The study says only four per cent of ad agencies' employees are of ethnic origin, compared to eight per cent of the population countrywide and nearly a third of people living in London.

"We need to understand that the UK is now a truly multicultural country," Anjna Raheja, one of the report's authors and the managing director of Media Moguls, was quoted as saying.

The study says advertisers can ignore these 'ethnic' markets at their own peril with affluent south Asians more likely to have pay TV, a mobile phone, a DVD player and a personal computer than the rest of the population.

The report said that ethnic minority communities tend to be younger and more "technically adept" than their white counterparts. This seems to be a reference to India's software professionals.

According to the report, some 72 per cent of the UK South Asian community live in pay TV homes; compared with only 39 per cent of the population as a whole. Around 74 per cent have a mobile phone; compared with 69 per cent of the total population; and 57 per cent have internet access at home compared with 47 per cent of the UK.

Jonathan Mildenhall, co-chairman of the Ethnic Diversity Project and managing director of TBWA/London, has been quoted as saying that advertisers had to educate and advise their clients about all the different target groups.

"The advertising industry must take the lead here," Mildenhall said while adding, "We need to move out from under the comfort blanket of traditional demographics and become more accurate in our targeting. Otherwise, how will our clients ever realise the full potential return of their marketing investment?"

The report says the industry suffers from a perceived lack of ethnic minority role models and a lack of awareness and understanding of advertising as a viable career option in ethnic minority communities, which tend to favour more traditional professional roles.

Among the key attitudes for ad agencies to consider was the perception among ethnic minorities that they believe they are of equal value but are ignored or undervalued by society at large. They do not believe the images they see of themselves are balanced or truly representative of their diversity or values.

"Take away the football stars, the celebrities, the sportsmen and the amount of black faces you see in British advertising are few and far between," Mildenhall was quoted as saying.

Mildenhall added, "Yet in London, the area that enjoys the greatest level of advertising communication, 32 per cent of people are of ethnic minority origin. We must embrace this community. Not only as people with cash to spend, but as people interesting enough and appealing enough to appear in the ads themselves."

The Ethnic Diversity Project group also calls on the advertising industry to work harder to attract more ethnic minority employees.