Old Mutual Financial solutions

Date: January 1, 1970

The advert with the strap line “solutions that cover every side of lifeÀ shows women and men and children from all different racial groups. It is about different kinds of insurance available from Old Mutual to cover all sexes, ages and different income groups.

This advertisement may be used to:

1. Challenge the stereotype that financial issues only concern men.

2. Show that gender aware advertising makes sense in the financial sector.

Trainer’s notes

In the Mirror on the Media Advertising research conducted by GL, audiences felt that the advert is balanced and it relates to the services being advertised. They noted that it shows different people, men and women who are affected by changes in the economy. Women are also represented. Women said they felt affirmed because invariably financial adverts discriminate against women. Male participants also felt that the advert is balanced as it shows both sexes. Both groups said they would buy the service being advertised. Female participants said the advert goes to show that the corporate world is not a “man’s world” only.

Discussion Questions

1. Why do you think the company made the decision to use this strategy ?

2. If women are discouraged from taking out insurance, how does this impact on themselves and their families?

Training exercises

1. Send participants into the offices of an insurance company. Ask them to do a quick count of how many women and men are in these offices and what kind of services they are negotiating. Talk to some of those serving customers. What are some of the latest trends with regard to the financial service needs of women and men? Does gender aware advertising make sense?

Additional training resources

GL’s training manual, Business Unusual, Gender and the Economy, provides many exercises on challenging gender stereotypes in the business world. Ask participants to have a look at some of the materials produced during the training on

https://www.genderlinks.org.za/page.php?p_id=310, and to find examples of “gender benders.” In what ways do these change the lives of both women and men?

Related GL Commentaries
Missing the mark? Gender and advertising in Southern Africa

Economic literacy a critical tool for women

Culture affecting women in business

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