December 2023

What was measured

We analyzed the top 1000 Belgian TV, Online, and Print advertisements from December 2023 ranked by media investment. We extracted 1216 faces of talent from these ads and mapped the representation of age, gender, and ethnicity using an image analysis algorithm and human quality control. "Talents" refer to actors, models, and depicted persons in advertisements.

Channel Number of assets Number of talents
Television 672 1023
Online Ads 70 135
Print 258 141
Total 1000 1216

Remark: Some talents will appear in ads on multiple channels, therefore the total of all channels is not the sum. The total of all channels is the number unique talents across all channels.

Age representation

In this chart we see the visual age distribution of talents featured in the Top 1000 ads, compared to the age of the Belgian population (green area),

The visual age distribution is centered around age groups 25-34 and 35-44 , good for 29% and 22% of all talent respectively. The next age group is -18 and 18-24, each accounting for 14% of talent. Age group 45-54 is good for 11%.

Talents looking 45 and above account for only 20% of talents, while they represent 46% of the population and 53,5% of buying power. 20% is a slight improvement compared to the previous months.

Age distribution of casting in Top 1000 Ads compared to Belgian Population

Age by media

Age representation differs per media. In the previous months, Online Ads would feature the most young talent, followed by TV Ads. In December, TV Ads show more talents 25-35 and less talent 65+ than Online Ads.

As in previous months, Print Ads shift significantly towards older talent. In December Print Ads 32% of talent looks older than 45 - an increase compared to October (26%).

Online

Television

Print

Gender representation

Gender isn't simply a binary attribute determined by visual appearance. Our model, however, uses facial features to determine whether a person looks male or female.

Across the Top 1000 ads, we find 47% male talents and 53% female talents.

Visual Gender distribution of talent in Top 1000 Ads

Gender by media

Television and Online Ads shows the most women (both 54%), while Print Ads show 60% men - which is quite a jump compared to previous months (November 54%, October 52%). As in previous months, print media continues to portray older and more male talent.

Online

Television

Print

Gender x Age

Female talents are younger than male talents when we cross visual age and visual gender. Particularly in age groups above 45 female talent is underrepresented. We observe this trend month after month.

Age Male Female Difference F-M/F+M
65+ 3% 1% -50%
55-64 5% 3% -25%
45-54 6% 4% -20%
35-44 12% 12% 0%
25-34 11% 14% 12%
18-24 4% 10% 43%
-18 7% 9% 12%

Visual Gender crossed with visual age of talent in Top 1000 Ads

Ethnic representation

According to the analysis, 83% of talents are perceived as White (55% White + 28% Mediterranean White/Middle Eastern) compared to 17% non-White. Black talent makes up 9% of depicted persons, while Asian talent makes up 5%. This a slightly more ethnic diversity than in November.

Based on facial features, the data model predicts the likelihood that a talent belongs to one of the ethnic/race groups. Due to the fact that there are no hard boundaries between ethnic/race groups, a talent can be perceived as having a dominant and a secondary ethnicity/race.

In addition to White (lighter) and Mediterranean White/Middle Eastern (darker), the model detects Black, Asian, South Asian (e.g. India, Pakistan) and Latine/Hispanic looking people.

Visual Ethnicity distribution of talent in Top 1000 Ads

Ethnicity by media

We see the most ethnic diversity in online ads, followed by TV ads. Print ads show the least - almost no - ethnic diversity. The trend of online media depicting younger, more female and more ethnic diverse talent is in line with previous months.

Online

Television

Print

Comparing sectors

The advertising industry exhibits seasonality. In December Distribution and Retail (Supermarkets) were the biggest advertisers, followed by Media and Publishing and Food and Drinks. The top-3 is the same as in November, but Distribution and Retail is taking the top spot (holiday season) compared to Media and Publishing in November. New in fourth place are Automotive brands (running up to the traditional Januari deals).

The representation of diversity also varies across sectors. In some sectors, specific age groups or genders are targeted. Beauty products, for example, are typically marketed to women. Targeting cannot explain all differences, however.

Age representation per sector

Distribution and Retail (Supermarkets), Government and Media and Publishing (media brands, TV stations, magazines, …) show the most age diversity, this means representing a wide range of ages. However even the most age-diverse advertisers underrepresent people above 45. An exception is the Government and Public Sector which does represent age up to 65 in line with the population.

As in previous months, the Beauty and Hygiene sector seems to stick to the notion that young is beautiful and aspirational for older audiences.

In automotive advertising, young families with children and adults 25-35 are well represented. Considering that the luxury segment is likely to target an older audience, we wondered if there was a difference in age representation between middle class and luxury segments. Our deep dive revealed that the luxury segment focuses more on cars and design than on portraying people.

Sectors showing the most age diversity in their ads

Rank Sector Diversity score % 45+
1. distribution and retail 79 20%
2. government 78 35%
3. media and publishing 78 30%

Sectors showing the least age diversity in their ads

Rank Sector Diversity score % 45+
10. automotive and transportation 69 12%
11. cleaning products 62 10%
12. beauty and hygiene 61 10%

Charts comparing age diversity in the most and least age diverse sector

Gender representation per sector

Distribution and Retail (mainly supermarkets and online retailers) together with Toys and Events Ads are the most female - male balanced. Beauty and Hygiene show mostly women, this is not surprising. But also Health and Pharma Ads (in December advertising vitamines, cough and cold) show a female skew.

Sectors showing the most gender diversity in their ads

Sectors showing the least gender diversity in their ads

Rank Sector Diversity score % Female
1.
2.		 distribution and retail
toys and events		 50 54%
3. finance and insurance 50 46%
Rank Sector Diversity score % Female
10. government 46 62%
11. health and pharma 45 63%
12. beauty and hygiene 39 70%

Charts comparing gender diversity in the most and least gender diverse sector

Ethnic representation per sector

We see Finance and Insurance ads in the top again. Hospitality (mainly fast food and food delivery) is showing and equal amount of ethnic diversity.

Health and Pharma advertisers are among the least ethnically diverse. Media and Publishing typically feature a lot of “Bekende Vlamingen“ and “Wallons célèbres“, but they tend not to be ethnically diverse. Toys and Events were mainly advertising events in December, featuring the same brands as Media and Publishing, hence their position at the bottom of the table.

Sectors showing the most ethnic diversity in their ads

Rank Sector Diversity score
1.
2.		 finance and insurance
hospitality		 64
3. automotive and transportation 59

Sectors showing the least ethnic diversity in their ads

Rank Sector Diversity score
10.
11.		 health and pharma
media and publishing		 47
12. toys and events 44

Charts comparing ethnic diversity in the most and least ethnic diverse sector

Methodology

If you have questions about the methodology or the technology used to creat the Belgian Ad Diversity Barometer, check our methodology page.