Super Bowl 50's Ads Largely Ignore Women, But They're 46 Percent Of The Audience

The biggest football fan I know is my cousin Steph, who catches all the shows, knows all the players, and can talk stats with the best of them. Yet the Super Bowl ads largely ignore women, despite the fact that at least 46 percent of viewers are female. It's unclear why advertisers keep ignoring women when they make up almost half of Super Bowl viewers. Remember that Carl's Jr. ad, where Kate Upton and very little clothing was used to try and sell burgers? Other companies have used catfighting women, naked ladies, and unrealistic stereotypes in an attempt to lure guys in. Because boobs sell burgers, right?

Wrong, if you look at the numbers. Forty-six percent of viewers are female and women make up the majority of the social media voices that are talking while the game rolls, according to Adweek. In general, women make up 59 percent of Twitter users and out-tweet guys by 60 percent. Considering they make up nearly half of the viewers watching the Super Bowl — and tweet way more than men, why aren't the ads targeting women at all? That is what would give companies more bang for their very-expensive-buck, considering Super Bowl ads cost $5 million. If companies wanted the maximum amount of media attention and public appreciation for their ads, they'd be pandering to women.

Or at least doing a better job of not alienating them.

Kaling was referencing Buick's ad, which features Emily Ratajkowski.

Katherine Wintsch, CEO of The Mom Complex, told the International Business Times Saturday that ad departments are either ignoring the demographics or don't have enough women on staff to raise the red flag when male-dominated departments are coming up with ads that women won't like:

I feel every year you hear more and more commentary about the lack of targeting of women and moms in Super Bowl ads, and it seems to get louder and louder every year. After having worked in and around this issue for over a decade, my hypothesis is that creative departments in agencies are overwhelmingly made up of men and there’s a lack of representation of women. I think when there’s not as much representation, it’s hard to have empathy [for women consumers].

The lack of female representation is a real problem in the ad world. Only 3 percent of American creative directors and just under 10 percent of art directors are female, according to the IB Times. Still, even without that representation, ad agencies should realize that women make up a majority of the consumer market. Women represent a market twice as big as China and India combined, according to The Harvard Business Review. Women are increasingly driving sales, and it's about time the industry adjusted to reflect that.

So, to help out the Super Bowl ad creators: generally, women don't like to be reduced to bouquets, boobs, and naggers. They're increasingly making up more of the money and the media that ads affect, so for their own good, it's time to catch up with 2016.