Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Wants Gender-Equity Ads From Brands—Not Product Pitches
https://adage.com/article/media/sports-illustrated-swimsuit-wants-gender-equity-ads-brands/2394276
https://swimsuit.si.com/swimnews/sports-illustrated-swimsuit-announces-pay-with-change-initiative
There’s a new standard to advertise with Sports Illustrated Swimsuit (SIS) in their coveted annual print magazine. Only brands “who are helping drive gender equality forward will be featured”, period. To qualify for this new platform, “Pay With Change”, brands will have to prove how they are creating change for women and define the specific progress they are driving by May 2022, which is when the magazine will be released. The approved brands will then have access to SIS’s print and digital media properties to promote their product or service.
This is a great example of a company owning the societal standard they’ve created (i.e. beauty standards for women) and actively using their massive voice to create a new, more inclusive standard. While I’ve seen plenty of companies preach inclusivity, I’ve rarely seen them implement a platform to uphold inclusivity, which could ultimately impact their revenue growth. This is a bold move for SIS and frankly, it is unclear how they are measuring success and determining which brands are worthy of a seat at their table. This pilot year of the program will be telling and SIS will be held accountable for who they chose and why.
Assuming all goes well and this platform continues, I wonder what would happen if this became the standard to advertise with any major media company. What role would ethics play in advertising and digital marketing moving forward?
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