Citation

Berman C, Fedewa D, Caggiano J. Advert. Soc. Rev. 2006; 7(2).

Copyright

(Copyright © 2006, Advertising Educational Foundation)

DOI

10.1353/asr.2006.0023

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The International Advertising Festival at Cannes recognizes and celebrates creative achievements in advertising, much as the Cannes Film Festival honors artistic excellence in film. In 2004, global advertising agency Leo Burnett Worldwide presented a seminar titled, "Miss Understood: She's Not Buying Your Ads," at Cannes to a standing-room only crowd. The presentation examined why advertising cannot quite seem to engage women consumers with the same level of breakthrough work that is more frequently directed at men, and challenged the industry to raise the creative bar across female-targeted categories largely associated with cliché-ridden, uninspiring, and even offensive work. Two years later, "Miss Understood" is still being delivered around the world by Leo Burnett in the hopes that its message will serve as a catalyst for change.