In March, with Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day, we see new equality commitments, fellowship programs and trending hashtags weekly. Many brands make an effort to appeal to women, but ultimately miss the mark with virtue signaling or stunts that do not thoughtfully consider their audience. To truly represent women, brands need to start from the very beginning of their creative process with conscious casting.

As a Broadway director, I think very deeply about not only the stories I choose to tell, but the people best suited to tell them. I don’t cast actors, I cast the entirety of a person. Not just what they do, but who they are. I consciously think about why they belong in the space and why the space is changed because they are in it. 

I know that every person who steps into a story has their own story, and it’s important to find the right person who can uniquely speak to and add depth to that experience. Recently I started consulting with creative agencies on ‘conscious casting’ a concept I’ve named to describe how brands need to move beyond representation, which can focus on surface-level visibility, to carefully choosing which actor can authentically tell that story.

Conscious casting doesn’t just cast actors; it transforms the creative. In marketing (unlike theater), actors are chosen based on their look and demographic, not their character, which leads to stories that may achieve the brand’s objectives but don’t necessarily reflect real life. If we focus on a more creative and honest approach to characterization, where we ask questions about the characters and start to understand their lifestyles and personalities, we can create richer representations. People want to be actively seen and if we are not showcasing them, we are actively ignoring them.

When we become more specific, we become more relatable. By creating characters that belong in the world the ad is building, it empowers the actors and improves the way they perform. I may not know your pain or your joy, but when I see it, I recognize it as true. If companies tried to appeal to just one person versus the masses, they would genuinely speak to and impact millions.

For example, I worked with the creative innovation company Technology, Humans And Taste [THAT] on ‘Take Me To Your Leader’, an ad for their Women’s Future Month campaign for Chief, a private membership network for women in leadership. It shows a female alien figure coming down to Earth asking “Take me to your leader. What’s her name, by the way?” A puzzled child asks “Her?” and disappointed, the mysterious force draws away. The spot highlights how we need to make sure that women are leading us into the future. We incorporated conscious casting from the people to the situations they were in so no one felt like an extra. From wardrobe to hair to scouting locations, every person looked like they belonged and had a reason to be there.

But there have been missed opportunities in other ads which have tried to speak to women. Michelob ULTRA’s ‘Welcome to Superior Bowl’ made a nod to The Big Lebowski to address gender equality in line with Michelob’s recent pledge to increase the visibility of women in sports. However, for an ad that aims to empower women, it gives most of the screen time to men, with four men and three women cast.

Can you imagine if they had only cast women to talk about equity in sports? Instead, they took a bro movie where the lead character is called ‘Dude’ and tried to throw women into it. All the ad proved was that there was inequality, both in the advertisement and in the sport. If you want to talk about women athletes, it doesn’t have to be under the male gaze.

This affects all of us. Even if we aren’t personally making these ads, we are all receiving their messaging. At some point, you are going to see a character who represents how someone sees you, even if it doesn’t capture the complexity of who you are. Being misrepresented affects how we see ourselves, and we all deserve to see each other more clearly.

We need a new approach to representation that starts with the stories we tell and the characters that inhabit them.

Here are a few steps you can follow:

1. Start asking questions about what holds true in the world you have built.
2. Demand your teams are diverse, from production to talent, and that you are in constant conversation with your audience. 
3. Instead of focusing on how many diverse people are on screen, consider how many different experiences within that identity are being represented and honored. 
4. Be true to who you are and brave enough to take risks for what you stand for.