Unstereotype Alliance study finds inclusive ads boost sales, consumer preference; analysis covers 392 brands in 58 countries, shows positive impact across multiple industries

Unilever joined UN Women to co-found the Unstereotype Alliance in 2017, establishing an industry-led initiative to eradicate harmful stereotypes in advertising. Now, new research shows that this approach isn’t just good for inclusion and representation, it’s better for business too.

A study conducted in partnership with Saїd Business School at Oxford University explored proprietary data from Unstereotype Alliance members, including Unilever, representing 392 brands across 58 countries.

Companies across categories from consumer goods and confectionery to healthcare, household products, pet food, personal care and more, shared details about the impact of their inclusive advertising campaigns – with very positive results.

Exploring inclusion’s impact on advertising

The study looked at multiple metrics such as sales, financial performance, consumer preference, loyalty, brand equity and market competitiveness and found improvements in every area.

The findings confirm that inclusive ad campaigns deliver:

• A 62% likelihood of being a consumer’s first choice
• 3.5% higher shorter-term sales and 16% higher longer-term sales
• 15% higher consumer loyalty

“This report highlights the undeniable business case for more diverse and inclusive marketing, and will prove a powerful tool as the industry strives for even more progressive, impactful work moving forward,” says Unilever Chief Growth and Marketing Officer Esi Eggleston Bracey.

“Unilever has led the charge in creating bold, unmissable advertising that is progressive, provocative and inclusive for years, from our work with Dove, Rexona and LUX to name but a few key brands. For us, creating work that is inclusive of people with different lived experiences isn’t just the right thing to do, it’s a business imperative that drives brand power and commercial results.”

Our Act 2 Unstereotype ambition

We’ve been committed to reflecting the realities of our consumers’ communities since 2016, when we first launched the Unstereotype initiative with the aim of eradicating harmful stereotypes from our advertising.

We broadened this ambition in 2021 to embed equity, diversity and inclusion across every point of the end-to-end marketing process with the launch of Act 2 Unstereotype , demonstrating our ambition to be truly inclusive and representative of the people we serve, both on-screen and behind the camera.

Real campaigns helping to drive brand superiority for Unilever

Our inclusive marketing strategy is helping to boost brand power, with Dove’s 2023 campaign, ‘The Code ’, one clear example.

The emotive campaign raised awareness of the damaging impact AI-generated images can have on female confidence. Not only did the campaign film receive over 4 billion organic impressions and more than 500 million organic views, but it also achieved strong results across Dove’s key performance indicators.

94% of women agreed that it demonstrated Dove wants to ensure a broader definition of beauty is accessible to everyone. And 57% of respondents said they felt more positive towards Dove after seeing the campaign.

In China, our LUX brand’s ‘Smash the Labels’ positioning and campaigns aim to empower women to express their femininity with confidence , free from fear of misogynistic judgement.

Campaign videos have received more than 124 million impressions and 37,000 engagements on social media, while contributing to a consistent increase in market share for LUX over the past three years.

Meanwhile, our deodorant brand Rexona (also sold as Degree and Sure) launched its ‘Just Warming Up’ campaign last year, using the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023™ as a cultural catalyst to encourage greater inclusion in sport.

The campaign sparked more than 1 billion views on TikTok and over 2.3 billion earned media impressions. Rexona was also ranked the top-recalled brand in Australia and Latin America during the tournament.