New Unstereotype Alliance and Kantar ad analysis has found that whilst diverse representation has seen an overall drop, there are year-on-year improvements in terms of how unstereotyped ads are. This trend is even clearer for brands that are Unstereotype Alliance members, where ads have seen a 16% increase in their Progressive Unstereotype Metric scores. 

In partnership with Kantar, the Unstereotype Alliance has released its 2025 annual review of the Gender Unstereotype Metric (GUM) and Progressive Unstereotype Metric (PUM). The metrics examine the portrayals of people in ad content to discern if stereotypes are present. Continuous measurement of advertising using these metrics are critical to the Alliance’s mandate and reveal clear pathways for driving more inclusive portrayals of all. 

Since 2019, the Gender Unstereotype Metric has been measured in nearly 37,000 ads across 89 countries and over 7,600 brands. The Progressive Unstereotype Metric has been measured in over 18,700 ads in 63 countries and over 3,500 brands. The key findings analysis includes data from both Unstereotype Alliance and non Unstereotype Alliance members.

Key findings: 

• 2025 saw year-on-year improvements and the biggest growth in positive gender portrayals since 2021, equating to approximately 30% increase in Gender Unstereotype Metric scores.
• Similarly, Progressive Unstereotype Metric scores increased by 6 percentage points year-on-year.
• Members of the Unstereotype Alliance are creating ads that score higher on the Progressive Unstereotype Metric score with +8 percentage point growth since 2024.
• Globally, diverse representation has decreased in the last year, with less ethnic origin diversity (-2%), reduced skin colour diversity (-5%), and a drop in diverse body sizes (-3%).
• LGBTIQ+ and disability representation in ads remains very low globally at just 1%, and there is little change in the proportion of ads featuring people over 40, with those over 65 particularly underrepresented. Only 4-5% of ads feature people over 65 despite being 10% of the world population.
• Ads from Unstereotype Alliance members achieved higher Gender Unstereotype Metric Scores for portrayals of female characters, compared to non-members (+8 percentage points year-on-year).
• Mirroring the Unstereotype Alliance’s Inclusion = Income findings, high Gender Unstereotype Metric and Progressive Unstereotype Metric scores predict greater ROI for ad investment. These ads outperform on both short-term sales likelihood (+26-30 percentile points) and deliver strong impact on long-term brand equity (+43-49 percentile points)

National chapters 

Countries where the Unstereotype Alliance has a national chapter are driving more inclusive portrayals versus the global average, across a number of dimensions:

• In Argentina, ads are 4 times more likely to show male characters in non-traditional roles
• Representation of the disability community in Australian advertising is 4% vs 1% globally  
• Brazilian advertising has much higher skin diversity than the global average (+20%)
• India has higher than average diversity of body size in male characters and are more likely to show male characters in nontraditional roles
• Japan shows more people aged 40 or older in ads than the global average
• Mexico is leading the way in representing people in nontraditional roles – over 3 x as high as the global average
• Advertising in South Africa has 3 times the amount of ethnic origin diversity and 2.5 times the amount of skin colour diversity in advertising, versus the global average
• Türkiye has much higher diversity of body sizes in their content compared to the global average.
• Skin colour diversity is twice as high in UK advertising versus the global average and although LGBTIQ+ representation is 2%, it is double the global average 

What drives positive portrayals:

Each year, we analyze characteristics in ads that influence positive portrayals to understand what is driving high GUM and PUM scores. These characteristics are derived from the Unstereotype Alliance’s 3Ps framework of ‘Presence’, ‘Personality’ and ‘Perspective’. Findings from GUM and PUM analysis inform the Alliance’s work to create tools and resources that both address shortfalls and scale impact.

• For Female depictions, prominence remains key to positive portrayals, with caring and aspirational depictions becoming more influential; equal prominence with men has also risen in importance.
• For Males, confident portrayals have become much more influential in 2025, alongside caring, aspirational, and independent characterizations.