Race in Advertising

Advertisements are designed to target those receptive to a given product, service, or message. It is therefore not surprising that race would be a consideration in the crafting of advertisements. An ad for a certain product marketed in the United States, for example, may target the African American population because they happen to be greater consumers of the product and the company has a limited budget. Or, perhaps, a product or service caters to the need of a specific group which can be generalized by race. Race is not always used so innocently however. Around the world, portrayals of race in advertising continue to play off of popular ethno-racial associations, stereotypes, and associations both positive and negative.

Early European use of race in advertising was unsubtle and decidedly racist. In this famous ad for Pears Soap (England) from the 19th century, black skin is portrayed as a soil, and the boy is thrilled to be turned 'white' :               

 

This Cream of Wheat ad pokes fun at perceived illiteracy and lack of education in the African American population of the time:

This Canadian government ad juxtaposes darkness of skin and morality:

This Jell-O ad from the 1960's generalizes Asians as "Chinese-type" and makes fun of their use of chop-sticks as well as their accent. Note the introduction of the "great Western invention" :

Today, while ads in Europe and North America cannot typically be overtly negative in their racism they continue to use racial stereotypes to convey their message as in this recent Italian commercial:

Other ads, such as this one from Thailand, actually explore racial stereotyping in the host audience:

Sometimes, we attribute our own racialized sensibilities in ways that weren't intended by an ad's creators. It is unlikely, for example, that Sony would have desired to say anything about race in its recent Netherlands ad for a new, white-colored, PSP device. However, it is difficult to view the image innocently given the history of white-black race relations in Europe:

Similarly, this Japanese ad caused a stir in spite of the fact that monkey impersonations of celebrities are a staple of the mobile company's advertising:

This ad by Sony was criticized in Brazil for its association of animal parts (wagging tails) with mixed race persons:

The United States government has itself shown a distinct lack of sensibility to racism in antidrug ads. This ad is clearly aimed at young people, and designed to instill fear... 

This next ad associates drug addiction with slavery. Although efforts to target advertising are understandable, this particular ad creates broad associations between drug-abuse and the African American community:

A negative image of 'black america' has been widely adopted for political messages to instill fear and distrust. The most famous example is the 'Willie Horton' ad used in the 1988 Bush-Dukakis race. In this ad, Willie Horton's face features prominently as a visual cue for fear:

Luckily, race (or visible diversity in the form of mixed-race actors or a diverse cast) is most commonly seen in advertisements today to appeal to a diverse population and the sensibilities of the broader public and not exploited in hurtful ways. Commercials increasingly portray visually diverse groups of people. Compare these Wrigley advertisements from 1987:

And today:

And brands have begun to expunge racist imagery and language from their identities. "Cream of Wheat" no longer uses the racist language seen at the beginning of this post, though the brand has retained the well-known image of 'Rastus' on contemporary packaging:

Similarly, iconic French brand Banania has retained a stylized image of the Senegalese soldier:

But no longer uses the invented pidgin-French slogan "y'a bon" (it's good):

This doesn't mean serious blunders no longer occur, even on the part of American companies (previously illustrated contemporary racial provocations were on the part of Japanese companies). This ad featured during this year's superbowl is eerily reminiscent of stereotyping seen in the Jell-O advertisement: