Super Bowl ads are 7% less diverse than other spots, research shows

This year’s Super Bowl spots may have been full of nostalgia, silly humour and celebrities, but they still lacked in diversity, according to new research from Deloitte Digital’s Heat.

The agency analysed the big game commercials over the weekend using its "Heat Test," a proprietary diversity ad score process that launched last fall. According to its research, which includes the examination of 75 key metrics, Super Bowl ads were 7% less diverse on average than ads that run throughout the year.

The test measures eight key metrics: People of colour, women, LGBTQ, age, ethnicity, socio-economic class, disability and religion.

Additionally, the research, led by Heat head of strategy Maggie Gross and strategist Lindsay Wade, revealed that the auto and finance industries continue to have the highest average Heat Test scores. The test also showed that celebrity appearances have a slight correlation with high Heat Test scores, which means that celebrities actually help boost diversity scores.

Consumer packaged goods and technology industries had the lowest scores despite higher diversity in audiences for CPG brands, with women making up 70 to 80% of CPG purchases, the research stated.

According to "The Heat Test," the majority of brands (69%) with ads that represent diverse individuals in a three-dimensional way, rather than relying on stereotypes see better performances on their stock prices.