising.
Go Woke
Go Broke
Finally a discussion about representative advertising. I’m sick to death of over representation of ethnic minorities. Here’s the thing – these woke ideologues are crating the division. Irish people feel under siege from the advertising. We feel invisible in our own country. What the actual @&€k and who is oking the shite!!!! Nigeria are right ! I worked in Africa for years and was told to shut the fuck up when it came to culture. I had no voice I wasn’t indigenous. And they were tight! And they knew I was Irish but that didn’t get me a non colonial pass! This is next front in the fight for our culture. Pride Flags flying from public buildings and representative advertising. Enough is enough!!!
“Go woke Go broke”, apart from Ireland where the Irish mainstream society is so paralysed by political correctness and the woke mind virus that they are will allow their country and children futures be destroyed rather than stepping out from the woke herd and be called a “far roysh bigot”. Pathetic
And the msm still can’t point out actual “far right ” players.
AGS are parroting the same nonsense.
The is an inverse relationship between media claims and actual far right presence.
The same holds in the inverse for far left.
Rampant rent a crowd lefties when required. Plenty in politics and media.
But not a mention of them in any msm organs.
Strange!
For all the silliness of left-right partisanship in the USA, at least it awakens the population to the possibility and practice of debate (before being channeled into lost causes). It should be obvious that an Irish “uni-view” is inherently unhealthy – and this should be obvious even to the holders of that view.
Fair play for kicking off this discussion on what I (but possibly not many others) regard as a mainstream platform.
It’s main stream now. It’s very big. It’s also totally different from the others.