Move Over Barry Humphries: A New Australia Is In Demand

A caucasian boy and an Indigenous Australian girl in school uniform make silly faces and gestures at the camera in the playground.

Recent research from Getty Images has shown demand for images reflecting modern diversity is off the charts. Here’s how you can catch the wave.

A study from Ebiquity in 2017 revealed while 49 per cent of the Australian population is either born overseas or have parents abroad, three out of every four ads in Australia feature an all-white cast.

And so while we walk around in ethnically diverse communities, our screens still trot out the same tired tropes more akin to Barry Humphries portrayal of Australia 20 years ago.

This year we have seen glimmers of positive change within the advertising industry, with diversity and inclusion one of the hottest topics at Cannes and a growing appetite for content and initiatives to drive change in this area.

Major brands are increasingly aware of the importance of reflecting an authentic Australian audience in their marketing communications and mindful of the dangers of misrepresenting or excluding certain groups.

Yet new consumer research from Getty Images showed that 76 per cent of Australians believe brands need to do more to ensure the images of Australian people in advertising are true to real life.

Interestingly, Getty Images search data supports the apparent increase in demand for more diverse images.

It has revealed that searches for images of “Indigenous Australian” are up 224 per cent, searches for “Individuality” are up 129 per cent and “Multicultural” 108 per cent.

In response to the growing demand, last month Getty Images in partnership with Canon announced the launch of a new and growing collection of more than 5,000 new images, which have been added to their library of close to a million of existing images of Australia.

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The collection, named ‘This is Australia’ has been shot all around Australia by over 200 passionate Canon photographers with an impressive 55 per cent female participation rate – uncovering stories of diversity fostered in our local communities, as told by these communities.

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The new images are celebrating the everyday Australia we know and love – soccer with mates, Sunday lunch with the family, caravan park holidays, park picnics, fish and chips by the beach, weekend time out and so much more. These real-life moments are captured through the lens of our many ethnicities, lifestyles, and the changing perceptions of gender and age.

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What’s more, all the images are cleared and ready for use in marketing and advertising. So, there is really no excuse not to make your next campaign less ‘Barry’ and more the Australia of today.

To view the full ‘This is Australia’ collection, click here or search gettyimages.com.au with “thisisaustraliacollection” as the keyword.

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Barry Humphries diversity Getty Images Multicultural Advertising This is Australia