Why is it that almost every time I turn on the television I see a white person in most of the commercials, rather than a Hispanic or African American?
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Name : Sandra-R, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Hispanic/Latino (may be any race), Religion : Christian, Age : 25, City : Porterville, State : CA Country : United States, Occupation : Preschool Teacher, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, Whites make up 70% of this country's population, so its only natural to see more of them than anyone else. However, minorities are still underrepresented in television(surpise, suprise). When they are represented, it is in minimal roles or in derogatory manners. This type of televison is called Planet T.V., a reflection of what planet the network programmers wished we lived on. Planet TV is not at all to be taken seriously. It is propaganda filled rubbish where a superhuman female kicks ass and uses sex appeal to get ahead, all while answering to a male authotity figure. Keep in mind 40% of african americans on televison hold comic roles compared to 31% whites. Planet T.V. is 2% hispanic, 2.8 % asian, and virtually NO native americans. Maybe one day, programmers will begin to realize that there are other types of people in this country worthy of representation (something the federal government has yet to realize). We can even go so far as to hope that someday, virtually all white casts wont sell as well as they do now. Until then, relax. Its only T.V.
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Name : Dominique, Gender : F, Age : 20, City : Houston, State : TX Country : United States, Occupation : Scientist, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Lower class, It's probably the type of programming you watch. If you watch shows that cater to a majority white audience, then you'll get commercials with more whites than other ethnic groups. I know on BET, all the commercials I see have all Black cast on them.
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Name : VirginQueen24851, Race : Black/African American, Age : 24, City : Ft. Payne, State : AL Country : United States, Occupation : Exotic Dancer, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class, Television stations conduct surveys to discover what kinds of people are watching which shows. Commercials target the primary audience of a show; therefore, what commercials you catch depends on what you're watching. For example, during 'All My Children' and other melodramatic daytime shows, the commercials are geared primarily toward white, suburban housewives. During the Bernie Mac show or Martin, the commercials more likely target the African-American audience. I tire of this sort of 'prescription' advertising, and have quit watching network television because of it.
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Name : Jessica, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Bisexual, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Agnostic, Age : 23, City : Huntsville, State : TX Country : United States, Occupation : Student, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, Until I read an article on Canadian television which stated that the percentage of non-white people on Canadian tv was 12%. The percentage of non-whites in Canada- 10%. The issue I have is that the article did not state HOW the 12% are portrayed on tv. Were they in non-stereotypical roles? Hmmmmm....Just a note-you forgot to mention First Nations, South Asians, Asians, Pacific Islanders, to name but a few...there are many more races than White, African (American/Canadian) and Hispanic. Of course, this is all moot if you are looking for an answer on American TV.
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Name : Natalie, Gender : F, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Agnostic, Age : 29, City : toronto, State : NA Country : Canada, Social class : Lower middle class, It's not just commercials. There are predominantly whites on the shows, especially CBS, NBC, ABC, and FOX. There should be more shows with Black, Latino, Asian, Native American, etc. actors/actresses in leading roles w/ fully developed characters that play integral roles in the show. The number of shows that come close to this description could probably be counted on one hand. It's high time American people see the 'REAL' melting pot on the broadcast networks and many cable networks. We should see more shows featured like My Wife and Kids or George Lopez or Martial Law, or even the District. It really comes down to the Execs behind the networks. They have the ultimate say in what will succeed or fail. At the rate they're going, we want be seeing a flourish in ethnically diverse shows with fully developed characters any time too soon. P. S. I just have to make this last statement. War is neve the answer. KEEP THE PEACE!!!
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Name : Trey S., Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Christian, Age : 22, City : Valdosta, State : GA Country : United States, Occupation : Education, Education level : 4 Years of College, Most of the people in commercials are white because the powers that be on Madison Ave think that a lot of whites wont buy products advertised by non-whites. The go after the white market first and figure everyone else will just buy what's availible.
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Name : Jennifer30860, Gender : F, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 28, City : San Jose, State : CA Country : United States, Occupation : Engineer, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, I would assume that is because that whites are the dominant population.
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Name : L-Starwas, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Presbyterian, Age : 55, City : Ann Arbor, State : MI Country : United States, Occupation : Administrator, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class, You have to take into consideration that when shows and commercials cast actors for certain roles, they are intentionally catering to a certain demographic. In itself it makes sense, because if you are trying to sell a particular product or service to a certain target market, you would cast individuals for roles that reflect (physically, lifestyle, etc.)the target market. It's no surprise then that the vast majority of tv shows and commercial are primarily white. All that being said I have to agree with your assertion which I believe is the fact that 'Hollywood' or 'Fifth Avenue', the institutions which control the media are not very inclusive. Some of the more popular tv shows which 'depict' for better or worst an American lifestyle (ex. Friends, 90210, and Melrose Place) were noticeably absent of any significant people of color. So you have to wonder that in this day and age of diversity or multiculturalism, why isn't this displayed more on tv. And before anyone counters with the point that these tv shows are realistic, ignores the obvious reality that many people of color are well educated and successful, hence many of the characters depicted on tv - would inevitable encounter Blacks or Hispanics.
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Name : RealityCheck, Gender : M, Race : Black/African American, Age : 25, City : Philadelphia, State : PA Country : United States, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, Latino and Afro-Americans are stigmatized as 'the other,' where as Euro-Americans are considerded mainstream. Therefore, TV producers won't put 'the other' people in their commercials when they have the choice of using the always relevant-mainstream.
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Name : Seymour, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Age : 21, City : Chicago, State : IL Country : United States, Occupation : Student, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class, I've wondered this too. I guess most of the time when they write scripts, they gear it so it's a white person's role. And did you notice if there is a person of color on a tv show, anyone besides white, they emphasize it in every episode of that show?
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Name : Deenie25809, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Hispanic/Latino (may be any race), Religion : Buddhist, Age : 13, City : Richmond, State : VA Country : United States, Occupation : Student, Education level : Less than High School Diploma, Social class : Upper middle class, You must be kidding. From what I see on TV if you were to guess at the racial/ethnic composition of the UNited States based on commericals , you would come up with an exaggerated idea of the minority population. Last time I checked the US is about 70% caucasian. Judging from TV commericals one would think that the US is 50% or less causasian. Some companies feel the need to have one of each. Others simply use the growing number of 'other' people who aren't as easily categorized.
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Name : Hearn, City : Tampa, State : FL Country : United States, You must not watch TV. There are more black men nowadays (and have you noticed that blacks are *always* handsome, middle class, classy, and polite? What kind of agenda do the jews have?) Although I agree with you on the latinos. They're now America's biggest minority, but don't get any airtime at all. Yet blacks (with the exception of black women - white women must still remain 'the prize' or they'll start complaining) are totally overrepresented. I think the advertising industry is pushing black supremacy.
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Name : Ton, City : n/a, State : CA Country : United States, what about the wb programs nothing but black and latino's,and of course if you don't like to watch programs with only whites don't watch at all
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Name : dan31683, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Catholic, City : cleveland, State : OH Country : United States, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class, Probably because there are, by far, more white people in the USA than there are Hispanics and African Americans.
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Name : Kathleen26631, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Agnostic, Age : 42, City : Waterford, State : MI Country : United States, Occupation : Engineer, Education level : High School Diploma, Social class : Middle class, 
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