Advertising is usually about sales and return. If a company spends X, how much will their total profit increase? At a recent event with advertisers, Gina Rodriguez spoke about the benefits of just that, but from the perspective of diversity. According to Rodriguez, ““What I find so beautiful and magical about art is it’s super power is to heal. It tears down misconceptions, creates pathways for empathy and opens our eyes to the beauty of our differences. Television has the power to bring someone into your living room that you may not have had the opportunity to have met in any other scenario. We can’t be everything at once — straight, gay, black, Latino, Muslim, Christian, Jewish, male, female — but we can learn about what we are not through art. And that is where the healing begins.”
Rodriguez’s push for diversity and allowing for different perspectives is nothing new. During her Golden Globes speech, she spoke about her upbringing and how her current role in Jane the Virgin allows for a new story to be told from a Latino point of view. For Rodriguez, the argument is for reaching out to a growing market of young viewers entering a new age of inclusion. And apparently advertisers agree. The feedback from her speech received positive reviews and I’m sure Rodriguez will continue her promotions of diversity and inclusion in entertainment.
Gina Rodriguez Champions for Inclusivity, Diversity at CW Upfront: TV Has ‘Super Power to Heal’
