Leading corporations want to increase the fairness of marketing campaigns. The initiative, which was announced at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity 2022, brought together agencies, brands, and other thought leaders to raise awareness and take action to reduce bias in advertising technology. IBM, Delta Air Lines, WPP, Mindshare, 4A's, IAB, and the Ad Council are among the organizations that have committed.
The action is IBM's most recent effort to raise awareness and educate the public about the impact of bias in advertising technology. The company launched a research initiative in 2021 to investigate the hypothesis that bias can exist in ad technology, which preliminary findings confirmed. The study also found that using AI tools and resources in marketing processes could help to reduce bias in ad technology. More industry participation and data collection are needed to better understand the potential impact of bias on these campaigns, but several industry leaders are demonstrating early activism through IBM's Advertising Fairness Pledge by raising awareness and taking action.
“While the risk of bias in advertising is well known, by making this commitment, these organizations are among the first in the industry to take action,” said Bob Lord, IBM Senior Vice President of The Weather Company and Alliances.
“While the risk of bias in advertising is well known, by making this commitment, these organizations are among the first in the industry to take action,” said Bob Lord, IBM Senior Vice President of The Weather Company and Alliances. “Together, we are agreeing to educate ourselves and our companies and ask other industry leaders to join us in helping to mitigate bias in advertising.”
IBM also announced the free release of its Advertising Toolkit for AI Fairness 360, an open-source solution that employs 75 fairness metrics and 13 cutting-edge algorithms to help identify and mitigate biases in discrete data sets. A playbook and sample code are also provided for convenience. Organizations that use the toolkit may gain a better understanding of the presence and impact of bias in their advertising campaigns, as well as the demographics of their target audiences.
“Used correctly, data can help brands personalize consumer engagement and identify the most relevant touchpoints. However, we know that bias can exist in algorithms or technology, and that’s why we’re helping our clients to evaluate how and when to use data in a meaningful way that will benefit the customer experience,” said Mark Read, CEO of WPP. “Through WPP’s GroupM, we’ve developed the Data Ethics Compass to help clients navigate the challenges of using datasets, while IBM’s new Advertising Toolkit for AI Fairness 360 will help us to better understand the potential impact of bias. Consumers rightly expect brands to use their information in a fair way and for the industry to tackle data bias collectively, which can ultimately result in increased engagement and commercial outcomes.”
“As technology and data prevalence accelerates, the risk for bias in advertising compounds. It is our duty to address this head-on,” said Adam Gerhart, Global CEO of Mindshare. “We believe the industry needs to take clear and intentional action, which is why we are committing to leverage the Advertising Toolkit for AI Fairness 360.”
“As a global brand, we know that every decision we make, whether it’s about a supplier, an employee or an ad campaign, is a reflection of our values and the change we want to see in the world,” said Emmakate Young, Delta’s Managing Director of Brand Marketing. “We’ve long been focused on inclusive representation in our campaign creative, this effort allows us to go a step further to bring more inclusive representation to our campaign delivery.”