A project that aims to increase and qualify the representation of Black people in advertising reaches a new phase with grants of US$5,000 each for participating photographers
In June 2023, Data Stories, a monthly report by Kantar Ibope Media, highlighted the progressive growth of Black representation in advertising in Brazil. But the challenge of ensuring equivalence with the demographic data of the country’s population has not yet been overcome. Within this context, WMcCann and Shutterstock’s Create Fund Program launch the second edition of Re_Modelar.
Established in 2020 by Shutterstock- The Create Fund Program, is providing historically excluded artists with financial and professional support to fill content gaps and create a more diverse and inclusive content library and contributor network. The project aims to increase and qualify the representation of Black people in advertising and supports Black photographers with professional mentoring and financial support. This time, four professionals were selected to participate in the project, receiving grants of US$5,000 each. Since December 2023, the photographers have participated in exclusive sessions with industry professionals and have been receiving guidance on the best way to highlight their art on Shutterstock’s creative platform.
“When the project was created, we had a scenario where only 7% of advertisements featured Black people. As an industry, we have advanced, but there is still a lot to do, especially when we talk about qualifying this representation, by including Black perspectives. Supporting the development of Black professionals who work in our industry is a fundamental step in transforming our market, making it more inclusive and diverse,” says Matheus Monte, Project Supervisor and current leader of the initiative at WMcCann.
Kaori Abe, Marketing Manager for Latin America at Shutterstock emphasizes that “Shutterstock is a leading creative platform of the industry with over 750 million assets, including photos, illustrations, videos and music. Every six seconds we have one asset downloaded by brands, agencies and media companies to tell their stories. This shows how creative platforms are instrumental in the industry and we recognize our responsibility to offer accurate, diverse representation for these narratives. We believe authentic representation should happen through the eyes of the ones belonging to the portrayed community, so increasing the supply of photos and videos made by Black professionals on creative platforms is an important way for us to see Black people being represented without the unconscious biases that perpetuate stereotypes in our industry.”
Launched in 2022 from an internal mentoring project for Black women at WMcCann, the first edition of Re_Modelar featured 11 young Brazilian professionals who had their work highlighted on the creative platform. Over 2,000 people in 13 different countries have downloaded the content they created during the 20 monthproject. Furthermore, the photos were exhibited during the Creative Club Festival that year.
“This year, the Re_Modelar artist went through our Create Fund program where they learned the fundamentals of commercial stock photography and the importance of understanding what customers want. They can continue to use these tools and information beyond the program to create a new revenue stream for themselves,”says Steven Russell, Specialist in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion who leads the Artist Investment Program globally at Shutterstock. He is one of the mentors of Re_Modelar alongside Art Director Beatriz Lopes, creator of the project, who helped to select the four invited professionals. “These are professionals who already work in the industry and have a very special eye for the representation of Black people in advertising. We are very excited with the results.”
The pictures can be checked out in this collection.
