"Adapting to inclusivity around parenting is a holistic approach": Eric Schoeffler, Havas Germany

Havas Germany

Publicité/Communication intégrée

Düsseldorf, Allemagne

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Eric Schoeffler

ECD Europe / CCO Germany — Havas Europe

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Eric Schoeffler, Chief Creative Officer at Havas Germany & Executive Creative Director at Havas Europe, fills us in the balancing act of authentically portraying modern families and parenthood in advertising.

How has the depiction of parenthood in advertising evolved?

With many social issues, there has been a significant shift in recent years towards inclusivity in advertising, with brands recognizing the importance of representing diverse perspectives and experiences in their brand communications. The portrayal of parenting in advertising is no exception, and we see a growing number of brands seeking to represent a more diverse range of family models apart from the default picture. Instead, advertising is more and more also showcasing single-parent households, same-sex parent families, or blended families. And it’s quite reflective of the changing nature of family life in many societies, as well as a growing recognition of the need to represent this diverse reality in advertising.

How are agencies and brands adapting ad comms to inclusivity around parenting?

This is not a specific trend around showcasing parenting in advertising, but with all topics and especially through the influence of Gen Z, there is an overall desire to portray authenticity and relatability. This has led to a shift away from idealized, picture-perfect representations of parenting and towards embracing the small hurdles and downs in family life as well – for instance, showing working parents who often juggle the demands of work and family life. Or like we did with our campaign "Own it" for the fashion brand C&A, where we showed that parenting isn’t always easy and that there’s no such thing as being a "perfect mother" when it comes to motherhood.

So, from an agency's point of view, it all starts with an idea that checks off honesty, authenticity, and topicality. And this idea needs consistency from selecting the right language, where we see a growing emphasis on diverse language too, over casting, and up to content and collaborations with the right influencers. Adapting to inclusivity around parenting is a holistic approach.

In what ways does your role as a parent inform your work?

On one hand, it would be great if it wasn't because as a professional, you should, of course, be open, critical, and courageous regardless of your family status. Obviously, you can't put your own experiences with the kids or as a family aside fully when you're working, so it does play a certain role. But on the other hand, your family status can be a source of inspiration – a perspective you're adding to the teamwork. So, in the end, we benefit from any background and family life when we talk about creating ideas to showcase modern parenting in advertising.

What are some areas regarding parenthood that you feel could use more visibility in advertising?

I feel we need to differentiate here between modern and traditional media. Despite witnessing a growing depiction of modern parenting in advertising, there is a fine line between both media. In traditional media, we still often get to see some idealized, happy-go-lucky family feeling – happy people consuming happy products. In social media, I see more engagement with critical issues by brands. That's why I'd like to see traditional media succeed in better depicting people's reality without necessarily having to come across as negative. There's still a bit of a way to go.

Legal guardians can play a significant role in the lives of children who are no longer with their birth parents. How can brands balance the importance placed on these other parental figures in their messaging?

A real matter here is time. Family models that include aspects like adoption are, by nature, more in need of explanation. An explanation that can easily exceed the time span needed for the brand's messages, which should always be at the core of any brand communication. So for most communication formats, it can be hard to include complex themes. Still, those representations can work through visual language, for instance, when we see children together with a parent who has different external features than the kid. This is a balance act, where we as agencies need to be great sparring partners to brands with convincing creative ideas.