The real reason why financial services ads show more women
by. Ron Shevlin
A recent Harvard Business Review blog post titled Why the Financial Services Industry Is Showing More Women in Its Ads contained the following:
“Financial institutions portray women today as competent and self-confident, and often feature attractive, middle-aged advisors talking to couples in which the woman is similarly well dressed and clearly attentive. It makes sense for advertisers to present women as strong, well-educated consumers. This is appealing to women who see an attractive self-image reflected back at them, and to men, who are flattered by the idea that smart, self-possessed, and financially secure women are their own life partners. But it’s not all ‘optics’–more and more women are actually taking on breadwinning roles. Of course, it’s not enough to show women in their advertisements; the next step is for FIs to effectively engage women with products and services tailored to their needs and desires.”
My take: I’m tempted to say that the article totally misses the real reason, but there was one passing sentence that forces me to temper my critique, and say that the article mostly misses the real reason.
What is that reason? Simply this:
In a large percentage of American households, it’s the female head of household who manages the family’s finances, and who takes the lead role in deciding who the family does its financial-related business with.
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