Five Lessons the Advertising Community Can Learn from Emilia Pérez

Every awards season has its share of surprises, but few have been as polarising as Emilia Pérez. What started as an ambitious genre-bending musical about a cartel boss undergoing gender transition has become a flashpoint for conversations about representation, artistic responsibility, and cultural authenticity.

While Emilia Pérez has found favour in international film circles—racking up an impressive 13 Oscar nominations—it has been met with resistance in Mexico, the country whose stories it attempts to portray. As this Los Angeles Times article highlights, many Mexicans find the film offensive, accusing it of relying on outdated stereotypes and presenting an inauthentic, almost caricatured version of their reality. The controversy deepened when director Jacques Audiard made dismissive remarks about Mexico, fueling accusations of a foreign gaze that exoticises and misrepresents the country.

Adding to the firestorm, lead actress Karla Sofía Gascón—who has been celebrated as the first trans actress to lead an Oscar-nominated film—has come under scrutiny for past social media comments. As AP News reports, Gascón recently apologised after old tweets surfaced in which she criticized Muslim immigration to Spain, sparking debates about selective accountability and redemption in the public eye. 

Meanwhile, critics have questioned the artistic execution of Emilia Pérez itself, with Slate noting that while the film aims for bold social commentary, it stumbles in its storytelling, failing to effectively balance its musical elements with the weight of its themes.

Amidst all this, Emilia Pérez presents valuable lessons—not just for filmmakers, but for advertisers, brands, and storytellers in the commercial world. Here are five key takeaways the advertising community can learn from this film’s missteps and successes.

Emilia Pérez positions itself as a groundbreaking film for LGBTQ+ representation, yet many argue that it prioritises spectacle over substance. The advertising world has faced similar criticisms when brands attempt to cash in on inclusivity without genuine commitment. Audiences today can tell when representation is performative rather than authentic. Brands must go beyond tokenism, investing in diverse voices behind the scenes and ensuring that their messaging reflects true allyship, not just marketing trends.

If there’s one major flaw in Emilia Pérez, it’s that the film doesn’t seem to know what it wants to say. Is it a commentary on gender and identity? A commentary on violence and the disappeared? A commentary on the possibility of change and forgiving the unforgivable? By trying to do everything, it ends up saying nothing at all. But more than just a lack of clarity, the film also wasted an opportunity to address one of Mexico’s most painful realities—the crisis of the forcibly disappeared.

Mexico is facing a humanitarian tragedy, with over 100,000 people officially reported as disappeared, a number that likely underestimates the full scale of the crisis. Every Mexican knows someone—or of someone—who was taken and never seen again. This is not a dramatic storytelling device; it is a deep wound in the national consciousness. When Emilia Pérez introduced this issue but failed to engage with it meaningfully, it felt exploitative rather than insightful. It’s the equivalent of using homelessness in Los Angeles as a backdrop for aesthetic grit without addressing its human toll.

In advertising, the same principle applies. When brands invoke powerful social issues, they must do so with care, depth, and intention. Consumers can tell when a campaign is leveraging pain for attention rather than contributing to real conversations. If a message lacks true engagement with its subject, it will ring hollow—or worse, cause harm.

One of the biggest missteps of Emilia Pérez was underestimating one of its primary audience—Mexican viewers. While the film was embraced by international film festivals and awards bodies, it was met with resistance in the very country it sought to represent. The lesson for advertisers? Authenticity and cultural nuance matter. Just as a poorly executed campaign can feel patronizing or exploitative, a film that misrepresents its audience risks alienating the people it claims to uplift. In advertising, respecting the consumer means doing the homework—engaging with real perspectives, avoiding stereotypes, and ensuring that campaigns resonate with the communities they aim to reach.

Much of the backlash against Emilia Pérez could have been avoided if the filmmakers had taken a more thoughtful approach to cultural sensitivity. From Audiard’s dismissive remarks about Mexico to the film’s perceived stereotyping, the project suffered from a lack of deep, local insight. The advertising industry has seen similar pitfalls—whether it’s a global brand misusing cultural symbols or a campaign unintentionally offending the very audience it targets. The solution? Invest in research, consult the right people, and ensure that creative decisions are informed by expertise, not assumptions. It’s easier to avoid a PR crisis than to clean one up.

Despite its festival wins and Oscar nominations, Emilia Pérez has struggled to connect with Mexican audiences. This highlights a key reality in advertising: industry recognition doesn’t always translate to consumer impact. Many brands chase awards with flashy campaigns, only to realize that their target audience doesn’t engage with the work. True success isn’t measured by trophies but by cultural relevance, consumer engagement, and long-term brand equity.

At a time when conversations around representation, inclusivity, and cultural sensitivity are more scrutinised than ever, Emilia Pérez serves as a cautionary tale. It shows that even well-intentioned projects can falter when they fail to engage deeply with the communities they portray. The same holds true in advertising—brands that rely on surface-level representation, unclear messaging, or poorly researched cultural storytelling risk alienating the very audiences they seek to connect with.

And while the countrywide elimination of DEI initiatives in corporate America may attempt to erase these conversations, it does not change the true nature of today’s multicultural consumer. 

Representation is not just a trend—it is the lived reality of the marketplace. Consumers expect brands to reflect their identities authentically, not as an afterthought or a marketing ploy. Those that understand this will build lasting loyalty. Those that don’t will, like Emilia Pérez in Mexico, find themselves disconnected from the people who matter most.