Racism and Stereotyping in Advertising Essay Example

Advertising aims to adapt to the ever-changing consumer perceptions of all races, sexes, ethnicities, and attitudes of consumers worldwide. Yet to date there are still advertisements that portray persons of colour either in a stereotypical manner or as background to European Americans.’ (Advertising Confluence, 2015, p.88)

It is essential to note the difference between the gravitation toward stereotypical practices and a conscious struggle for approval in advertising. Throughout time, we build our attitudes based on the situations we find ourselves in. Stereotyping, although not always negative, can have a severe influence on how we see the world. As a practising Graphic Designer, it is my responsibility to understand what my field of work is about. Graphic design stretches far beyond creating visual content. It is about connecting with your clients, keeping up with the ever changing trends, and putting a positive and powerful message out with your work. 

As I became more familiar with my field of interest, I noticed that a lot of racial stereotyping takes place in advertisements. In this dissertation, I aim to research why these stereotypes are used, and what effects they have on the viewers. My main aim is to determine whether stereotyping in advertising is negative or positive, and based on my outcome, make my critical argument. I will be looking at, and referencing articles and books published by the ASA (Advertising Standards Authority), as well as Joaquim Negreiros and Richard Howells and more. I will also be looking at a variety of different advertisments, that has been deemed racially offensive.

Defining racism and stereotyping in advertising. 

Racism or racial discrimination refers to social, economic or political discrimination against individuals based on race and/or colour. It does not necessarily mean only the hatred of one race against another, but also the rejection of certain rights and privileges. Stereotypes, put simply, are characteristics given to people of particular races, nationalities, and sexual orientations. These characteristics tend to be oversimplified. But what does this have to do with advertising? 

On a daily basis, stereotypes are used in advertisements to engage with the viewers. Stereotyping is not the issue. When the viewer feels that the advertisement is offensive, they feel like they are being attacked, or feel like they are being disproportionately portrayed, it becomes a problem. Even if an advertising director approves an idea, creates and releases it, and thinks it gets the message across, when it targets a specific taboo subject, some viewers might feel attacked. A good example of this, is Elliott’s Paint, 1930s. Elliott’s paint was described as being so effective, that it could cover the darkest skin colour with one layer.

According to Paul MacKenzie-Cummins, managing director of Clearly PR Marketing and Communications, some brands are using race to grab viewers’ attention. “They’re clever people, those who work in ad agencies. They’re very skilled and have huge budgets and are under increasing pressure to raise the profile of their client’s brand. It’s an ultra-competitive market and the retail space has never been as competitive as what it is now. They need to do something to get their voices seen and heard.”

Paul, who has worked in advertising for over 11 years, thinks that the approach ad agencies take, will ultimately damage a brand’s reputation.

Negative effects in advertising racial stereotypes, come into play when a viewer takes offense. Although some advertisements aren’t innocent, it is very easy for adverts that are innocent to be misinterpereted, due to the factors contributing to the process of communication. People naturally assign qualities to themselves, which makes it easier to associate with other individuals. When this happens, you have personal ties to a specific group, wheter it be cultural, social or racial. This makes it easier for people to take offence when a certain group is stereotyped. This has a vital impact on the way people within the stereotyped group identify themselves. 

When an advertisement is deemed racially offensive, and enough complaints are made, the Advertising Standards Authority, more commonly known as the ASA, reviews the advert. ‘The ASA has received 2396 racism complaints since 2013 about 956 different ads.’ The ASA has the power to ban adverts it thinks breaches its standards. A good example of one of the adverts the ASA has recently banned, was the ad for Nicofresh. According to The Guardian and the ASA, the advert implied that a relationship between a young black man and an elderly white woman is socially unacceptable has been banned for being ageist and racist. The company said that “the campaign was based on the observation that cigarette smoking is now considered taboo. It could not be denied that relationships between two people of different races, or age groups, had, within living memory, been subject to social taboo status”.