The ASA has issued the call for evidence to help it establish whether and, if so, to what extent racial and ethnic stereotypes, when featured in ads, may contribute to real world harms, for example, unequal outcomes for different racial and ethnic groups. In the context of the call for evidence, the ASA is particularly interested in the following areas:

• the depiction of race and ethnicity in advertising, including examples of racial and ethnic stereotypes;
• how the issues of objectification and sexualisation relate to race or ethnicity in advertising;
• how particular cultures, or racial and ethnic groups with particular religious affiliations, are portrayed in advertising; and
• the use of humour relating to race or ethnicity in advertising.

Stakeholders can submit existing evidence, secondary analysis, bespoke research or examples. The ASA says that both quantitative and qualitative evidence would be useful. The ASA is also interested in hearing from members of the public about how this type of advertising has affected them.

Submissions can be sent to race@asa.org.uk by 30 June 2021. To access the call for evidence, click here.