It is never right to have negative racial stereotypes in
advertising, especially in today’s society. Advertising does not happen in a vacuum;
everything takes place on a global scale. Unfortunately, racial stereotyping is
still going on today. Although most major advertisements are no longer blatantly
racist, there are still a few racially stereotypical ads that make their way
into the mainstream media, such as the Mountain Dew commercial we watched in
class. Although I can understand why advertising agencies would use a stereotypical
character to get their message across as quickly as possible, sometimes their
taste level can miss the mark.
I think advertiser’s crowd source what they can, and can’t
get away with, testing their boundaries, and waiting for the collective
hive-mind of the internet to react. If a
company releases an ad that is offensive, the feedback is instant. Apologies
are then copy-pasted in forums, slap on the wrists are given, there is media
coverage, and things are forgiven and forgotten. Like with the Mountain Dew ad,
although that commercial was noted as being one of the most offensive ads of
that year, did anyone actually stop buying Mountain Dew? Not really, but
PepsiCo did get a lot of press coverage. Media coverage is just as effective as
a good ad, right?
Of course advertisers have an ethical responsibility to stop
perpetuating tasteless racial stereotypes. What we watch can leech into our subconscious,
or desensitize people to real issues. It’s a lazy, uninspired way to communicate
with your audience. I doubt it will ever go away completely in my lifetime. However,
everyone’s sensibilities are different, and just because one person gets
offended dosen't mean everyone else will be.
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