In the words of Marcus Sheridan, we are all in the business of trust, and trust is built over time. Consumers will always be more loyal to a brand they trust.

• 70% of Gen Z consumers are showing more trust brands that represent diversity in their ad campaigns.
• Adobe says, 38% of the consumers, in general, are likely to trust brands that are doing well with diversity in their ads.
• 71% of the consumers expect brands to promote diversity and inclusion in their advertising. (Source) 

The stats point towards the fact that – diversity and inclusion is not just a superficial concepts and brand marketers and advertisers need to be paying more attention to it.

What is Diversity and Inclusion really, and how is it important to modern marketers?

Promoting diversity and inclusion in marketing aims at speaking to a larger audience looking past gender, age, race, or any other preconceived notions of religion. D&I friendly ads target people from all levels of society, seeking commonalities not out of any social bias.

For instance, a makeup brand showing young women using its products is a general ad, but the same brand showing an older customer using the products and highlighting it becomes a more inclusive one.

Diversity and inclusion forces marketers to see beyond the general barriers and open the doors for everyone. It allows marketers and advertisers to try to think deeper, about why and how a product can be used by more sections of society.

Do you remember how Coco Cola put 65 million people on a hilltop and brought them a Coke? It was a groundbreaking ad, and it is still considered an iconic marketing campaign to date.

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Are there other brands following a strong D&I culture in their brand and ad initiatives? Let us have a quick look here:

1. Burger King with its Impossible Whopper

Diversity and inclusion are not only about looking past the social bias for gender, caste, or race; it is beyond that. Look at this example set forth by Burger King.

In their campaign of Impossible Whopper, they came forward with people on dietary restrictions. It introduced a vegan, vegetarian burger to non-beef eating consumers, who had sought them out previously.

The brilliant ad placed Burger King right into the plates of vegetarians.

2. McDonald’s McDelivery Day

The brand beautifully took advantage of late-night cravings and created a glowing marketing campaign. The campaign received huge success in Singapore.

The ad featured a life-size print advertisement in a news daily to capitalize on how midnight cravings are important to satiate. Along with this, the company produced a short film highlighting the hard work of its folks who make their living by delivering even during orders even at or after midnight.

The ad could highlight the most remote corners of the country, and it was a major hit as several late-night shift workers could relate to it.

3. Coca-Cola

The brand already has quite a few feathers to its cap for creating groundbreaking advertisements. Here is another one for you.

Some time ago, World Happiness Report showed Romania among the top 10 unhappy nations. With positivity and inspiration at the heart, the beverage brand sought to change things a little for the country. The brand influencers in Romania encouraged the public to come forward and share their stories.

People got excited about it, and many of them came forward to share their life stories leading to more brand interaction.

4. Adidas – Here to Create

Adidas is a brand that keeps on adding more diversity to its ads. Right from famous actors, musicians, fashion icons, athletes, and more, the brand brings forward many faces to make people understand that its products are for everyone.

One such diversity ad opened with “calling all creators” showed a group of stars at a place that resembled a boardroom, where everyone was sharing their experiences with a common mindset keeping aside any bias on gender, borders, or race.

5. Airbnb – Belong Anywhere

Airbnb keeps coming up with new diversity ad series, but one of the best ones is this one where the brand showed the evolution of Airbnb, and how the brand embraces all global cultures. The video released showed guests to an Airbnb house from different parts of the world, having fun, and just being people.

If there are some lessons to learn from this ad, it is – tell relatable stories and challenge the assumptions audiences make about your brand. You need to bring forward something different and more inclusive, taking care of a larger audience. Right from there, the magic begins…

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