The Blurring of Cultural Lines

Race and Stereotypes in Advertising

Created bySloane Signal

Howard University

What is a Stereotype?

Main Entry: stereotypeFunction: nounEtymology: French stéréotype, from stéré- stere- + typeDate: 18171 : a plate cast from a printing surface2 : something conforming to a fixed or general pattern; especially : a standardized mental picture that is held in common by members of a group and that represents an oversimplified opinion, prejudiced attitude, or uncritical judgment

Minorities in TelevisionGeorge Jefferson - was as if it was a fluke that he was richFred Sanford – junk dealerGood Times – always happy times in the projects

“Grab a Little German in The Wine Aisle”

“A Little German

Goes a Long Way”

Example: Stereotypical portrayal of

Germans United States

Example: Stereotypical portrayal of

Germans United States

A Brief History

Uncle BenAunt JemimaRastus (Cream of Wheat)Frito Bandito

Segmentation Segregation

It’s about knowing your target audience and anticipating its needsSRC – doesn’t everyone think like me?When in doubt, don’tAbercrombie and Fitch– http://www.cnn.com/

2002/US/04/20/abercrombie.shirts/

Can we advertise without offending?

What not to do

Don’t stick a brown face in where a white one once wasDon’t assume minorities are dark-skinned whitesDon’t base ethnicity on color – base it on cultureDon’t assume that ethnic minorities find humor in the same things

ResourcesO’Barr, William. Culture and the Ad: Exploring Otherness in the World of AdvertisingHusband, Charles. A Richer Vision: The Development of Ethnic Minority Media in Western Democracies

Woods, Gail Baker. Advertising and Marketing to the New MajorityThe Museum of Broadcast Communications– http://www.museum.tv/

index.shtml – http://www.museum.tv/

archives/etv/R/htmlR/racismethni/racismethni.htm