• by Frank Riolo , July 30, 2014

Recently, Advertising Age highlighted Cadillac’s recent commercial featuring French model Magali Amadei. In the spot, eager fathers look on as Amadei’s character picks up her kids at school in the Cadillac SRX while clearly sporting work attire, as if she has just come from the office. The commercial is noteworthy, because even here in the 21^st Century, women are rarely portrayed as dominant figures in advertising. This is something that brands might want to consider changing. As our country’s population continues to evolve, whether it is due to the maturing of Millennials, new family dynamics, or a shift in nationalities, the face of the wealthy American will continue to evolve, as well. This means that a shift in luxury product marketing strategy is inevitable.  

For example, a 2012 study conducted by Pulse Opinion Research found that women spend over $300 billion per year on vehicles, a purchase that was often associated with the males of the household. Not only that, but a woman’s self-earned wealth could also lead to different life decisions, such as forgoing marriage or children. This could be a culture shock to brands that have become content with depicting women as arm candy. However, as women become stronger forces in the professional world, purchases will fall into their lap more often, meaning that brand messaging needs to adapt by portraying women as breadwinners, rather than simply wives and mothers. 

A similar case can be made for the gay population. While it is a misconception that all gays are wealthy (perpetuated by stereotypical portrayals of gay couples such as that on the television show Modern Family), the fact remains that a significant portion of the population actually does do rather well monetarily. With gay marriage becoming legal in more states, many gay married couples are now making a combined income upwards of $400,000 per year. Instead of publicly calling out the fact that they are trying to appeal to gay households, brands should subtly include gay families in their advertising, much like the way Honey Maid did in 2013. While the media storm that ended up surrounding the commercial made it anything but subtle, the main purpose was to depict a homosexual couple as “everyday,” which they have now become in the eyes of many. 

The affluent population is not immune to the changes we are seeing in makeup of America. While we tend to believe that “the rich” are a group of old, money-hungry white men, this is simply not true in the year 2014. Messaging for luxury products will need to branch out if they plan on retaining loyalty in the future.