[Lisa-L]

Why is it that in a growing society of minorities, U.S. advertisements still depict the population to be majority white? For example, in ads using children, why are the "minority" children placed on the outskirts of the image, while the status quo white children are in the center, in full view? Don't advertisers realize that this subliminally shows children who are different from the "norm" that they will always be on the outside trying to break in?

User Detail :  

Name : Lisa-L, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Asian/African American, Religion : Baptist, Age : 19, City : Gainesville, State : FL Country : United States, Occupation : college student, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class, 

[Rhiannon]

A few years ago, I asked my dad if he had seen the movie 'Waiting to Exhale.' He told me no because, as a white man, he did not feel he could relate to any of the main characters in the film, who were all African American women. It occured to me that if African American women had this attitude, they wouldn't go to the movies very often. This is why there are so few minorities in advertising, and in other forms of mass media as well. People who are white are accustomed to watching images that we 'identify' with, and are not accustomed to having to identify with images of people who are different than us. People who are not white, of course, have to learn to identify with images of whites all the time, or else turn off the TV and never see a movie. Unfortunately, our system is a market-driven media system, where profit counts over absolutely everything else, especially the way different kinds of people are represented. Advertisers include mostly whites because that's who the majority of the audience will identify with, and because they expect that the people of color in the audience will identify with them as well. Many whites don't realize there is any 'race' at all in all-white commercials, and are puzzled as to why people of color think they are racial-- but make a commercial with people of color, and suddenly you have a commercial about 'race' that people like my dad can't 'identify' with. It's a sick system that promotes the idea that white is the norm that everyone else should be measured against. Incidentally, my Media & Society class will be talking about this very issue next week, and if it's any consolation, I have found that my mostly white students are disturbed when they suddenly realize how few images of people of color there are in advertising.

User Detail :  

Name : Rhiannon, Gender : F, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Jewish, Age : 29, City : Eden Prairie, State : MN Country : United States, Occupation : Professor, Social class : Middle class, 

[John K.]

I think it probably has more to do with the bias of the ad companies. They want to attract what they consider to be their main customer base. And for them, that's the majority of the viewers on that network, and hopefully the ones with more money to spend on their product. By putting the white kid front and center, they are playing to their target audience.

There are obvious problems with this stereotyping, but sooner or later it is likely to change when it becomes obvious that white people are not the only ones with buying power.

User Detail :  

Name : John K., Gender : M, Age : 27, City : Cranford, State : NJ Country : United States, Occupation : Chemical Engineer, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Latisha]

You kno what i've been noticing that also, its a way to keep caucasion people from getting upset they think that if they loose their general white audience then they have no chance, so they cater to those that fit that description. At least in my opinion

User Detail :  

Name : Latisha, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Christian, Age : 16, City : Dallas, State : TX Country : United States, Occupation : Student, Education level : Less than High School Diploma, Social class : Middle class, 

[Gregory-H21583]

If the advertisers even consciously realize it, I seriously doubt they care.

User Detail :  

Name : Gregory-H21583, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Age : 22, City : New York, State : NY Country : United States, Occupation : law student, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, 

[Jennifer R.]

Even if the statistic that says white people are 71 percent of the population is exaggerating, they still comprise much more than a majority of the population. Therefore, the majority of the target audience for most products is white. Mainstream white America is somewhat different than it was a couple of decades ago, so advertisers feel it's important to their consumers that they project an image where they are progressive enough to have a dark face or two in the mix. I don't think black and white have much to do with it. Green does.

User Detail :  

Name : Jennifer R., Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Humanist, Age : 30, City : St. Paul, State : MN Country : United States, Occupation : Writer/Student, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Elena R.]

Despite how far we have come with issues of race, if a company makes a commercial with anything but a 'white kid' in the middle of it, it is bound to be labeled as a 'minority' product. We are very aware now, in cities primarily, of these commercials. But we must remember that there are still towns in the United States where a community school has four black kids in the whole school. Some people's lack of experience with a race inadvertently sways commercials.

User Detail :  

Name : Elena R., Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Hispanic/Latino (may be any race), Age : 21, City : Stony Brook, State : NY Country : United States, Occupation : Assistant Editor, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class, 

[J.B.]

Although our population is comprised of mostly white people, minority spending (Black, Asian, Hispanic, etc.) adds up to multi-Billions of dollars annually...Some major corporations, such as Coca-Cola and McDonald's realize this and have commercials targeted to minorities...Good Job!COMMERCials push COMMERCE!!

User Detail :  

Name : J.B., Gender : F, Race : Black/African American, City : Jacksonville, State : FL Country : United States, Occupation : Paralegal, 

[Author]

Posts