According to the research by the Institute of Practioners in Advertising and Extreme Media, in January 2003 2% of campaigns featured actors from ethnic minorities but this rose to 7% in November.
Among the big advertisers named in the report were the Halifax, BT and Peugeot, whose "sculpture" spot was made by Italian agency Euro RSCG Mezzano Constantini Mignani. It spawned a top 10 single from Bhangra Knights vs Husan.
Last September industry body the IPA urged advertisers to aim for what it described as the "brown pound" in the same way as they would look to win the pink pound or the grey pound.
Jonathan Mildenhall, managing director of TBWA\London and co-chair of the IPA's ethnic diversity project, told the Financial Times: "The big innovation last year was the coining of the phrase brown pound and we've had a stonking year getting people to be more confident in casting ethnic minority faces in non-stereotypical roles."
The IPA argues that ethnic minorities have more disposable income than ever before, totally some £32bn. It is also pushing for the marketing and advertising industries to attract more employees from ethnic minorities, with only 4% of marketing communications staff coming from ethnic minorities and the vast majority of these people, 70%, working in support disciplines such as finance or IT.
If you have an opinion on this or any other issue raised on Brand Republic, join the debate in the .