"Race Becomes More Central to TV Advertising"
As a sociologist, I'm always reflecting on cause and effect. So, for example, once the parade is underway, does the horse pull the cart or does the momentum of the cart motivate the horse to keep moving? Did the Civil Rights Movement occur because Americans had altered their views about race? Or did their view points change largely because this movement got underway and led to cultural transformations that they could no longer ignore.
In a similar vein, what role do the mass media and advertising have in the continued alteration of our perceptions about people of different racial and cultural groups? Are media decision-makers telling us that multiculturalism is "hip" and we are now buying the message just like any other message? Or are the thoughts and standards of the public changing such that the magicians of Madison Avenue and Hollywood Blvd. must get on board the multicultural express.
When I see a brochure advertisement for Penn State with a photo of five people from five different cultural groups, there is a side of me that feels cynical, as though someone felt the need to be inclusive of everyone. A likely case of political correctness, I surmise. But at the same time, if I saw the same brochure with students of only one background, I'd be equally cynical and wonder what they were thinking to use such a photo. Like the statue of the children playing on the Hintz Family Alumni Center -- who are all white. There's just something about that statue that does not sit well with me.
And yet...I despise political correctness. And yet...what was the artist thinking? And yet...thankfully the artist didn't go out of his or her way to find child models who were all ethnoracially different. And yet...why didn't he or she do this?
It's quite a "catch-22"--you're damned if you do and damned if you don't.
Clearly this article is telling us that we're on the threshold of a new era of race relations and that it's bound to be positive for everyone, even as there are sure to be a few bumps in the road as we move forward. What do you think?
300 comments:
1 – 200 of 300 Newer› Newest»"Advertising is aspirational," she adds. "It's who we want to be, a lifestyle we want — not always who we are." This definitely sums up my views on the topic of race in advertising. When I watch an advertisement I very rarely think to myself- “Wow this is so realistic, it’s just like my life!” instead I will think that “wow it would be so cool if life was like this…I’m going to buy this product to make come closer to achieving this certain lifestyle. The fact that advertising is becoming more multiracial reflects the movement towards a more racially mixed and less racist society. The adds may not be realistic, but I think they will help with the mixing of different racial groups. The more often you see something the more “normal” it becomes. If we are constantly seeing biracial adds then hanging out with people from different races will become the norm and no one will be judging- well at least less people will judge. I totally think that adds can be used to help with the race issues we have here in the US. I also agree with Pepsi’s add campaign that focuses more on a person’s style than race. In discussion group we were talking about whether discrimination based on looks nowadays is more based on race or your style. In my opinion it’s your style. For example, when I walk into Abercrombie & Fitch Everyone is an asshole to me. Now I am a female white upper-middle class PSU student. I have a distinct style that includes maybe 2 shirts from Abercrombie, aeropostale or holister so I really don’t fit the style of an Abercrombie buyer. If a black person or asian person walks into the store dressed in all Abercrombie clothing I can gaurantee that they would be treated better than me. Another example, I used to work at Stuffingtown USA. One day a couple of teenage white kids dressed in “punk-rock” clothing walked in. Immediately my manager told me to keep and eye on them. We would always have teenage kids walk in of all races but I never was told to watch them before. In this case it’s obvious that they were being judged on style over race. I think that adds do this same thing. A certain style of people listen to certain music, wear certain clothes, use certain cleaning supplies. Within these groups there are many different races. It makes sense to put people of different races in advertising because these really are your customers. Marketers are targeters and have the main motive of selling a product. Obviously they are going to appeal to as many people as possible in order to make the most sales. To do this, they will show all of the people within a certain style group in there advertising.
First off I definitely do not think that in regards to media and advertising compared to society itself that there is one particular cause and one specific effect, or that one always precedes the other. Sometimes actions and events in our society cause the media to respond and function in a certain way and sometimes because of how the media portrays certain things society then changes its perceptions and behaviors. Because of the saturation of media that exists in our current society, media and society can never be completely separated and isolated as two individual ideas; they both are interconnected and play off of each other. I am not sure how I feel about the idea of the media trying to portray multiculturalism as hip just to make money from the public. I certainly disagree with the media trying to take something such as multiculturalism that should by itself be seen throughout our society and turning it into something that is only “worthwhile” if it is profitable. By turning multiculturalism into a commodity, the idea itself not only becomes warped, but in general it becomes devalued. The public starts to look at this concept as more of a distant idea than a reality because the world of the media and advertising is a created world. In this sense, people start to see all these ads with people of several races interacting in all different scenarios, including the professional world, and they think that equality is the norm and that segregation and discrimination no longer exist. If this is the case, then a huge problem is created, which only will make our race relations worse. This is because people will think that race is no longer an issue, and if something is not an issue in the minds of the people then they will not be aware and informed of the injustices that happen everyday; if something is no longer an “issue” than people will not be thinking about it and especially will not be actively trying to make any changes. On the other hand, people learn and imitate what they see, so if the media portray different races interacting on a normal basis then people might try to copy this scenario and incorporate it into their everyday lives. Especially if multiculturalism is deemed to be “hip” then more people will be persuaded to try to make this their reality, whether it is genuine or not. I think that most would agree that in the end uniting different races could never be a bad thing. Though the media and advertisers only set out with the intentions of attracting a multicultural audience to appeal to the ever-growing number of non-white races and ethnicities in our population, this method could end up creating a positive change in our society. Just because businesses make advertising decisions for the wrong reasons does not mean that society cannot make actual positive changes involving race relations for the right reasons.
The extensive and long lasting argument of race relations has been around for longer than most can remember and it’s a problem that I find myself faced with daily. When I’m checking out at the grocery store and a black woman is ringing me out, I’ll sometimes sit there and consciously realize that the first thought that came to mind was “black.” Not in a bad way, but the thought was still there. But then I begin to realize that, really, why is that such a bad thing. Maybe this woman takes pride in the fact that she is black, along with any other minority group in this country. Like Sam said, everything that goes on between whites and minority groups is really a catch-22 because the majority of us are not at a stage where we can truthfully say we are comfortable with other races. Advertising and media, however, I think has acted as a catalyst in the most recent decades to help familiarize people across the country and around the world that it’s important that we as a people start to identify others with their personalities and not the color of their skin. As an advertiser, their first priority is to find the best way possible to sell their product and reach the largest, target population as possible. Normally, when I’m watching an add on television or reading something In a magazine, I don’t really pay attention to the people in the advertisement but the product itself and from there decide whether or not it’s cool enough to buy. But what if the only people you ever saw in advertisements were black and you were white. After awhile it’s something that would start to become noticeable. For blacks and other ethnic groups in this country, I’m sure that when advertising on television was new and the only people selling things were of white decent it was bothersome and made them not want to buy the products. Same with colleges. Like Sam said, the brochures for Penn State depict kids from all different ethnicities on the front showing that we are a campus that accepts people from everywhere. Even though this is a matter of political correctness and a method of advertising, I think it’s something that should have always been done. Look at all the hellish ordeals the some of the first black, college students had to endure. We would never want a fiasco or a separation so great like that to occur again and by exposing people of all ethnic backgrounds to diversity hopefully, in time, it will become a norm. Time seems to always be the answer in these situations of change concerning race but as the world revolutionizes and keeps growing hopefully the way humans think of others will also change.
The article given to us by Sam basically says it all. Advertisements and media are meant to reach a specific target audience. Companies, universities, whatever, strategically plan how to launch their product with what forms of advertisements they use, what channel, and what times they start their ads. Certainly, a company wouldn’t put a commercial for my size Barbie on at midnight during Leno. Likewise, Girls Gone Wild wouldn’t promote their newest DVD on the Disney Channel at four in the afternoon. The purpose of these advertisements is to get you to either buy something, watch something, or feel/become aware of something.
Money is the key. With so many diverse cultures in America these days, there are numerous of target audiences to expand to, and to make the most money, corporations must market their products to anyone and everyone they think may buy into it. Although the examples given above particularly deal with a target age group, within this society today, differences can range from anywhere between age, race, religion, sexual orientation, nationality, gender, and profession. Since the blog primarily focused on races, plain and simple, if the company is a smart one, they would use multi racial commercials or ads. Ads are supposed to persuade you, and for me example, when I see a white person using something or doing something that I think I might like, I am definitely intrigued. Not saying that a black person using a product wouldn’t persuade me, but it is something about seeing someone of my own race, (or gender, age, or socioeconomic background). It is someone that I can easily identify with. Ad companies definitely buy into the whole political correctness. But, I don’t necessarily think that for ads to use political correctness is a bad thing. Maybe you or I don’t often see a black man drinking Bud Light, but I am sure there are some out there that do, and if the Busch Company was wise, they would include a black man in at least one of their commercials.
Sam posted some really good questions that really got me thinking. It was difficult for me at least to come to a decision because I can see both sides of the issue. I think everything has snowballed into one thing and the race issue with the media has now come full circle. First of all, I really don’t think the Civil Rights Movement occurred because people changed their views about race. I think that only SOME people changed their views about race and decided it was time for a rally and change- not the nation as a whole. The movement for sure made cultural transformations, and quite frankly, yes, people couldn’t ignore the fact that black people were sitting at the front of the bus or drinking from the same water fountain, or going to school with white students. But just because these events happened during the Civil Rights Movement doesn’t mean that it was because of racial views being altered. Many people only tolerated this because the government forced them. This is where I think the snowball effect happens. Even though the views didn’t jumpstart the Civil Right Movement, the views slowly began to change, making the ball larger.
Now the views of the people of America control things. It is no longer the government or Civil Rights Movement forcing people to be more accepting. People are “naturally” accepting racial differences because it is apart of the mainstream American culture. We are taught (most of us) at a very young age that race shouldn’t be an issue to discriminate someone against and be nice to others. I don’t really think the mass media and advertisings is doing much to make the world think multiculturalism is a “hip” thing. I think that multiculturalism and racial differences are just present and accepted (for the most part) in society. Because we the people are generally more accepting of race and cultural differences, the media must adapt their strategies of marketing.
In regards to the political correctness of the brochure and statues at Penn State, I think they are being politically correct for the time periods that each were created. I don’t think it would have been correct for Penn State to add a black child to the statues because at the time when the thing was made, the audience of Penn State was probably all white. It was just portraying the truth of that era in Penn State. If they would do that today, I think it would be appropriate to add a black student or an Asian student because even though Penn State is still a predominantly white community, the diverse has expanded since the original pieces time period. Likewise, the brochure is doing the right thing by including the variety of students. True Penn State is mostly white, but again, the university is becoming more diverse and as a good marketing tool, they included young students that all their target audience could identify with.
I agree with Sam. I think political correctness is too complicated and very annoying. You will always run into that one (or ten) person who isn’t satisfied. But, in this day and age, I think it is the wisest decision, from a business perspective, to include multiculturalism (even if it might not be portraying the majority). People do notice the differences. I know when I got my sorority’s national magazine in the winter, I noticed that they didn’t include any black sisters. While yes the sorority is nationally mostly white, I know of 2 black women, an Asian, several Jewish women, and a woman from the Middle East all in my sorority alone. It’s a catch-22, but at least when people of different races are included, multiculturalism is being promoted and you are making some people happy?
I think the cause and effect of mass media and advertising now displaying ads with people of different ethnicities and backgrounds interacting is a little of us buying into the message, but also that our standards are changing. I think people of different races are interacting with each other more and not concentrating on race so much now, but I do feel the media plays it up a little bit. Although there are people that do not care what color your skin is, there are people out there that do. I think it is fantastic that the media is now advertising this new era of racial integration because it is present today and hopefully people that are still closed minded and think race is a problem will see these commercials and change their views.
I am on the border of the Penn State brochure picture however. I think that the brochure should have students of different ethnicities and backgrounds on it, but I personally feel Penn State is not that culturally diverse. I think if Penn State wants to become more diverse and wants to attract all students to come here, then having a brochure with different races of students is perfect. Although, since Penn State is not diverse, it does short of feel like they had to go out of their way to find different races to put in the brochure.
With regards to the statue that is in the Hintz Family Alumni Center, I do not think it is a big deal that it is of white children. I do not know when this statue was created or when it was put in the center so I can’t really give much feedback on it, but I do think that it was up to the artist and it shouldn’t be a big deal what races he chose because it is his vision and he can do whatever he wants. It is not like he made the center put the statue in the center. The artist made his statue and the center liked it and decided to buy it. I think the brochure is a different story because you are trying to market to prospective students to come here, where as the statue is just something you observe. I think current art work will incorporate different races since we are in a new era and eventually the integration of different races will become second nature to us and we won’t have to think did they try too hard to incorporate everyone?
I think that the mass media and advertising play an enormous role in the public’s perception about people of different racial and cultural groups and have the ability to alter how we see a group of people in a short amount of time. It’s evident that subconsciously people tend to side with the media on what is “in” or “out” and the mind is easily influenced by what we see and hear about everyday, whether people are comfortable admitting that or not. I like to think that my thought are unique and belong solely to me, but in regards to the notion that our thoughts and standards of the public are driven by outside sources is difficult to argue against. I think a lot of issues that are seen as controversial are only that because the media and media decision-makers make them out to be just that. At some point everyone needs to be rationalizing their thoughts for themselves and realize that maybe everything isn’t such as big of a deal as the media would like them to be.
I think Sam was correct in saying that the race issue as we know it right now is a true “catch-22” scenario. There is no clear right and wrong because there are always legitimate arguments on both sides of the fence and it is not until people sit down and really thing about what we are even arguing in the first place and have a clear consensus of just that, that we will be able to move towards a resolution.
As a kid, television is where you get most of your information about what the “Real World” is like and if for some reason they choose to show that races do not generally associate with one another and choose to remain segregated, I think that is how kid’s think they are supposed to act. At the same time, if television truly never integrated race into its programs, people would not discriminate among those characteristics, but would most likely find another thing to put a negative focus on.
The new “visual diversity” that the MSNBC article talks about is not a bad idea, especially from the capitalistic point of view. Advertisers are simply trying to reach the highest number of people in the viewing audience by making everything seem all inclusive. It is still exploiting race, but it overall I think has a positive message. The ads and media may be pointing out that maybe we still have some progress left to be made and that American culture is not perfect, or not as equal as we claim it to be, but it gives a starting point that we are still focused on the larger goal at hand and are still attempting to break down those racial barriers. I think that showing races together is important because everyone in an ideal society does not need to be color blind, but appreciate other for who they are and have a clearer understanding of one another and their background. Furthermore, ads can send a message to younger generations that there is still a lot to be accomplished and they are still important in the fight for a racially conscious and cognizant society.
Political correctness has become a part of everyone's life. Everyone is slightly held back when they talk to someone of another race. People want to make sure that they say the right thing so don't offend the person they are talking to. The most important thing is not to offend someone you are talking to because everyone is afraid of being deemed racist. If you are called racist it is one of the worst things that could happen to you, or so some people thing. So in turn you are extremely conscious of your wording in one on one interactions. If it becomes habit in your real life relationships then why shouldn’t it show up on TV?
Millions of Americans watch countless hours of TV and thus are exposed to hundreds and hundreds of ads. If you are consistently exposed to the same thing then it becomes habit and part of your norms. Racially diverse ads and media can help racism because through repeated exposure. Through this exposure it can become part of your norms and help make you more accepting. Since people have seen it so many times it becomes something you are used to and it is no longer something strange, awkward, out of the ordinary, or different.
In college brochures there are always groups of students hanging out on campus or in classrooms. In order to make a college or university look more diverse it is always a picture of a multi cultural group of students. Is it right that they do this? No not really, because it is not a fair representative of a college. The picture of the students is placed. It is not natural or real nor is it an accurate representation of college students. It is a staged picture. Yet, if a photographer took a candid picture of students hanging out, would it be a multi cultural group or would it be all group of all one race? Although every campus is different, I do believe Penn State is diverse. I think it would be safe to say if a photographer took a picture for a Penn State brochure it would be all one racial group or a very similar racial group. It's not a bad thing, it is just who people feel comfortable hanging out with. I don't see a major problem with this because although there are all these different racial groups Penn State is accepting of one another. There is not an excessive amount of hate crimes on campus and people interact with different racial groups on campus. People by their own free will take classes like Soc 119 which means they are willing to talk about race in an open environment. They want to learn about others and are willing to put aside earlier stereotypes, prejudices, judgments and beliefs. So although the brochure may not be an accurate interpretation of a college or university look at the classes offered and the people hanging out on campus before you make any judgments.
I think that its rather annoying the turn advertising has taken in recent history. I don’t really know why I feel this way, I guess its just the reaction of “this is never the way it is in real life, they’re just doing this to be politically correct”. I don’t think I’ve ever in my entire life seen people from four or five ethnic groups hanging out together in any setting, and I’d venture to guess most people haven’t either. I suppose it’s a good marketing tool though, because it makes people feel like their ethnic group isn’t being left out, like the product is for them as well. I suppose in the end, whatever makes things sell, is what advertisers will do, because the entire goal of advertising is making money, not supporting some kind of racial integration. I suppose the point made about the growing non-white population in America, and the growing spending power of the non-white community, is a significant portion of why we are seeing this happen. Still though, there are plenty of advertisements which only include white people, and plenty of advertisements which include white people interacting with members of one or more minority groups, but rarely are there any advertisements which exclude white people, and focus on only minority groups. I guess this is just proof of what I said earlier in that advertisers don’t give a damn about racial equality or anything like that, and are only trying to make money. I would suppose that they feel like since whites are such a large portion of the country’s spending power, that if they see advertisements featuring only actors from minority groups, they will feel as though that product is not for them, which in turn could lose the product popularity and lose the company money. I don’t know if people are really stupid enough to believe that just because people appear happy and economically well in commercials that that’s how things are in real life, but then again I may be overestimating how intelligent people are. When has advertisement ever been an accurate representation of real life? And so why now that mixed racial groups are being displayed in advertisement, and people of minority groups are being displayed in positions of wealth or power, is this now supposed to be something that will trick Americans into believing that this is how the world really is? I don’t really buy it, but then again maybe people don’t over think these things as much as I do. On a somewhat different topic, I never knew that interracial courtship was an advertising taboo. There was an interracial couple in “The Jeffersons” for god’s sake, why is something like that taboo 30+ years later?
Before I read this article I was beginning to wonder if I was the only person noticing the increasing amount of minorities in the media, not only in advertisements, but in sit-coms and movies as well. I have to be honest and admit that I agree that, like Sam, I can hold an ounce of cynicism when it comes to these images. Are they just trying so desperately to come off as fair as possible, saying ‘I don’t see color’? Or are they just vibing with the times and modeling the increasing amount of multi-culti, multi-racial relationships that are forming in this country.
Yesterday I went to see the new Hannah Montana movie with my two younger sisters and, believe it or not, I was faced with this same cynical feeling. In the movie, the famous pop star gets shipped back to her ‘roots’ in a small Tennessee town. It was during a scene in this classic southern town that I noticed a generous amount of black people making up the town’s population. Prior to taking this class, I wouldn’t have noticed this at all, but especially after reading the blog entry on the student group doing a racial experiment in the south, and hearing the story of James Meredith that happened not all that long ago, I was a bit shocked, initially, to see the producer’s image of a ‘classic southern town’. I found myself questioning the reality of the depiction in the movie and wondering if the people around me were wondering the same thing. Given the age and race of the crowd drawn to the Hannah Montana movie, probably not. I decided to put aside my meandering thoughts and just accept the fact that ‘this is reality’, like the rest of the crowd; however, it wasn’t long before the mayor of the town was introduced: none other than a black man! Now, being my analytical self, I started wondering if maybe this had to do with Obama now being President. Would they have made the same decision prior to the election? Is it now somehow more ‘safe’ and realistic to depict a black man as the mayor of a town where, not too long ago, he wasn’t even allowed to vote? Again, am I the only one wondering about this? I definitely see the benefit of depicting a black man as mayor of a southern town, and, I don’t know, are there many black individuals in public office today? This could very well be my ignorance showing but if this movie isn’t depicting reality, it definitely gives the little kids of all races watching the movie the assurance that they are growing up in a day and age where it is certainly possible for anyone to hold public office in this country.
Well for the longest time I was wondering why do commercials in particular do this. Why they have all the different racial groups portrayed in almost every kind of advertisement. So about three super bowls ago, my friends and I had a little bet. It was for every commercial that we see with an Asian man in it we would keep a tally, and by the end count up how many didn’t and how many did. Now at first there were two thoughts that came to my mind. One that this was a ridiculously stupid idea and two that the commercials without the Asian men in them would win hands down. The first super bowl it was very close almost tied, but the non-Asian men commercials took it. This did surprise me but I thought nothing of it. However, the next two super bowls the commercials with the Asian men in them won by a lot more than anyone would think at first. That started to get me thinking. At first I was like well I guess it just happened to be that way. Then when I started to actually think about it I found that there had to be more Asian Americans watching the super bowl more recently and that’s why there are more Asian men on commercials. For the simple reason that they had to advertise to their audience.
Now this I think is/was done for two reasons. One because the audience for anything now is getting more diverse and they advertisements have to change to that fact, and that the advertisers are just becoming more politically correct with their commercials. For me I think that they are doing it for both reasons equally without realizing it. I mean of course the multi-racial background of this country in general is expanding and therefore the television viewers are increasing in minorities. But also, without even knowing that these companies just want more business in general and want to make sure they are not dealing with them saying or doing anything wrong in what they are portraying so they make the commercial for everyone. I think that all in all this is a big step for our country no matter how you look at it. For one it means that businesses are recognizing that there is a wider racial fan base and they are tending to that. And two that these businesses have the motivation to be politically correct which means that they are being influenced with what is happening to this country. This country is becoming more racially diverse and nobody can deny that. So these businesses aren’t denying it but now they are catering to it and turning a profit on it by just adding a black, Asian, or Hispanic, person into their commercial.
As a current student in the advertising major, issues such as this one really frustrate me. On one hand, you’ve got people telling you that you’re not doing enough to fix the problem if you aren’t including everyone, and on the other hand, you’ve got other people complaining that you’re trying too much to include everyone. You just can’t win! Catch-22, I’ll say. Anymore, when I see an advertisement that has a group of people all together from different ethnic backgrounds, I think to myself “well if they wouldn’t have done that, people would have complained that only white people (or one single race) was included.” All I have to say is, you can’t have your cake and eat it too. People need to make up their minds whether or not they want the problems of race to be cleaned up; and in my opinion, the only way we’re going to go anywhere is if we do things like this, albeit they ridiculous, versus not doing them.
To those who complain that advertisements such as these ones are masking the problems of our racial issues? Screw that. OF COURSE our problems aren’t fixed. OF COURSE not everyone is as happy as they seem together on the screen. But really people, you’d be complaining if they showed it any other way too. Putting people of different colors together on the screen – you have to start somewhere. This is something I feel very strongly about. Political correctness annoys the hell out of me as well, but honestly, it’s become such a staple in society that without it, people would be even more upset. The line from the news article, “And yet, might today's ads also be implanting false assumptions that our race problems have been fixed, that all Americans are living comfortable, upper-middle-class lifestyles in racially harmonious settings?” really bothers me. Like I said, sure these may be assumptions that aren’t exactly on base, but if advertisers didn’t put these images on the screen, people would be saying otherwise.
Sure, there’s a lot of money behind the motivation in the advertising world, but duh! It wouldn’t be a business if it didn’t try for this. And they’re also trying to make everyone happy, so why keep complaining about it? It’s not perfect – I am not by any means saying advertising and the messages put out are perfect. But one step at a time people, one step at a time.
I think that this whole article is very interesting. It certainly brings in and discussed many different perspectives in its content, which is very refreshing. It addresses a wide range of issues from many different perspectives. I found the part about rise of black purchasing power interesting. I think I would have with the author on the part on Obama’s election. I really do hope that it gives advertising companies that push they have been waiting for and make multiculti ads. The last section of the article was really negative which kind of make a weak ending. It talked about how ads that depict people of different racial backgrounds as inaccurate and not a realistic view of society and I want to know why not. Just because not every table at the hub is mixed racially and has people of different races sitting side by side and buddy buddy doesn’t mean that it doesn’t ever happen. Just because it is not the most frequent occurrence does not mean it does not happen. I feel like this makes us all take a step back from the “finish line.” Why do we have to step back and think about if its real or not? Why can’t we just say ok this is “cool” and just go with it and make a part of our lives and turn it into a frequent occurrence? I feel like we are always drawing a line saying this doesn’t actually happen its just the ideal. But maybe if we stop saying that and just start accepting it and integrating it into our lives it will be.
In the blog it was asked: Did the Civil Rights Movement occur because Americans had altered their views about race? Or did their view points change largely because this movement got underway and led to cultural transformations that they could no longer ignore. I would have to say it is the latter. I think that it is more of people could no longer ignore the movement because is that not how a lot of people notice things. Word of mouth is no longer the biggest transfer of information anymore. We have TV, radio, billboards and of course internet. When trying to promote a change people are going to use these outlets and resources to spread their word. Many times people do not seem to notice at first but the constant reminders get hard to ignore and that’s when people really start to notice. Leaders of social change must understand that persistence is key when trying to gain support. Its like when elections are coming up and you see a million signs along the side of the road for different candidates. Often you see like a couple in a row. I would like to think that the person that put them there wasn’t just being stupid but was using the power of repetition to their advantage. There is a point where people after hearing about it enough start to break down and have a sense of moral responsibility.
After reading this article I think this situation really is a Catch 22. We are never going to please everybody- it is impossible. We will please ten people but make one mad. This is just how it is going to be. With advertising I am not sure how I feel about all this recent surge of trying to make the commercials multi-racial. I feel like this has occurred because people feel that it is the 'politically correct' thing to do. But really I am not sure what the right thing to do is. I feel like more ads have started to come about because we have started to see some changes in our country, like the election of Barack Obama as President of the United States. However, just because we have made this progress does not mean that we have fixed our racial problems that exist in our society. By placing increasing amounts of multi-racial people in the ads it is like we are trying to say everyone is changing and we do not have any race problems anymore. This is so far from the truth. I think we should include other people besides whites in commercials because the media does influence us and maybe they can help bring about change. For example all the commercials we see on a day to day basis are suppose to make us want what they are selling and most do a good job of that. These commercials depict this great life and then you sit there watching and think 'man if i get this product by life will be so much better'. So if they are able to create these feelings in us then maybe they can help to change attitudes towards multi-racial people but I think this is a big project! Also, I think one of the main reasons advertisers are including more diversity in their ads is to appeal to their market. Our society as a whole is becoming more diversified whether people like it or not. So if advertisers are only targeting to white middle/upper class Americans they are losing a lot of demographic that could be providing them with money. Our society seems to be driven by money so I feel that most advertisers goals is to make more money and appeal to more people so that is why they have started to include a diverse group of people in their ads. Another thing I found interesting is something posted by a response to this article. In their blog they talked about how in the new Hannah Montana movie the town in Tennessee they portray as a south town so while watching the movie they noticed that a lot of people in the town were black and then also we they introduced the mayor it was a black man. I think it is very interesting that they did this because that is a very stereotypical thing that there is a lot of black people in a southern town. I also find it kind of different that they made the mayor a black man. I am not saying this is wrong at all but I like the other blogger said wonder if it was because we now have a black president so it is considered 'common' now to have a black mayor? You just have to wonder if they did this to diversify the movie or make it 'politically correct'. Everything I talked about really does seem like a Catch 22, no matter what we do, is it really going to be the right answer, or is it ever really going to fix our problems?
I one hundred percent agree that media is one of the main factors that influences how we feel about race in our world today. Media tends to depict the real-life videos of the history channel, or the far-fetched stories of The OC and Grey’s Anatomy. No matter how real or unreal, we all get sucked into watching it hours on end. Sometimes it is even an escape from the stress our real lives give us every day. Media has the power to show us things that could be and are not necessarily happening right now. We can look at this picture of the white toddler “hanging out” with the black toddler and say how nice and innocent those babies are, if only it was like that in real life. It may seem so simple on television, but maybe not so simple if we were to think about it occurring out in the real world. Personally, I feel these two little guys hanging out is fine, but I am sure there are other people out there shocked these two human beings are placed together. TV also has the power to show us things we may not have been able to see otherwise. For example, the beating of a black man in our current day. If I were to see this pop up on YouTube I would be shocked, but I would also be finally educated on the harshness racism can bring. It may influence me to take a stand on an issue and do something about it. Media is good in a way that it educates us as well as broadens our imagination of our possibilities as humans.
When I thought about how you said if you saw a few ethnicities deliberately put together on a college add, I would also feel they did that just to show how great the college really is. It almost seems cheesy. I think it is great all races were included and I would definitely question them if I saw all perfect smiling white people on the add. But, if I were to find out they put out interviews for the picture saying “we need an Asian” or “African American needed” then I would feel this was giving the wrong message. This would still be discrimination to me in that they still ask for a specific race and would deny any other. I hope this is not the case, but how can I help thinking that if I see one of every race placed together in one picture. I feel media does this in our society today a lot, especially just to show they accept all. Really, I think they are taking it over the edge and should just show what they need to show and let race integrate itself into the world. If we see actors are being cast due to pure ability and talent, and one just happens to be of black race, good for them, the world can see him as he is.
I’ve noticed this about ads somewhat, the “main character” if you will, of a commercial will be black, and I hate to say it, but sometimes it throws me off. Not because I don’t think this black couple wouldn’t go to Lowe’s for flowers, but because it’s a relatively new trend. I’ve noticed that more commercials will incorporate black people and white people together, which is nice to see. The situation seen, say black and white college students together at a football tailgate, might not necessarily be the norm, but in this commercial, it will happen. I think the ultimate goal of advertising this way is to make money like the article said, not to improve race relations in our country. I know I like seeing ads with people who aren’t just white, because not all white people account for customers for companies. I do agree with the quote at the end that while commercials seen may not portray reality, it’s something we aspire to. It’d be great if Obama was just seen as another president and Native American, White, Black, and Asian people all being at the same party wasn’t seen as weird. Hopefully, in the next generation, that will happen. We all know in our parent’s generation, TV ads had white people, that’s it. Minorities would be seen for a negative role but not as a consumer like white people. Now, in our generation, our ads show a goal we all as a country hope to achieve, people of all races engaging in normal activities. Hopefully in the next generation, these ads will be everywhere, and no one will think twice about them. I don’t know if I’d say that these ads alone are what are going to push us into this ideal world of all races hang out with each other all the time. I think that other things need to go on behind the scenes, like having a minority high up in an advertising company so that the only “diversified” ads shown are from the ideas of white people. To advance race relations in our country, more races being represented needs to be in front and behind the screen. I also would like to point out that while more Black people are being shown in ads, I can’t say I’ve seen many other minorities represented, say Latino or Asian. The focus seems to be exclusively on blacks and whites hangin out together on an ordinary day. I’d like to see more races represented, and it doesn’t always have to be whites and a minority. Show Asians and Native Americans. Show everyone on television who makes up our country, so that you can make money and improve race relations.
When I started reading this article the first thing I though of was the captain planet cartoon that I think many of us will remember from childhood. I believe that his perfectly illustrates what the blog entry and the MSNBC article are discussing. This show was the perfect example of what Sam said about the Penn State brochure having five people from five different ethnicities. Captain Planet, and this is from the intro video on YouTube, had an Africa boy with the power of earth, a North America red-headed boy with the power of fire, a blonde girl from the Soviet Union who could use wind, an Asian girl who was water, and finally a South America boy who everyone thinks got short changed by the show’s creator because he had the power of heart. O and Mother Nature was a light skinned black woman and captain planet was blue but like probably white.
Another point on advertising and commercials that this article did not raise is the difference in campaigns for stations such as NBC and ABC and the commercials created for BET. If you have never noticed the difference you clearly aren’t watching BET enough. Also, just a side note, have you ever seen a commercial for a cleaning product with a male actor doing the cleaning (yea feminism). But on a more serious note the rising frequency of black and brown actors in commercials signals the rise in disposable income for those population groups. Advertising firms and marketing agencies are not going to spend thousands of dollars to put out a commercial for someone who won’t buy it.
I do believe that the increased presence of multiple cultures and races in advertising has the potential to open up the race dialogue in people’s daily lives and in turn to break down a few stereotypes. However, if people do not discuss their everyday experiences and feelings there is the potential for stereotypes to develop. For example, I have recently started seeing advertisements for Pop Eye’s Louisiana fried chicken, which do not look anything like those for KFC. It’s personally an interesting paradigm that only black people work at Pop Eye’s and only white people at KFC. In addition to the possible stereotypes that could be enforced with certain advertisements I also feel that they cold encourage a more positive feeling about one’s ethnicity or race. If kids and adolescence are able to see people that look like them they may be less likely to feel like they are outsiders. I’m referring to the video that we watched in class with the young black children and the dolls. In essence I feel that if kids see themselves as equal on television, which is where most children learn how to behave, they will begin to see less of a difference in skin differences.
The United States is encompassed with the theme of political correctness. When making an ad or writing a brachure different ethnicities must be included or else we as America or the company of the ad or brochure is viewed as racist. America is trying to come to terms with itself, a lot of people just want all races to be seen as equal once and for all. This desire is shown and illustrated throughout the most important vehicle, the media. Although there is nothing wrong with showing blacks, whites and asians hanging out and doing things together, it is sad because we all know that the world isn’t like that. This is just an ideal world and way of life that is depicted in order for us to feel better about ourselves. In order for us to feel better about how far our race relations has gone because you know what? Its easier. It is easier to say that everything is fine, and that we have improved so much. It takes less effort to generalize than to really look at our culture and point out the flaws. Because by pointing them out we have to deal with them and we have to work through the pain of race relations. All of this we would all just like to sweep under the rug and mark as “complete.” So I think in one way the media is playing on this desire of the American public to see everyone as equals. But in another aspect, they have to portray different races because if not they are racist. I do believe that biracial ads are a positive because by viewing them over and over America gets used to the idea even more. This way we hopefully look within ourselves and ask “now why cant I be like that? What is wrong with me that I cant be comfortable with people of other races? By prompting these questions Americans will hopefully be able to come to terms with themselves and push themselves to take part in more biracial activities and engagements. Advertising doesn’t merely only show what goes on in society it gives an ideal way of life that makes people want to strive towards. The cooler thinner models make people want to wear the hottest fashions and be thin while doing it. All of this the advertisers know and play off of to their advantage. It just so happens that this time it isn’t harmful and that this time the ideal society isn’t one hundred percent impossible to reach. As a society we have the ability to come closer and to close our racial gaps. However, we must keep in mind that we haven’t already gotten there. That these messages aren’t what is happening now, it is what will happen in the future with hard work and commitment.
This blog makes me think of the blog about Morgan Freeman. The problem with publicizing about race is that it will always make some people happy and others the opposite. Whether this is a good or bad thing, I’m not sure if that can really be determined. My point of view is that opening up to new “faces” so to speak, is a positive thing. To see the traditional “all white” brochure is what people are used to. Since the brochures that are shown now are more multicultural, this makes people give it a second thought.
No matter what, people will react differently. Some people seeing an all white brochure will get annoyed where others that see a multicultural brochure would get annoyed as well. The feelings that come from those two situations can vary depending on what a person actually sees as being inappropriate. I can see how someone would get annoyed at an all white person brochure because it is too modern or racist even. Seeing a multicultural people brochure could anger someone who thinks it is also racist or too “politically correct” to have that kind of brochure. Again, it is hard to make everyone happy.
I think the right thing to do is to include multicultural people on brochures, or magazines because that is politically correct but it also to me is the less racist option than just putting all white people on the picture. Being politically correct has become more important than ever especially recently with our new black president. My dad always talks about how insane everything has gotten because one word can mean so many different things and offend so many different people. It always comes back to the same thing; it is impossible to please everyone. Now, having Obama as our president, political correctness is key. A black president is new for our country; there are a lot of things that need to be adjusted. Some words like terrorist attacks have been changed because I guess some people feel more comfortable with a word like a man-made disaster. It is all about political correctness and it is almost like hiding the truth or changing it to make it better. I feel like making people feel more comfortable is what political correctness has a lot to do with. It is a lot like not showing the public everything that happens over in Iraq or vise versa. It happens all the time in movies; the government hides the truth from the public so that mayhem is not created. If everyone feels safe then everything is okay. It is a shame because that is how people live their lives – through lies. It is sort of like lying to yourself to believe what you want to believe or what you think is true and it really isn’t.
I have mixed feelings on interracial commercials. I mean really? They threw in a black baby to a commercial that already aired with a single white baby. It is obvious that they did it to get more publicity as interracial. That annoys me. I mean okay, if you’re going to do it, sure. But to add to a previously aired commercial…how do you justify that? You are making it a point that you added a black baby in for whatever the reason; maybe they needed to appeal to more audiences, so why didn’t they make it a black baby in the first place? Did they think it wouldn’t sell what they were advertising? I don’t understand why they don’t just use black people then if that’s what their goal is, to add to the white people already advertising. If their strategy increases sales, then great for them, but it pisses me off more that they need to prove to everyone that they are being multicultural or whatever. I was watching some show about the funniest business commercials and there was a pretty interesting one involving an Asian guy. The whole idea of the commercial was that he hated his job, and everyone was telling him to do something that he is happy doing. However, each person he talked to was himself but dressed up, and each one was impersonating a different race and gender. This is an interesting approach to the multicultural commercial, considering it was the same Asian guy the entire time but he was acting like a white person, black woman, and a bunch of others. I don’t remember what each person was telling him but the white guy was dressed very preppy and looked kind of like a golfer. When I first watched it I was kind of caught off guard because the white person wasn’t the main focus and was kind of looked down upon in it. Then I was thinking about it from everyone else’s point of view. The black person probably didn’t like it that much either because it was a ghetto black girl with crazy hair portrayed. But the Asian population probably thought it was funny because it was making fun of everyone else’s race instead of their own. So I guess it just depends on where you are, because this commercial never aired where I live and my Dad had never seen it either. My dad had no comment on the advertisement. Now that I think of it, I was so confused by what was going on that I have no idea what the ad was actually for. I guess that may be how other races view commercials with only white people. Interesting.
The MSNBC article on the newfound diversity in the media was an optimistic approach, reversal for the negative implications that were to be portrayed of minorities. A reversal for the negative stereotypes embedded in viewer’s minds, those whom take these ideas and apply it to real life situations, unable to decipher television from reality.
Do I think through commercials people are going to accept and understand multiculturalism? No.
I don’t say this to be pessimistic in anyway. I do believe that it’s a great start on the media’s part to introduce the concept of multiculturalism, especially in a society where people are easily swayed by what is put on television, the internet (facebook!), and the radio. But unless this multiculturalism is occurring in the real world, then it won’t have the same affect as supporters of multiculturalism in the media hope it has on viewers.
For instance, upon first viewing the e-trade commercial with the black and white babies, I just focused on the adorable black baby singing Take these Broken Wings. None of my attention focused on the fact that e-trade had a commercial with two babies of different races. That happens to be because I come from a city where it is extremely multicultural and integration isn’t determined on the need to blend different cultures and races, but because it seems to be normal to people to be friends with whomever they are attracted to, excluding race as a factor.
But for those who see one race or cultural type of people around them constantly, when they see this commercial, for example, of a white baby and a black baby. I’ve had friends upon viewing a commercial with a black family or a group of black people, comments typically end up being “Where’d they find all those black people?” and “Why are they acting so stereotypical.” And then, upon utilizing multiculturalism in advertisements, comments change to “Look at the token black guy.”
After listening to their comments, it seems as though there is no way for the media to win, even though they keep trying their best to spread the concept of multiculturalism along to their views, especially those who take what they hear or see and truly believe it.
Television advertisements and other forms of media outlets have, for many years, discriminated on non-white ethnic groups, usually personifying them with a negative stereotype or excluding them completely in the media, especially “black-face,” “mammy” comedies where completely untrue personifications of African Americans were given. I really think the true goal and interest of multiculturalism in the media is to be in good standing with those that aren’t in the “whites’-only club” of American media, as MSNBC eloquently put it.
But in conclusion, I really love that e-trade commercial when the little black baby starts singing for some inspiration.
So, this is definitely up there with my favorite blog posts of the semester. I am a Media Studies major with a minor in Sociology and it’s an understatement to say this blog is right up my alley. Keep them coming, Sam. I think one of the best lessons I’ve learned while being a Communications major is just about the same point made at the end of this article, “Advertising is aspirational- It’s who we want to be, a lifestyle we want- not always who we are.” Since the birth of advertisements on the radio waves, the voices and comments of those people were always very cheery and everything was very over-dramatized. That is advertising still today, in a nutshell. I think something to think about is this- As adults, we realize this fact- that advertising usually over-exaggerates topics, but what about children? Featuring these “multi-culti” ads might be a positive thing for our younger generations to keep seeing. This touches on the comment, “Fake-it-‘til-you-make-it.” Our children may be looking at these ads and they might help them initiate conversations with peers from different ethnic groups. I found “the three taboos” idea pretty interesting. I come from a predominantly white town, with a majority of one-race families. I even went to school with a couple of people that were told by their parents they were not allowed to date someone of a different race. So, to read that interracial dating is still a controversial topic on television and in advertising isn’t really a surprise to me. Personally, I believe that if you love someone, that is it- and that goes with people that are homosexual, as well. After reading this article, I think the next time I see an ad that depicts a taboo, I’m going to root for that company a little bit more. It takes a lot to step out of the lines in advertising because that campaign may break or make a company and in this economy, sometimes those leaps aren’t worth taking. This is a really exciting time to be studying media and its effect on our culture because we have a “black” president and because technology is taking a lot of new turns. I love the Pepsi ad with Bob Dylan and Will.i.am. Not only because I am a huge fan of both artists, but also because it is an awesome concept. To tell the truth, I didn’t think factor race in when I first saw it, but I guess it would be a completely different ad if it had featured a modern, white artist. So, yes, since the beginning television has depicted the world with a rose-colored tint, but is that such a terrible thing?
This article is one that really interests me. I often am asking why they added a black person or a person of any minority into a commercial usually thinking that there is some type of ulterior motive. But just as Sam said in his blog, I catch myself asking why a picture of all white people is used on any magazine or brochure as well. Actually, yesterday my roommates and I were watching T.V. and it was a Verizon commercial that I had seen before but all of the people in the commercial were African-American. I was kind of confused just because I had seen the commercial before and it wasn’t all one race. I asked my roommates and they were responded, ‘oh its B.E.T’. I find that to be kind of comical that people know that the only place only blacks will be represented in television advertising is on Black Entertainment Television. Because of this and other examples I have encountered with different commercials or advertising in magazines I think it is closer to the fact that we are just trying to act like its ‘cool’ to have ‘multiculti’ advertisements. I really could care less if one or the other race is represented but I just like to ask why and see who and what is responded. I think political correctness is sometimes just ridiculous especially in advertising. The likelihood of seeing a five completely different races hanging out together on the HUB lawn is not necessarily impossible but just improbable. We’ve talked about in class how many races just stick together and I don’t think that’s a bad thing as long as they aren’t opposed to meeting and/or being friendly with any other person that they come in contact with regardless of their race. It seems like this racial identity in advertisements is a generally new thing that is taking place. But I feel that we are progressing in a good way. No matter if we are just jumping on the band wagon or everyone thinks this is a good idea and wants every race to be properly endorsed, we are still moving in the right direction. Sometime soon no one is going to notice that there is a black man as the main role of a commercial or that Latinos, Native Americans, and whites are all hanging out together at a lunch table. It’s odd because I don’t think I’m racist and I notice these things. I don’t think it’s a bad thing when I see some of these things occurring but I know we talked about in class that we need to stop noticing color or race. And although I know that I am not racist I still notice these differences and until a generation comes along with absolutely no negative connotation with race we are still working toward a goal.
This article reminded me of the article which interviewed Morgan Freeman on the topic of Black History month. These articles are similar because both situations result in a “catch 22” outcome. I find it so unrealistic and irritating when I visited colleges and would see pamphlets and brochures with five kids of each a different ethnicity. I would not consider Penn State a diverse school and will rarely see kids of white and blacks eating together at lunch or hanging out together in their dorm rooms. However, even with this said I would be feel uncomfortable or surprised if I received a college pamphlet with only white kids on it. It is extremely difficult to find a balance that satisfies all diversity but yet accurately reflects the current demographics.
After reading the article, “Race Becomes More Central to T.V Advertising” I was awakened the race factor that is subtly incorporated in television commercials. It could be as simple as including people of diversity in the background of the commercial, or having them endorse a product or help promote the message to a larger audience. Marketers and Advertisers are definitely incorporating this diversity because of the predicted increase of future immigrants in the United States. It was reported in this article that by 2042, white people will be the minority and people of color and Mexican decent will be the majority. By implementing this marketing strategy, it will help appeal to the future more diverse audience.
Even with these facts reported, I do not feel in most advertised commercials or company’s marketing strategies accurately represent on television ethnic groups interests. In many commercials I watch, I may see a black person wearing clothing or doing an activity that they would rarely be found doing according to society’s trends. I feel as if it is not society shifting that is transforming advertisement and marketing strategy. I think it is these television commercials which are persuading people to think a certain way and brainwashing children at a young age. I enjoy commercials that properly illustrate societal norms rather than creating this imaginary situation.
It would be another story if there were actions and steps being taking towards encouraging diversity in society but I feel as if not much has changed over the past few years. I think racism and segregation will exist more in some areas, and be oppressed and silence in others. I do not feel as if television commercials are implying society’s improvement towards welcoming diversity rather than denying it. I think the media should be more in tune to the norms of society so television and commercials can be closer to reflecting what may be seen or may not be as common.
I am actually going to take this journal entry to reflect upon an incident that happened over this previous weekend. My girlfriend came up for a visit while practically all of state college was on break. It was almost dinner time, so we rallied up a few kids that stayed this weekend to go over to the commons. Practically empty, we sped through the line and got our food. Some of us sat down, but my girlfriend headed over to the salad bar to make a salad. As she reached over the bar to get some salad and toppings for her salad, I was heading back to the table with my drinks. At a corner table, a group of 4 black kids were giggling with their eyes focused directly ahead. I was getting closer to my seat while passing the ignorant black kids, when I heard them saying absurd lines. Some of which included…Damn that girls ass is nice….That is like my fantasy girl right there…She is banging. They were talking amongst themselves with their eyes directly on my girlfriends ass. Now come on. That is fuckin ridiculous. Pissed inside my head, I am just gonna ignore those assholes and walk back to my seat. As Jamie(my girlfriend) gets back to the table she tells me more. Immediately after turning around and heading back to eat…they weren’t done. Hey girl, wanna come sit with us…can’t find your friends…come sit here. She told my friends and I about the immature black kids. So we are staring at these jerks pissed off and just offended by their actions. I just don’t get it. Grow the fuck up. So as one of them gets up and walks over to get himself a drink, he makes a little detour over to our table on the way back. This is the argument that went on between us and this black guy. He comes over and immediately questions…Why you staring me down, you got a problem? Yeah, why you being dickheads and making comments about this girls body and staring directly at her? He answers I can look wherever I want. I said you were fuckin lookin at her ass and saying that’s your fantasy girl and she is bangin, almost so she can hear you? Grow up and fuckin gain some respect. If there is a problem leave my girlfriend out of this. Get outta here. We spend a few more minutes on the topic then drop it. But still, I have to tell you that this is not the first time. This has happened before with black guys, never white. Where is the respect at? Well hopefully someone has a response to this absurd incident.
I agree that race in general is a catch 22. You are truly damned if you do and damned if you don’t. Also having a Penn State add with different people of different races does not truly depict the true penn state in my opinion. They advertise penn state as a culturally diverse environment but it isn’t. While we do have to people of difference races however the majority of students are white. In advertising I think that the people who create them think that they need to have people of different races in their ads to appeal to people of the those races. I have to admit I am more drawn to a product if someone who relates to me is in the advertisement. Not just by race, but by gender and other factors. I am not an advertising major so my theories may be incorrect and have no scholastic background. I feel that people who create advertisements appeal to what people want to become. For example if I buy this product I will become what is shown in the advertisement. A huge one is diet pills and gym equipment and beauty products. If you use this treatment and then you will look like the person in the ad. It is hard to picture yourself as that person if you are not of the same race or gender. I read the post the person before me wrote. I have to agree I do not fit the typically Abercrombie style. I do get looks and ignored by those who work there when I go in, which I haven’t for a very long time. But if you dress like them then they are accepting. When I as in high school I worked at Abercrombie kids. To work at these stores you have to asked which I think is ridiculous. I also have the same thing at my new work, when kids come him dressed all “punk” my manager tells my watch them to see if the steal or anything, which does happen a lot where I work.
If you don’t include all races you are judged as a racist but if you do you are judged by trying to be racist by doing it. I still feel sometimes the words I say are going to be taken out of context and I am going to be judged as a racist. Through this class though I am learning how to get across what I am saying better and not to be worry if I am going to judged by it. I am starting to become more vocal about what I think instead of just trying to ignore it. When I was growing up I was just taught by actions to ignore the race issue. I was never taught to be a racist, just not to get into discussion about it.
I agree with Sam when he says that political correctness and race relations are a Catch-22. No matter what you say, there will almost always be at least one person who will be offended by it. And what is offensive to one person may not be offensive to another. In other words, you cannot please everyone or make everyone like you. I think in advertising, people are trying to remove the lines between races and make it seem as though it is the norm for everyone to interact with everyone else. I think it’s great to incorporate diversity through television and other forms of advertising because it brings it into the home and makes it feel more like reality. However, I always question how close that diversity is to reality. Sam mentioned how the statue outside of the Hintz Family Alumni Center is of children that are all white. At first glance, I did not make that connection. But once I had heard it mentioned that they were all white, the next time I saw the statue, I realized it was true. But why is this wrong? We do not know the inspiration for the statue. The artist could have been at a park one day and saw kids playing like this. And if he or she was at a park near where I grew up, the children would most definitely all be white. Yet if he or she was at a playground at the elementary school in Philadelphia where I spent two weeks visiting this past summer, the children would be mostly black with only a handful of white children. And again, if the artist was inspired by the children who live in White Course Apartments and go to the Kids Club Afterschool Program that I volunteer at, the children would be mostly Asian. Therefore, I think it is wrong of us, no matter what our race is, to judge that statue because it has only white children in it when we do not know the reason for its creation. I do, however, think it is kind of stupid for a Penn State brochure to have a picture with students of various ethnicities on the cover. It’s that feeling like you just assume the photographer picked a few students who looked a lot different so it could make Penn State look more diverse. But like Sam said, we would question the picture whether it was of a variety of different cultural groups or just one. I think it would be more beneficial to just take a candid snapshot of students walking down the street or working at computers in a lab. In general, I think it looks silly if it’s staged anyway. If the advertising is more candid, and happens to catch a group of diverse students sitting next to each other in the library, it is more believable and makes me feel as though race relations are really making progress.
The media has a vast and profound impact on us. Media messages are crafted with concern for predominant issues in the social realm. But the general public is not the ones to pressure the media to pay attention to a given issue; special interest groups donate a lot of time and resources to securing media coverage. So while I do think that a catch-22 exists here with media messages of diversity, I think it has much more to do with smaller pressures and less to do with our culture as a whole. I think that the media, in granting equal attention to issues affecting a variety of socioeconomic groupings, sends the message that our culture is tolerant and progressive. Once again though, we see a fine line with a racial issue. Those Penn State brochures with representation from Asians, Mexicans, Whites, Blacks, and Native Americans seem overt, overproduced, and intensely politically correct. When a message appears that is so clearly trying to be politically correct, it often loses all credibility. If efforts of racial equality are not genuine, they end up being entirely ineffective and laughable (like the Penn State brochures). It’s a nice effort on the part of Penn State’s Public Relations department, but it is so in-your-face that it’s impossible to ignore how little truth it reflects. Penn State is a majority White, so why do we find the need to send the message that we are so intensely diverse? We want to attract students of all races to attend Penn State, but any high school student with half a brain can determine that a scene like the one on the brochure is as likely to happen as they are likely to get accepted to Harvard. Maybe we need to insert an element of realism and play down the optimism and ideology a bit. At least we would take the effort more seriously.
If I had to choose in which direction the influence went, I would definitely say that media influences people more so than the other way around. We are extremely susceptible to hidden messages. While the messages themselves reflect a need in society, the desired change in behaviors or attitudes is a result of the media. For example, anti-smoking campaigns that erupted decades ago addressed the health concerns that had become apparent that were not known previously. While the public slowly became aware that smoking caused health problems, the media was responsible for the dissemination of the message. Even if we ignore the actual anti-smoking commercials, we can see a clear change in media where smoking was not equated with being hip anymore. Fewer commercials/TV shows/movies featured actors smoking cigarettes, and overtime the attitudinal associations with smoking changed. Mass media is a powerful thing; it ties us together and slowly affects changes in a culture. Diversity in the media addresses a cultural need and desire to change our attitudes about racism. The media is the vehicle by which we will actually begin to see changes take place in accordance with this.
Obviously there are a lot of issues to consider when depicting other races in the media or in advertisements. One has to consider if they are stereotyping different ethnicities, if they are falsely depicting their lifestyles, and whether or not they are simply trying to be politically correct by including more minorities in their ads. Personally, I agree that there is really no winning. Race is still such a touchy issue in America because we are still trying to find ways to prove that we are the “Melting Pot” of the world. However, this is an unrealistic label, as certain racial groups are obviously still more privileged and favored than others. So, the question is whether or not we should acknowledge this or promote a vision of what we would like to think America is. It seems that we have to choose between the two because race is at the forefront of issues in the Obama generation. If I had to choose, I would say it is better to promote a false sense of equality.
Since it appears as though I have to choose one, I’m going to go with this one because it is the only hope for our country to move forward. Advertisers can continue to draw attention to the fact that inequality exists in America, but that does not mean that they are doing anything to solve it. Drawing attention to it may in fact still be seen as a way to perpetuate stereotypes and the fact that America is a Caucasian dominated society. People are going to continue to complain that other ethnicities are not proportionately represented in the media or in advertisements, and inevitably advertisers are going to have to change that. If they fail to, controversy will ensue and we will only be circling around and getting nowhere. If, however, we depict a more significant number of ethnic groups on television, there may be a chance we can move forward. As you said, in a few decades Caucasians will no longer be the majority, so why not start acknowledging that now?
Also, who is to say that the wealthy Black or Hispanic people represent the entire population of both groups? If people are saying that an advertisement showing both Blacks and Whites sporting pricey watches ignores the fact that “poverty disproportionally affects certain groups,” it seems as though they are essentially saying that most Blacks are not wealthy, and therefore we should not pretend they are. It is simply irrational to exclude minorities from previously White dominated commercials just because inequality still exists. If we fail to give minorities fair or equal exposure in the media, we are just going to remain static on issues of race. It is better to attempt to move forward than continue to remain in a constant spiral of what is an accurate portrayal of race in the media and what is not.
I don’t see a problem with including a variety of cultural groups in advertising. While it may have been done just to make money, “Marketers ‘aren't turning out multicultural ads for the good of society,’ says Shreffler. ‘They recognize there is money involved. If you skip out on a group that is going to be half the population by 2042 — good heavens, who are you marketing to?’" It does have a greater good. Even if society has not fully integrated yet, commercials show that it is okay for this to happen.
On the other hand, as Sam said in the blog, “When I see a brochure advertisement for Penn State with a photo of five people from five different cultural groups, there is a side of me that feels cynical, as though someone felt the need to be inclusive of everyone.” I completed agree with his feelings toward this. Every time I see Penn State’s commercial I get mad. I feel like Penn State went out of their way to find people of different ethnicities to put into their commercial. It’s completely unnatural and uncharacteristic of the school. It’s almost like false advertising. I have no problem with including people of different races and nationalities at Penn State, but when you walk around campus, for the most part all you see is white. With the exception of Soc 119 all of my classes have been made up of white people and maybe one or two people of color. I know Penn State wants to look like they embrace diversity, but that is just not realistic.
According to the Penn State fact book (http://www.budget.psu.edu/FactBook/StudentDynamic/MinorityEnrolbyEthnicity.aspx?YearCode=2008), the University Park campus is made up of 34,879 white people out of 44,112. If you just look at the undergrads, there are 31,599 white people out of 37,988. Additionally there are 1,560 black people, 2,144 Asian people, 1,347 Hispanic people, 37 Native Americans (wahoo, that number is a lot higher than I thought it would be), and 1,301 International students (the fact book apparently leaves out people of mixed origins). That means that 83% of the undergrads at Penn State are white. Yet according to the commercials and brochures it looks like Penn State has a lot more diversity than that. I don’t know, maybe they are trying to advertise the graduate program which is slightly more diverse.
I would be okay if the commercials had a few people of different races and ethnicities in it. But the fact that Penn State goes overboard and tries to make it look like the population of whites to nonwhites is 50-50 is ridiculous. They aren’t kidding anyone. All an observer has to do is to come see Penn State for themselves and they would be able to see that the commercial misrepresented the population of the school.
I have to agree with Sam on this one. When I see Penn State advertisements and brochures featuring a student from every different color and ethnicity wearing bright colors and smiling I almost throw up a little in my mouth. This is not painting an accurate picture of a predominately white school, so to me it seems false. At the same time, however, if I were to see a brochure with five or six smiling white boys and girls wearing fraternity and sorority sweatshirts I would be equally as annoyed. To me, it is almost laughable how predictable these ads can be in painting a diversity happy picture. Along those lines, I think it is good that multiracial advertising is happening in the sense of “culture.” I read another post where a girl wrote about her experiences at Abercrombie & Fitch and it reminded me of a similar experience I had. I too am an upper-class white female. I could almost be an Abercrombie shopper. But let’s be real, as much as I may look the part, almost none of my clothing is from there. To specify, I could be a GAP or an American Eagle target to a tee. That’s neither here nor there. My point is, one day I walked into the Hollister in my area in Virginia. I was dressed up on this particular day because after the mall I had something to attend. I was immediately catered to, and after immense help from the employees, the manager approached me in order to recruit me to work there. Although flattered, I declined and recalled a time not so long before where I showed up to the very same store in the very same mall in sweats and got little to no acknowledgement as well. To me, this was almost like the episode in “Pretty Woman” where Julia Roberts is treated poorly in a store. For this reason, I think a lot of advertising should be done by status and culture, not from race. People of different races can have similar styles just as those in the same race can express themselves completely differently. I thought the last part in the article about “no-no’s” and taboos was very interesting. I am really sick of hearing about grandparents and parents not being able to accept the multiculturalism my generation brings home. I think I must be making racial progress because I am about ready for everyone (including the older population) to catch up.
As a marketing major I think Dr. Richards has noble opinions on this subject but I do not agree with him on several of his comments. Dr. Richards feel that using race to advertise sets race relations back because the motives are derogatory towards minority races in the US. I feel that using multiple ethnicities to advertise allows the largest amount of consumers to become interested in a product, thus not excluding any particular demographic. Marketers are correct in realizing that whites will eventually become the minority so they are only doing what they were taught by incorporating multicultural ethnicities into their advertisements. Wouldn’t it more wrong to exclude minorities when advertising? To have all commercials with only white actors in them would obviously not be reaching a large audience. The article states that consumer spending in minority groups in drastically increasing so now is a better time than ever to advertise to these groups.
The media plays an incredibly large role in alerting our perceptions of ethnic and racial groups. Majority of people believe what they see and if they have not experienced different ethnic and cultural groups first hand they are led to believe that was is portrayed in the media is accurate. While I find this to be morally wrong, it is the fact of the matter. In the past people of minority race were often the butt of jokes in sitcoms and the faces of products with less class then a upper class person would want to purchase. Today things are taking a turn for the better in that minority groups are being portrayed more accurately in media and marketed to the same way an upper class person would be. While some of the old advertising lingers it is not successful and will ultimately have to make a change in the near future in order to keep those companies in business.
In reality multicultural groups do often define what is hip and their interests are marketed towards white America. This is the case often times with clothing, music, and movies. Is it wrong to bring these “hip” things to the eyes of the majority so they can enjoy these things? I believe that the more information available the better. I do not think it is discriminatory to marketing diversity to the un-diverse.
When it comes to cause and effect I believe the media plays the role of cause but only as a middleman. The source (originator of a trend) is the true cause but without the media they may not be heard by the vast majority. When the media intervenes and makes a small idea available to everyone effects may then ensue. Once cultural transformation is underway majorities are more likely to respond and become educated. Unfortunately the media often gets the credit for starting trends when in fact minorities deserve the most recognition. In the end I think the media using its communication power is helping minorities overall.
I have seen this commercial before and I actually found it kind of funny. It was also nice to see diverse culture within it. But at the same time it isn’t exactly natural. It is as if someone placed the black child in the picture to overcome some stereotype or race issue. Maybe to get more customers, or maybe to seem more culturally diverse. I understand some of the motives used in advertising being a communications major. Those people selling the product want to relate to as many people as possible because relating sells more. By have both a white and black child in the picture, it pertains to more than one race. It is more relatable. Diversity is the new hit thing in the media. And I think that the media plays a huge role in the public’s thoughts on the subject. The media helps shape what we find important, what we worry about, and how much. It tells us the new fad or trend. Commercials shape our minds and tell us what we need. I think that it is wonderful that commercials want to show more diversity, but first of all I am not sure it is for the right reasons. I don’t think that all advertisers stick a different race on a product to make the point, but to sell the product to as many people as possible. That is also why I understand Sam’s point of view when he says we are in a catch 22. This is because we first think, o yeah that is great that we are showing diversity through the media and advertising. It seems like a big step forward. But when we see that diversity, we also question why it is there. Is it there to sell or there just because. I honestly think that sticking a different race into a photo to appear more diverse is not taking any step forward. It is just pointing out the issue. A while ago that may have been great, but we are beyond that. I think that diversity in a photo should be natural, that color shouldn’t be an issue in the first place. Whether it have all whites, all blacks, or all Asians on the product, it should be viewed the same. I feel that is the catch 22. We get mad because when there is no diversity, it is being racist. But when the line of too much diversity is crossed, it’s almost fake. This made me think of an issue of a college that stuck a black student into a picture at a football game and promoted the school with that photo. The black student had never been to a football game. The university was sued. They fabricated a photo to promote diversity in the school, when in fact there wasn’t much diversity. Basically what I am getting to is, be real, be natural. Whatever that is, just don’t be fake.
Political correctness is everywhere; whether it’s conscious or subconscious. The Penn State brochure that everyone has seen, with the five people from 5 different cultural groups is plastered across campus. In my opinion, the fact that the photographer took such as picture is necessary. If it had just been a bunch of white kids smiling, I can imagine there would have been an uproar of people claiming Penn State is racist. Thus, five different ethnic backgrounds are shown in it. This is the right thing to do but by no means is it an accurate depiction of the Penn State campus. If a photographer were to walk around all day and snap random pictures, the majority of them would show white people. It is not necessarily a good or bad thing, but Penn State is a predominantly white campus. It was political correctness that led Penn State to decide to show different ethnicities on their brochure.
This type of depiction is not only found on our beloved campus. A large number of colleges show similar ethnic variations throughout their introductory brochures. Also, across many campuses are staged pictures of students from different backgrounds eating, studying, and simply hanging out. Though a lot of this pictures are false advertising, if they weren’t around people would be complaining.
With Penn State’s brochure, you would think that they wanted to depict themselves as a culturally diverse school. Even though they know that they are not quite up to par on that goal, there is a high amount of other races present at this campus besides white. With this in mind, I don’t understand how the statue of children playing on the Hintz Family Alumni Center is the way it is; all white children. If Penn State is so concerned with seeming racially diverse on all of their millions of posters across campus, and their brochures they send out across the county then why is this statue the way it is! It seems quite odd, and maybe not fully thought-out? Personally I am curious as to find out if anyone has ever raised an argument to this statue. There are hundreds of alumni that donate to Penn State and I am sure they have visited the Hintz Family Alumni Center, have any of the non-white (or white families for all means) ever noticed and retorted the all white children depicted.
As I said political correctness is everywhere, I have seen Abercrombie and Fitch billboards in downtown New York City of two guys with their shirts off, one white and one black. Or if one month there is a black girl smiling and laying in the grass, the next advertisement will show a white girl smiling while doing some activity. The “Catch-22” situation is the perfect way to describe political correctness. If you ignore it, your racist, and if you uphold it you are like the Penn State photographer, possibly showing something that doesn’t exist. What is one to do?
I think that media plays a major role in race issues in our society. I mean by looking through articles in magazines or even advertisements on TV it can change our attitudes on how we should perceive ourselves and what we should look like. I mean advertisements in the past have been comprised of white, beautiful, skinny women, which every girl wants to look like it and some of these girls will take this image too far and causing an illness. However, just like the article states, advertisements are created to hit a target audience and since for the past couple of years white population in our country have contributed to the majority of the population and also contributed to the majority of money spent on commercial items. Statistics now show that whites will soon not be the majority in the United States in the next twenty years and minorities spending has increased in the last couple of years; so what this means is that advertisers have to advertise to the appropriate audience that will bring in the most amount of revenue. Money is a very important issue concerning out nation today while we are in a time of recession. Our country needs as many people that have the money to be placing money into our economy through buying items. So in order for this to happen, minorities need to be placed into the advertisements.
I think that this role or race and pleasing the majority of the United States population can also be seen through the use of Penn State’s brochures and many of the other colleges and universities throughout the country. Penn States is trying to say that their campus is friendly to people of any race or ethnicity and they want many people to come to their school. This advertisement again comes down to money and Penn States wants to get people from all over the world to come to their campus so they can charge them a higher rate compared to students that are from Pennsylvania. I mean I would like to see what the brochures were like years ago especially like when my father was enrolled because I bet that they were all white men and women, because during that time that was Penn State’s audience. During those times there was not the amount of minorities that were in the United States as there is today and most minorities were not attending higher education. However, even though Penn State’s brochures are trying to appeal to everyone in their target audience I do not think it portrays an actual depiction of the school atmosphere. I personal do not feel that Penn State is that diverse. I feel that the majority of students that attend Penn State are white. I think maybe Penn State is trying to hard with their advertisement. I think that maybe there should be two or three white students and then the rest should be minority students.
I have a similar view in that I feel fairly cynical when I see advertisements whether for Penn State or anything else that has a person from each different background. They have these types of advertisements all over Penn State. The poster advertising housing at Penn State is people of all different backgrounds…I do not even think there is a white person on that poster! Obviously I do not think that this sort of picture or image depicts what is really happening at Penn State. We are not a diverse campus at all. We are in the middle of Pennsylvania with mostly white middle class students. Where is the racial diversity in that? However at the same time, I suppose if I were of a minority I would feel odd seeing a poster with just straight up white people. It probably would not sit well with me. As far as advertising and the general media goes with racial diversity in commercials, I love it. I do not know why, but I find most of the commercials where there are people of different races in them interesting and more fun to watch.
I love the eTrade baby commercial. I think that the two boys compliment each other, and I think that I am the perfect target audience for advertisers. I essentially buy into the idea. The commercial is basically saying it is okay for black and white babies/kids to be friends, and in fact it is way more cool. I do not think that it is a bad image to portray as long as it does not stop people from seeing the reality of things, and that is that the world is not perfect. There is clearly still racism in the world and that by most societal standards whites and blacks are not treated equally. I just hope that these media portrayals that everything is fine and dandy does not stop people from developing more rather than thinking that the mission is accomplished. There are still great leaps and strides that need to be made and I hope that commercials like eTrade help to aid in this journey instead of staggering or inhibiting it. Do I think that society came first or the media? I think maybe a combination of both. Obama definitely had an influence on people and has already made a difference to so many people in how they view race. I believe that society adapted to the media the same that the media adapted to its audience.
Advertising to me, means a lot. If I see a great commercial of a product I want to buy, I will usually go out and buy it. The MSNBC article talks about how advertising is integrating people of color to reach out to different races. Just now there has been an increase in that. It I was running any company I would have probably done that a long time ago. It’s all about making money. So if you want to get your product out to different people, you should show other races loving that product for the SAME reasons. Right now I just got a ‘flashback’ to the Proactive commercials. I know you’ve all seen them but they would have celebrities, old, young, black, white, males and females all in the commercial talking about how Proactive has helped them. To me, seeing something like that isn’t out of the ordinary. I’m probably not old enough to remember television commercials geared towards white people. The conflict I have heard more than mixing races for advertising is that there weren’t enough people on color on the prime time television shows. What’s more of an issue here? What shocks you more? I feel that advertisements are more open to having a mix of different races/ages in commercials. If you look at prime time TV most shows are well- integrated yet still are predominately white but, I feel as though they are working on it. But at the same time I can’t say that White people are shutting out people of color but you could switch the story around and look at it by saying that there are no white people on shows that have all black people on them. I don’t want to offend anyone here but what’s BET? I understand its Black Entertainment Television but where is the WET? That’s probably not really appropriate statement but it just brings us back to the race table. There will always be a race issue. Having a station like BET probably means progress to people but I’m white and to be honest I don’t feel comfortable watching that station. I feel kind of out of place and feel like I’m watching something that I’m not apart of. I guess you could say I feel like an outsider. I do think that Hollywood could break the typical mold for what’s seen on television. I feel like if it was a slow move, no one would even notice. Hands down Race should become more central on television but if that’s going to happen then we need not to still separate color so much when having a whole show about families. I get it that if there is a show about a black family that there are obviously going to be promidently black show but instead of having that one goofy white guy, maybe show another family.
I don’t know, I think its great that people of different races are being depicted on television but like every other race issue it is something that needs to be worked on, but it is a very positive move and a step in the right direction.
In the article, the author states that the use diverse casts in commercials are ways in which companies and advertisers try to centralize race in American society. To say the least, I find this to be false. Yes, after reading the article the points that the author presents are seemly true. Though, if it was not for the article I would not have thought to myself that race has become so central to my life, but I just do not know how? This is the reason I disagree with this notion. When I watch a commercial, I do not ponder to myself why they used a black woman instead of a white woman to market a certain product. To be completely honest, I rarely pay any attention to commercials anyway. Unless they are humorous, the commercial will not attract my attention. I can’t tell the difference between a Progressive commercial and a State Farm commercial. They are both insurance companies that are trying to attract more customers. It is impossible for me to distinguish between the races of the people in their commercials. It does not matter to me. Marketers may diversify their commercials in order to prevent scrutiny from political correctness from bloggers or other people that feel the need to complain about an issue that has no relevance. When commercial is aired, I don’t think the average American wonders why the Miller High Life sponsor is a heavy set, black delivery man. The average American hates commercials; the only instance that I can think of that people look forward to commercials is during the Super Bowl. The Super Bowl is like watching fireworks, you don’t watch them daily, but when you do, you are only looking for the grand finale, and in the world of commercials the grand finale is the funniest commercial.
Let’s say that racially diverse commercials are the motives of various marketers across the United States. Do they market diversity on their own volition? Do the companies that the advertisers are promoting request to be portrayed as an ethnically diverse work environment to better their image? The questions regarding such a deliberate attempt at diversifying commercials are endless. I see it as a coincidence that advertisements are using more and more racially diverse casts in their commercials. Now there are some companies that deliberately use this idea of diversity in their commercials to present a specific image. I just do not understand the benefits of such an attempt. For example, what benefits does Extrade receive for using a black baby in their advertisement? Do they want the image that they can attend to the needs of a wide range of people? I see this new age of diversity as proof that industries are becoming more equal. That black and minorities are getting jobs, such as small time acting parts, which they would not have gotten before a couple decades ago. It just shows that the race relations and equal employment opportunities are improving.
As everyone knows, America is a unique and multicultural place to live at. We, the American people, are able to say that we want change, when we want it, and what kind of change we want with no repercussions. America has come a far way to make the world we live in equal, and yet we have a far way to go. Whats the best way to get a message out now-a-days? The media. The media has been known to portray many bad images throughout the years. Whether magazines have only skinny people in them, or subliminal messaging in billboards and television shows. I do understand that the media can lobby one way or another towards us, the viewers, but not all bad things come from it. I think it’s about time more commercials, or magazines become more multicultural. It makes sense. Not only is America a melting pot, full of many races, but it’s also starting to turn or be stirred. Like it said in the article, Race becomes more central to TV advertising-A multicultural hangout onscreen — perhaps more than in real life, “If current trends continue, demographers say, nonwhites will be in the majority in America by 2042”. It’s smart of the marketing team to incorporate a more diverse racial commercial. This way you can target more of your audience, and with different ethnic background on the rise, you can reach out to them before they are the majority and whites are the minority.
I also agree with what Sam wrote in his blog- about the catch 22 thing. I agree, I don’t know why, but when I see something that has only African American on it or only White Americans on it makes me think. On a brochure, or magazine, or company billboard- do they only want that race? Why don’t they different people? But, then again, when I see a magazine, brochure, or billboard with five adults on it- all plainly viewed as being different race from one another it makes me think- “really?- do we really have to be so ‘politically’ correct?” I really don’t know why I think this.
With these new ads I also think that they are targeting the younger crowd. All the advertisements that I have seen that include the Pepsi ad and E-trading ads all aim in a younger direction. The bottom line is that the younger generation is the changing force. Our generation is more tolerable, outgoing, and maybe even more optimistic than the generation of our parents and grandparents. Our current history proves this to be true- with a new black president just elected into office, legalization of gay marriage in certain states and many more on the rise to little steps like multiracial commercials our generation continues to move forward from discrimination. Multicultural is all around us.
When I first saw that ETRADE commercial, I thought immediately of the mid ‘90s when the T.V. show Friends introduced a black character within the all white cast; this also happened in Sabrina-The Teenage Witch among others, I’m sure. I remember hearing of this movement on the news that the audience, as well as broadcasters, of these shows were yearning for more diversity. But when all this happened, I also remember thinking that it was silly to just stick ONE character, because in my young mind that was unrealistic. Then later on I became familiarized with the term “token black-guy”, and wondered- do these black actors like this role?
All this early thinking is a little beyond the point. But it’s just background to how I felt when I first saw that ETRADE commercial. I do love those commercials because of the cute babies, and another character in the whole thing is just great in my mind. But I still thought it was just one of those things that advertisers stuck in to be somewhat politically correct. I don’t think this every time I see multiracial advertisements; the Pepsi one for example, I thought nothing of. Although I did think Obama’s presidency had a lot to do with this sort of multicultural appearances in the media. I completely understand Sam’s conflicted feelings about the outreach of media of political correctness. Political correctness in many ways seems to be out of touch with reality. It was mentioned in the article that the bliss and equality shown between cultures in the new media is not a realistic portrayal of how things really are- with minorities having a higher poverty rate than whites and how white’s normally live in white neighborhoods and how a lot of different ethnic groups live with their same ethnicities.
BUT if the media were to portray things this way then I think the public would look at it as stereotyping. So are the stereotypes true? Not always. And this is why stereotypes are fought against, although they do speak the truth many times.
When it comes down to it, I agree with the term used in the end of the attached article “fake-it-til-you-make-it kind of thing”. If this racial unity is shown on T.V. and other media then it’ll make people more and more used to the idea that all colors, cultures, and other diversities can live together just fine.
I read part of Laurie’s book Making Peace Between Our Colors today that said we may need to find common ground before we can work through the differences, and that is what the media is giving people- common ground. So I think we are on our way to being a more unified country, just as we are closer than 5 years ago, and were closer then than we were 10 years ago, and closer then than we were 20 years ago.
As a person who has grown up in the middle of rural Pennsylvania, with very little interacting with different races, I feel a strong need to find out more about different races than I previously had. I do not know why I feel a pull toward learning more about different races and cultures but I do. I have not had the luck of learning very much about different races in the past few years here at Penn State but over this past semester that all has changed.
At times I find myself wondering why I can’t just feel comfortable interacting with people of other races on a daily basis. I feel uncomfortable and often times like I am out of place. Thinking about these feelings I have I begin to wonder about the impression that the media will have on the next generation of children that grow up exposed to a more ethnically diverse world. I can think back to my childhood and could not remember a single doll or TV show that interested me that was not white. Now on today’s TV shows there is Dora the explorer who teaches Spanish and culture to children that are not even able to walk. There are commercials that involve all different kinds of races and backgrounds.
I feel as if growing up as a child twenty years from now will be so much more openly diverse and understanding of others cultures due to the wide amount of media coverage and shows presented today. In response to the Penn State advertisements that show a wide range of diversity I feel like that is what the world needs in order to promote an increased amount of racial diversity in Penn State’s campus. It will make a person feel welcome if there is some kind of comforting aspect about their advertising. If there is nothing for a person of a different culture to relate too there would not but a big enough drive to get them to attend the university.
The children in the Heinz alumni center I have seen on a regular basis and I first would like to say that I find them to appear very creepy. The fact that they are all white never crossed my mind until I read the latest blog. I feel as if the person who sculpted the statues was not going out of his/her way to offend anyone that would be viewing the art work. I feel as if the ethnicity of the children depicted was not a main point to the purpose of the statues but to make them give an inviting happy feel to the area they placed in. Over all I feel as if my desire to enhance my perspectives on race and culture have brought me to a deeper understanding of the world here at Penn State.
This race and advertising blog is really cool. Its true, the advertisers are trying to be more racially diverse. But this is not what happens in real life. Even in soc 119, look around the class. You can pick out a few people that are racially different and sit next to each other. But over 90% of the people that are sitting next to each other are the same race. This is true for white people and black people in the class. And we are all supposed to know more about race then other people. And we do. We know that you do not need to sit with a black kid to prove you are not racist. You can be friends with only white kids and not be racist, its just who you hang out with and spend time with. There is no reason to make all commercials racially diverse unless you are trying to sell something, which is what all commercials are made for. And most people in the world do not question that there are two babies trying to sell and buy stocks. Most people do see that one is white and one is black. The idea is that people will see this and say, “hey anyone can do this stock thing, no matter what race or education level”. And this is a great thing to say if you are trying to sell something. But this is really not what life is like. Most white kids will not hang out with black kids growing up. When I was growing up I had one black friend, and he was my best friend. He was one of two black kids at my daycare. So most kids do not have play dates with kids of other races, at least most people at my preschool didn’t. It really depends on where you live. If you are from the inner city, you probably won’t go to preschool with many white kids. Of course there will be a few, but on average, black kids will grow up with black kids, and white kids will grow up with white kids. So by these advertisers always showing different races together, it really is not a good representation of the United States. I don’t like the Penn State commercials where they have 5 kids of different races hanging out together. Does it happen? Yes of course it does, but it’s not a good representation of Penn State and I think most people realize that. If that’s true, then why do companies still try to do it? I guess I don’t fully understand.
Nowadays, it is blatantly obvious that creators of TV shows, brochures, movies etc. try their hardest to be politically correct and include all racial groups within the spectrum of the presentation. The first example that popped into my mind, aside from the cases given, would be “Family Guy”, an animated comedy sitcom on the Fox televison station. The main characters in the show are a white, blue-collar worker, his stay at home wife, his three kids (two boys and a girl), and their dog. His best friends from the neighborhood are another eccentric white man, a black man, and a disabled man. It is quite noticeable that Seth MacFarlane, the writer of the show, is trying to be politically correct. Yet, while he is being politically correct, he is greatly stereotyping each character. The stereotypes are very comical (just as I discussed in an earlier response that we need to be able to laugh at ourselves in order to accept one another), but the show may offend the faint of heart because no one is left from being made fun of.
I see what Sam is saying when he calls the situations a “catch 22”, and as cliché as that is, it is true. Who likes to be prim, proper, and politically correct, but rather, how realistic are the shows of all white or all black families? I can still see minor forms of segregation. For instance shows like “Bernie Mac” and “The Hughlys” are obviously aimed at more of a black audience, while “Malcolm in the Middle” is definitely a white middle class sitcom.
I also see where advertisers are going as they introduce new, different racial characters into their advertisements. They want to reach a broad spectrum of consumers. What is next? An Asian ETRADE baby, or maybe an Indian one? Guaranteed they will be very stereotypical, but I personally think those commercials are hilarious. If they make people laugh and continue to be memorable, then the advertiser has completed a job well done. Publicity gets a companies name out there and sells a product or service.
One thing Penn State does, and I think it is very wrong and very politically incorrect is separate people of color and Caucasians into different tour groups. With Penn State University being approximately 89 percent white, do you not think that blacks and Latinos would notice while on tour? Might as well mix them up and give people a real feel of the school instead of pulling wool over their eyes. We seem to do the opposite of these ads and shows, although I am sure our brochures have a fair share of each race distributed throughout.
All in all, I do not know if ignoring these facts will help, but I see no solution in the near future. As the article states, “If current trends continue, demographers say, nonwhites will be in the majority in America by 2042.” What will people when that happens?
Sam brings some good questions to the table, that really make you think about why these advertisements are really involving numerous races. When I read into the article, “Race becomes more Central to TV Advertising” most of my questions were answered in some way. To be honest I asked myself the same questions when I saw brochures, advertisements, magazine ads, etc that included a group of people all who were of a different race. Why are advertising companies all the sudden doing this? Not that it is a bad thing at all I just was curious on their reasoning. Basically I wanted to know if they did it just because they knew by doing it that product would make more money or if they thought it was politically correct, or honestly just felt that this is where our country has come to and want to show the diversity and progress we have made. Of course the advertisement didn’t quite answer that question but instead made them all the reasons for advertising in this way. Personally, I feel that it is the right way to advertise. Before when our country was not very diverse they were advertising for the majority of our population, which was white, back in the day, but now that our population is diversifying it is time to update the advertising to hit all races living in our county. It is smart from an advertising stand point and also correct. I know most people are just looking at these advertisements saying “they just added those 5 different races to look politically correct” but who cares what their reasoning is. It is making it known to our country that we accept diversity and media plays a big role on what people think is “in”. This statement from the article hits my exact point, “commercials that enable advertisers to connect with wider audiences while conveying a message that corporate America is not just "in touch," racially speaking, but inclusive.” Although there is always a catch 22 while speaking about race, I think this is one that should just be what it is. Either way an advertiser is wrong, so why not make advertising with diversity the norm and eventually to future generations this won’t be a catch 22 anymore. Either way it means that our country is progressing. It means that advertisers are noticing that our country is slowly becoming more racially diverse and with that in mind they are tuning their advertisements to fit the wide range of citizens. Advertisement is a business just like every other business and they are looking for ways to make the most money just like every other business so basically I do not think that this needs to be a big deal because I think it is positive for the advertisers and for the consumers.
It may be safe to say that, regardless of personal interest, advertising companies will always attempt to appeal to the trends current in the populace. Assuming this, it would follow that advertising companies did not create the image of an institutionally integrated society that is so often seen in ads. Rather, such a picture was created as a social goal or standard of perfection, and any advertising company would want to have their product displayed in a “perfect” setting. Past even this, including people of different ethnic backgrounds could be seen as a way of making the product appeal to many groups of people rather than just the dominant group.
With this, it would follow that a constant transfer of accommodation is made between the advertiser and the populace, with the populace embracing a certain social norm or goal then the advertiser emulating this in advertisements, which would then influence the populace by promoting the original norm or goal. Its difficult, then, to believe in the “damned if you do, damned in you don’t” sentiment represented in the blog. If advertisers are just emulating, and perhaps exaggerating, current social trends, it would not follow that using these trends would be seen as a damning act, unless the person reading into the provided picture viewed what has become a seemingly-constant part of society with cynicism, thus refusing to come to terms with society.
Including the civil rights movement as a question of “what came first” seems to lack a lot of sense. For the movement to even have started, Americans (some, not all) had to have already harbored views of racial equality. With the public exposure of marches and other displays of antagonism toward inequality, the cause was just expanded further into the American populace, a similar pattern that was assumed for advertisements. In both cases, it would be against reason to assume that movements, whether toward a trend in advertisement or toward a large-scale demonstration such as the civil rights movement, are born from themselves, with no social pressure, rather than from a common outlook or view presented by a strong, loud population.
The article linked to in the blog further supports this assumption. It states that advertisements were made to be more representative of a diverse population in order to embrace “America’s distinctive, master trend” of assimilation. Assimilation as a cultural goal was not created in response to the stunning new visions of the marketing industry, but was rather crafted by the populace as a goal and then used in advertisements. The article also supports that, while minorities still do not hold a large claim on the buying power of America, the majority wealth is growing, and so it would be detrimental for advertisers to ignore a very viable market.
It’s hard to say what other people mean by the actions they take when you have no information about the people who took those actions. It’s not entirely possible to say what the advertisers were thinking when they created the commercial with the white baby and the black baby. Were they trying to create a movement in which people of all races, ethnicities, and religions live together not only in harmony but actually work, play, and love together? It’s possible. It’s unlikely though. What I think is more likely is that the advertisers, whose job we must remember is to sell a product to us- not to change the world, were searching for an advertisement that would, in fact, make us take note and buy the product. Now I personally have seen the commercial many times and not once has it really occurred to me that it is a little black boy and a little white boy which really surprised me when I realized this. However, advertisers have all kinds of tricks up their sleeves in all commercials and the things that influence our buying decisions the most are not things that we consciously take note of. Our decisions are usually based on subliminal messages and subconscious cues. Perhaps the advertisers cleverly look at the new world that we live in. If you remember a blog of Sam’s about how it is now the “in” thing to be black and have black friends, maybe the advertisers were playing off of this same idea. It is “cool” to have black people in commercials now. And maybe since the commercial is the new cool black than the company is cool and black and if you use that companies product than you can be cool too because you have a little bit of black in you. True, it seems like a stretch, but it seems like most things in advertisements are a stretch. For example, who would ever think that the fact that McDonald’s, one of the world’s most successful companies, had put so much thought and consideration into their colors. Yellow and red are really not that fancy or spectacular but the reasoning behind the colors is. Yellow and red are proven to make people hungry which in turn makes people want to eat more which in turn makes people order more and therefore the profits increase tremendously. Not that you look at it that way it doesn’t seem like such a huge stretch now does it? If the advertisers put that much thought into the colors of a restaurant it’s almost frightening to think of how much thought they put into the color of the characters that they star in their commercials.
I completely agree with Sam when he states, “We’re damned if we do, we’re damned if we don’t.” I feel like often race relations can be frustrating to talk about because we can never really come to any solid or succinct answer. It’s almost like a never ending circle. No one will ever be completely happy because there will always be one group that feels left out. The mass media is having a huge impact on our perception of race and multiculturalism. TV commercials and advertisements are no longer only white people but rather a mix of everyone. I believe that the mass media has gotten onto this bandwagon because they want everyone to feel a connection with their product. This isn’t a bad thing; in fact it’s really good that they have finally realized there is more than one race in the United States. Whites are slowly becoming the minority group. What I think people are having a hard time grasping is the fact that for so long we have seen only white actors or models in these TV commercials and advertisements, that we have become (for some of us) immune to the concept of which race is portrayed. Now that we are finally seeing different ethnicities and races it’s almost a shock, surprise, or even weird? For example, a TV commercial is advertising for a children’s toy. The commercial portrays two kids playing outside having a great time. It’s a white kid and perhaps an Asian kid. Perhaps this is still something we’re getting used to; the concept of different races interacting and playing together. But it’s not really all that weird. It may look different in the commercial but in real like I’m sure all of us have friends of different race and ethnicities. It only looks weird to us because on a TV advertisement, in America, we expect to see white people. I think, but I may be completely off here, that even those people of races other than white, may be shocked to see this as well because like us, perhaps they have become immune to race. TV advertisements in America = white people. I’m not saying that this is what I believe I am simply stating a thought or contemplation. This “visual diversity” appears to be the new thing in mass media advertising. I think that I’ve definitely noticed it but then again how could you not after years of only white people being portrayed as the ultimate consumers in this country. While this “visual diversity” has become quite prevalent I have also noticed that while there is more of a mixture of races in TV commercials there is still that one constant, there is still usually a white person in each commercial.
It is interesting to read this blog because I also think, “Of course they include one person from each race in that commercial.” I do not think this because I am mad- I am not mad that they include people from each race. I actually think it is nice to see different races and ethnicities in one ad. This shows that the United States is more than just the whites. I remember during one of the first discussions we had in my discussion group was about what is America and what do you think of when you hear America or United States. A lot of people in my group said whites, especially white men. I was shocked when they all said that because it was way different from what I thought. When I hear “United States” I think diverse; I think multicultural; I think sports; I do NOT think white. But obviously, not everyone thinks the same way. But when these ads and commercials include people of different races, I think it breaks the stereotype that the United States is predominately white. (And by the way, the proportion of white people in this country is decreasing at a very rapid rate. Latinos and Mexicans are increasing the fastest.) By breaking that stereotype, it is showing and proving to people in other nations that the United States is not just white people. I know we get that stereotype from back in the day, but that is history and I think that people who believe that the United States is a white country are extremely ignorant- but that is another topic.
The reason why I think “Of course they include one person from each race in that commercial” is because I feel that the creators are just trying to be politically correct. I do not know why it bothers me somewhat, but it does. I wish it could just feel natural to see that commercial, but whenever I do, I think the same thing. And the funny thing is, is that when I see it in everyday life, which I do, you see blacks interacting with whites and Latinos and every other race, and vice versa, but when I see it on television, I feel like it is forced. Like the creators were trying to say, “See, we’re not racists. We include everyone.” And maybe that is wrong of me to think, but it is how I feel when I see ads and commercials, and I cannot help it.
Dr. Richards said that he also thinks this sometimes, but he also thinks “where is the diversity” when it is all one race being showed. I also have the feeling from time to time. And I definitely agree that it is a catch-22. It’s like people are never going to be right no matter what they do when it comes to race because someone, somewhere will always be offended. And it’s like what I’ve been feeling since the first day of class: Dr. Richards said words only have power if you believe the have power- like cuss words. Well, I feel the same way about race: It only has power because people think it has power. I’m white, that doesn’t mean I’m any better or worse than you. A person of color may think that, but clearly that person believes skin color has power. I don’t. And I think that everyone should see that skin color does not have power and maybe we won’t have any more race issues and problems.
The first thing that entered into my head when I saw this post (I didn’t read anything, only just looked at the picture) was how whack the little black dudes hair was looking. And I thought about all the little black kids I know. As compared to white babies I know, the black kids hair takes longer until it starts taking shape and looking okay. Like the hair is at a strange length where it’s not long enough to go into braids and since it’s still kind of soft it just sits atop the head looking a hot mess. After I thought those things I was pretty disgusted at myself and at society. Not that society is to blame because I thought the thoughts but there is no denying that I am definitely influenced by what society says looks good. I mean why does it be that the little black kid’s hair looks whack? Why do I think that hair has to be relaxed or in braids to not look whack. Like what is wrong with natural? I have to wonder where that comment comes from in me? I guess part of that stems from my own experiences. For example, I do know that for one my grandma always complains about my “bad hair” saying that it looks ugly and makes me look bad. I straighten my hair and it is naturally curly. Don’t get me wrong, I like my curly hair but sometimes I just don’t want to deal with everything that it entails, both the natural and emotional. It is easier to deal with when it’s straight (easier to comb, don’t have to wash it) but that’s not the only reason I do it. Sometimes, there is a part of me that feels I look better when it’s straightened. I admit, this is me not accepting who I am to the fullest all the time. I am becoming more comfortable with my natural hair wearing it froed out sometimes. But I still remember all the times in elementary school when people would ask me questions about why my hair was sticking out and why it couldn’t comb it when it was straight and if I washed it, etc. There is no denying that media does have an impact on the way minorities feel about themselves. Things are improving but we’re not there yet as I can see when I open an Ebony, Essence (magazines made for black women) and everyone I see has relaxed hair.
And about the Penn State brochure thing, I got to admit, I don’t think it is right. I would not like if all the people on the brochures were white, but that’s a closer to accurate representation of the actual cultural climate on the campus than having so many people of different races. Subtly Penn State has admitted that it has a real problem with diversity in their BW, Lenfest and other minority initiatives. So obviously if there is a problem. Things here aren’t 100% perfect but by displaying the ethnic rainbow on every dang brochure, ad, paper, Penn State trying to pretend that everything is.
African Americans only make up four or five percent of the student body. So having a black person in a penn state ad campaigns is false advertising. For years there have been attempts to get more African Americans to enroll at penn state but the administration never listens. I know graham spainer wants to make penn state a private institution but we are not and we never will be. Penn state is a land grant institution that was created for the purpose of educating working class people to be better farms, better equipped for the military and better citizens. That is why something like affirmative action applies especially to penn state because they are supposed to be educating people to become better citizens and if a certain part of the population is underrepresented than our democracy does not function as well, not to say that it ever has or ever will function well. The truth is penn state does not give a shit about students, black or white. All they care about is money. They are a soul less money sucking corporation that values people only on how much money they can pump into its veins. That is not to say that people and professors at the university don’t care about these issues i am strictly talking about the administration.
So why pretend to care? They do that for the same reason that companies like chevron and shell oil do advertising campaigns for the environment while they are destroying it. Penn State is trying to sell us on the idea that it is accepting that it does care for us that it has any values besides the bottom line. They do that through advertising. If you advertised penn state as a school that only white people came to. “Hey white people there aren’t that many minorities here!” Even if that is the truth, most people that are college bound don’t want to here that. They want to at least think that while in college they will find new experience meet new , different and interesting people even if when they are there they only hang out with the same type of people they did back home. I would like those posters that same was talking about with people from many different races, if they were an accurate representation of what penn state truly is. They are not. However, i do like that it has become a cultural norm to try to be diverse , to try to include people of all races. While i bitch about the façade that penn state is putting on, it is amazing that they are even putting on a façade when only 50 or 60 years ago there were no black people at all at penn state.
I feel as though regarding the general public, this aspect of advertising goes unnoticed and seemingly unintentional. But if you put yourself in the shoes of those who are coming up with ideas for these advertisements and actually making them and presenting them to their targeted audience, the decisions of what race a person or persons should be in the commercial becomes a very integral and important factor regarding the product’s sales as a whole. I understand the fact that these advertisers want to appeal to as many people as people, as many races as possible; obviously makes their business grow and progress, not to mention the amount of revenue produced. I agree with the fact that many of these advertisements or commercials do not accurately depict relationships between different races and the different people within these commercials as compared to how things actually are. But I feel this may be a little stereotypical of me to assume such a thing, because I know it may not be one hundred percent true across the entire racial board. The idea of racial equality is all good and positive and all, but true equality between the races and how members of one race view and treat members of another will not be totally equal any time soon, if ever at all. So what are these commercials and advertisements reasoning behind making such decisions? I feel as though more positive progression comes from it than anything else, viewing it from a business standpoint. Any business or corporation selling/advertising a product will want to reach the largest possible audience, thus the reason for putting as many different “looking” people in them to further drive the point home that their product/service is not just for those people, or a certain ethnic group. Another reason is political correctness. I have to agree with Sam when he says he despises political correctness, especially to this degree. Why show something that could not be farther from the truth just because it’s the “right thing to do” or so you won’t make any certain group or race mad or disturbed with the way in which you advertise your product. It may be similar to how Sam says white people may be scared or nervous to enter a discussion regarding race. These company’s and corporations want to avoid any heat they may receive from a group of people if they are not depicted equally within the way in which that company advertises their product. It’s a sense of intimidation we as a people today now face; must please everyone, every race, and avoid any crucial accusations of stereotypes. But at what expense of the truth does this take? I believe in truthful representation over making everyone happy.
Personally, when I see an advertisement with a variety of races represented, I do not usually think whether or not it was done on purpose for political correctness. I am not one to say that I did not “notice” their color, but I will say that I did not care enough about how many white people were involved to think about political correctness. This really is a catch-22. The advertiser could be criticized either way. For my freshman seminar I took a class on race in the media (as I am a prospective PR/Advertising major) and learned the many ways this can work in favor or against the company or organization. Never one to want to upset anyone or have anyone upset with me, I do worry about this catch-22 as I work towards my future in the media.
As far as whether we are learning to accept race with the media, I think this is somewhat right. Think about it; for the majority which generation has the most problems with racism? Our grandparents’ right? And then our parents are usually better. But by the time you get to our generation, most of us are very accepting overall. This is probably because we are exposed to it more and in a more accepting nature. I believe that this is not limited to race, but homosexuality as well. My parents are very accepting people, as is the majority of my family, but I still find myself much more comfortable with many things my parents do not. For instance, my high school teacher just came out as a lesbian. While a few where shocked, most were still accepting. My mom has known this teacher her whole life and was accepting as well, but the problem was in how this teacher “handled it”. I find myself confused when my mom and her friends talk about how they do not think it is right how open she is about her sexuality. The news was very sudden and was not that she was just gay, but also that she had a girlfriend she was moving in with, even though a few months ago she had a boyfriend in Texas. She did not hold back and chose to be completely open in telling everyone. I am proud of her for not caring what people think. My friends and I accept it and just move on, yet I find the old generation saying that they accept it yet acting as if people should not know. The same can be found with race to a certain point. For example they tend to whisper the fact that someone is black, as if pointing it out or acknowledging it would be the worst thing ever. Therefore, I think this is one time where the media is having a positive effect on our society.
In college brochures, I noticed that whoever made the brochures makes it extremely evident all the different cultures on campus. I personally do not think Penn State is that diverse. Walking to classes every morning, I see mostly white people. It makes me wonder where all the people of color are. Its like people who make the brochures are trying to be politically correct or something. I honestly know I fall to political correctness because I do not want to offend anyone. I agree that most people think about what they say before they say it because they do not want to offend anyone. I think that if a photographer wants to take a picture of people of one race or people of multiple race, he can. People shouldn’t be quick to judge just because of a picture. I think no matter what race is on the brochure, people are not going to have a good look at what college is really about. It doesn’t matter what color your skin is because most people are not going to judge you on that. I think people need to get over themselves and just forget what people says. I mean like who really cares who is in the picture and who is not. Does it really matter what color they are? Now, back to the political correctness has become a part of most people’s lives. People will never fully let go unless they are someone like Sam who does not give a crap about what people think. What I like about Sam is he is for real. He is down to earth honest with everyone. I liked the story of where he was labeled the white racist and his wife let him fry. I think that everyone needs to experience being called a racist at one point in their lives in order to really understand what it feels like. I honestly do not think I will ever understand black people to the full extent they understand white people. But how do they understand white people when they are not white? How are they to judge white people when they have not experienced things we have experienced? I know a couple black people who are quick to judge white people. I don’t understand why. I understand that white people feel guilt, but why should they feels guilt when they didn’t do anything? I mean black people live on the land of Native American land. Why don’t they feel guilty? This who race thing is getting to me because who cares about what color your skin is. It annoys me because political correctness is something that should have never happened to begin with. People should just be equal, but that is far from happening.
I’ve noticed this political correctness thing a while ago, and I’m still thinking whether or not it’s the media’s idea to do this, it’s mostly an American thing. So I’m a freshman in college who loves nothing more than to sit back in my dorm and watch cartoons on youtube, specifically Japanese anime. I’ve noticed that in American shows, there’s usually a black man or two. You know, some kind of minority. In Japanese shows, on the other hand, there are almost always only white or Asian people. I’m thinking that these other cultures aren’t so concerned about other races. Maybe they’re racist, maybe they just don’t care. People are people, and they don’t see any reason to incorporate characters that maybe the majority of their viewers can’t relate to.
In any event, I think the diversity we’re seeing in the media today is not only encouraged, but kept running by public demand. The media never went out of its way to solve problems of inequality; I don’t see any reason why they would now. In the markets, for instance, you can be sure there would not be a single black Barbie doll on the shelves if the demand was not high enough to make it worth the while of the manufacturers to build new machines just to make this diverse toy. Newspapers are always looking to publish what the people want, so it stands to reason that there were no colored stories appearing until the demand was already there.
Personally I hadn’t noticed that the statues in the alumni garden were all of white kids. I thought, it’s a bronze statue. They’re bronze kids. Yeah okay I know the kids that the sculptor used as models were white. But I kinda think that was only because they were the ones who happened to be there. Or that he happened to know. Maybe I’m being overly optimistic in this instance but I don’t get the feeling that this guy would go out of his way to exclude people of color, he just didn’t go out of his way to include them.
In the end it all comes down to this: we can’t read peoples’ minds. We have no way of knowing what they were thinking. The whole media thing could have been a mass conspiracy, maybe the employers were racist, maybe just the reporters who happened to be hired were racist. I really don’t think it was worth reporting about until recently. I mean sure it was an issue, but the mass public didn’t really want to hear about it. Concern about the issue has shifted, and overall that’s what’s keeping this movement going. Even if we were to say it was the cart pushing the horse, the horse itself had to decide to start moving on its own.
I think race relations is at a point right now, especially in advertising and the media, that we are conscious of the need to include all races and be fair to everyone and have advertisements representative of the actual human population, but doing so is not yet a completely natural reaction. Like in the Penn State brochure, I’m sure the people who made it sought out, intentionally, people of five different races. They didn’t just pick the best five candidates, or the most convenient five candidates, but they went out of their way to include people of all five races. I don’t think there is anything wrong with this, because it is just a step in breaking the boundaries of race relations, but I am just making the point that this is not yet natural to us. The only question I have to raise about the Penn State brochure is… is it really a true representative of the Penn State campus. Everyone is always saying.. “Penn State is not diverse enough!” So clearly a brochure picturing people of five different races isn’t exactly a true representation of Penn State. But maybe this will deceive people of different races into thinking that Penn State is diverse, in an actual effort to achieve a more racially diverse campus.
This issue of race relations not yet being quite so natural came up in my discussion group a few weeks ago. We were talking about whether or not the white people in the group had friends that were all white, or if they had friends of many different racial backgrounds, and the same went for blacks, and Asians as well. By and large, most people had friends who came from the same racial background, though it could not be determined if this was true racial preference, or situational circumstances of the neighborhood in which one grew up and the activities in which one was interested in that in part, determined who our friends would be. I found some people suggesting that we should go out of our way to make friends of a different race, based solely on the fact that they are of a different race than us. I feel like this is offending and doesn’t really make sense to me. To put it in context, I wouldn’t want someone to come up to me and be friends with me, based on the fact that I am tall, fair skinned, and have blonde hair and blue eyes. I would expect someone to want to be friends with me because they had an interaction with me in which we had something in common with each other and had a desire to get to know one another more.
In regards to the statue behind the Hintz Family Alumni Center, I love that statue and I think it is so cute in that beautiful area. I walk by it almost every day and never looked at it in a racial/ethnicity way. It’s just some children having fun in the grass. Maybe it’s my white skin that doesn’t allow me to question the race of the children, or maybe it’s just me being naive, but I like the statue. Besides, their made out of metal, not a skin color. I just don’t find the need to look too far into the issue. It’s one statue that someone decided to make because they liked it, not because they had the intention of putting a statue of all white children on Penn State Property.
I was so glad to read the point that Sam made about feeling cynical when seeing a brochure for Penn State with five different people from five different cultural groups, yet feeling equally as cynical when viewing a similar scene that was not inclusive of multiple ethnic groups. I honestly think about that virtually every time I encounter a situation that either portrays an array of cultural groups or fails to do so. I’m not sure what the reason for any of this is, but it truly is a “damned if you do, damned if you don’t” type ordeal. So, does our mass media and advertising have a lot to do with the ways in which we perceive people of other cultural groups, view certain situations and pick up and carry on stereotypes in our lives? I might argue that the media, in fact, plays the most key role in all of this. Not everyone has the experience in their own lives to interact with people of other races or cultures to know exactly how they truly act or feel, what they believe in and what they value, or what drives them crazy and makes them angry. So, we rely on what the media presents to us to formulate our opinions and views about issues and people we know next to nothing about, first-hand. The problem with this is that we’re often misguided or misled to believe things that aren’t necessarily the way we perceive them to be. The only way to truly get around the corruption of the media and seek the real truth to the unknown is to make it our job to go meet and interact with people that aren’t like us. Though this doesn’t help us get to the real truth about what’s going on in Iraq or other the multitude of global information that is withheld from us or altered in such a way that serves to “protect” us, it is a sure step in the right direction to clear up and work on the ongoing racial issues that exist in our world today. As much as the media helps us to understand issues and occurrences we otherwise may not know about, the ways in which certain material is presented, or not presented, is very harmful barrier on our journey of progress. After reading the article and thinking about some of the things included in our mass media today, I will agree that we may be on the threshold of a new era of race relations that hopefully will be positive for everyone. However, it is still a matter of all of the negativity and harmful stereotypes that are portrayed, and often saturate, the material that we view. Yes, it’s a great thing that we’re branching out and becoming more inclusive of other racial and cultural groups besides whites, but we’ve definitely got our work cut out for us in order to accurately and sufficiently portray a vision that will help us move forward for good.
I think it is obvious that advertising affects the way people think, especially in America where we are bombarded with thousands of messages each day. It has become almost impossible for advertisers to break through the clutter of messages seen by people on a daily basis. This has caused a new trend in advertising to be more innovative and shocking. That can often lead to advertisers using politically incorrect messages to create a buzz about a product. These politically incorrect advertisements often involve making jokes or judgments about race because that is what creates controversy.
It is hard to say if the diversity in advertising reflects real life or if the world is actually as diverse as advertisements would lead us to believe. The whole point of advertising is to sell a product so it can be important for advertisers to include all ethnic and racial groups in their ads to ensure that they target all groups of people to sell more products. Although the diversity in advertisements may be generated to sell a product, it has some positive effects. Showing diversity in advertisements may be slightly unrealistic, but maybe these ads will lead to more diversity in real life. By showing different races of people being friends in advertisements, maybe this will help expose younger children to the fact that they can be friends with people of other races and ethnicities.
I was especially glad the article mentioned the E-trade ads that feature the babies. When I saw the first commercial with these babies, it was my favorite Super Bowl 2008 commercial. Then, when I saw the new commercial they debuted in Super Bowl 2009, I could not help but notice they addition of a racial diverse baby. As Sam said, I can’t help but think of this trend in advertising as a catch 22. It seems positive that minorities are getting increased exposure but it also seems so unrealistic. Hopefully in time, however, these situations will be a mirror of real life. I have seen the Penn State posters that Sam mentions featuring how “diverse” Penn State is. I certainly don’t think this is the case at our university. Since multiculturalism is the new trend, it seems natural that Penn State would focus on diversity when trying to recruit new students to attend the university.
In many of my communications classes, we learn that although advertising and mass media may tell us what to think ABOUT, they cannot tell the public what to think. Therefore, if advertisements continue to display multicultural scenarios, they may not change anyone’s opinions about racism or stereotypes they may have, but these advertisements may in fact create a dialogue and bring others to the race table that may never enter this conversation.
When dealing with ads, commercials, etc. I never thought that the ad makers were being racist or not being racist in who they selected for their ads. When you see ads for clothing companies and there are models that are black, white, and asian, the reason the marketer selected one from each group is to appeal to each one of those different groups. This class has opened my mind greatly this semester into talking about race and discussing race and thinking about things from different racial perspectives but at times (this being one of them) I find that we dig too deep into these non-issues. Sometimes believe it or not there are no racial intentions behind something. Sometimes it could just be coincidence that everyone is white or black in an ad, other times its just smart marketing to include someone from every racial group. I have become more and more fascinated by race relations this semester but sometimes I feel these topics are just being forced upon us. Yes, I get that this is a race relations class but not every topic in this world has a racial meaning. I feel this way even about some of the topics we cover in our discussion groups. I love my discussion group and I look forward to it every Thursday but some times we cover a topic that everyone is looking at each other saying why does this have to be racial. An example of this came up when we were talking about being tan and what is with the obsession of people wanting to be tan. It was proposed that one reason could be that people wanted to be “more black”. I find that to be kind of ridiculous. A girl doesn’t go to a tanning salon every week in order to look “more black”. All the girl wants to do is feel better about her self when she looks in the mirror and a lot of girls like when they’re tan. Being tan reminds people of summer time, and the warm weather. In a place like State College, PA where we are still getting snow in April, I think everyone wants to be reminded of summer time. My point to all of this is that I agree with the fundamental meaning behind this course that it is important to talk about race and racial issues. However at the same time this does not mean that every single topic in the world has some racial basis to it. Sometimes we just have to let something be and not search for why it could be racially wrong. Commercials like the etrade baby don’t mean to be racist what so ever, therefore don’t look for a reason why it could be!
First I would like to respond to Sam’s first two questions, “Did the Civil Rights Movement occur because Americans had altered their views about race? Or did their view points change largely because this movement got underway and led to cultural transformations that they could no longer ignore.” In my opinion, slavery is inherently wrong and evil. I think that no matter how slave holders (or whoever) tried to justify owning human beings, inside they knew (and everyone else knew) that what they were doing wasn’t ok. In relation to this, I believe that it was only a matter of time before people admitted to themselves that something just was not “right.” With a little prodding by the individuals who began the movement, slave holders (and the vast majority of human beings) could not go on ignoring the obvious truth for much longer. Before, it was “ok” to own slaves, because the vast majority of America was going along with this idea and suppressing their intuition to see slavery for what it truly is.
Now I would like to address Sam’s second set of questions. First, in response to the question about the role of mass media and advertising in the continued alteration of our perceptions about people of different racial and cultural groups, I would say that mass media has all of the power in the world. In today’s society, it impossible to go a day (or even a minute) without being bombarded by a flood of mass media messages. Not only is mass media everywhere, but it also has the power to change opinions, behavior, likes/dislikes, etc. Our perceptions of the world around us are rooted in the ideas that media provides us. If a news channel tells us that there is a war in some nation on the other side of the world, we believe it. If a magazine or television show tells young girls that they will only be pretty if they are skinny, they will believe it. In response to the question, “Are media decision-makers telling us that multiculturalism is "hip" and we are now buying the message just like any other message?”, I would say yes. Although I think this movement is in its beginning stages, its presence is impossible to ignore. I think this transformation is wonderful.
At the same time, I see where Sam is coming from when he says he often feels cynical when he sees a brochure advertisement for Penn State with a photo of five people from five different cultural groups. In some aspects this type of photo seems forced. For example, at my job last summer it was my responsibility to create a display board, choosing various pictures from an entire book that would represent the activities of the retirement home that I worked for. After I created the board and showed it to my boss, she immediately told me to change it saying “We need to show more diversity.” Again, although this seems a little forced, I think this kind of thing is necessary, at least for now. In my case (and probably in the case of many mass media providers), I didn’t realize that I wasn’t representing diversity, and I probably would have thought nothing of it had my boss not said anything. I’m used to seeing media with only white people. But by regulating individuals to show more diversity in pictures now, I think we will all eventually be used to seeing this diversity. We will begin to see black, white, brown, and every color as beautiful.
After reading the post, I began to question if I really agree with political correctness. I wondered if advertisements were done just so that no one was offended or if they are really trying to change the mainstream America. I wonder if advertisers think that this will really have an effect on what people think and how they can change the minds of people. As a public relations major, I have always been exposed to the underlying themes of advertising. In a world where political correctness is imminent advertising continues to work to achieve this political correctness. I think political correctness should exist in advertising. In a world where people still question racial equality, advertising that exhibits racial equality might be a good thing. If people continue to view advertisements that show people of all racial backgrounds, this country might stop being so ignorant and might be on the road to racial equality. Racial equality in advertisements will become the norm and then naturally this is how most people will begin to think. Ads can help racial equality and put this country on the correct path. I think advertisements are a great way to include every kind of person that exists in the world because advertisements appeal to many different kinds of people. However, in saying this I think the media needs to present a realistic view of the world. I think when the media present multiculturalism as something “hip” they are just doing it for monetary purposes. I do not think this will move our country closer to racial equality. Advertisements have the ability to change the world if used and disseminated correctly. In regard to the statues around the Penn State campus, I think this is a very tricky subject. When I first started Penn State four years ago, the campus looked like it was the scene out of an Abercrombie and Fitch commercial. White preppy kids were everywhere and there was a lack of diversity. Coming from a high school that defined the word diversity this was hard for me to accept. I think when those statues were made on campus, making them white kids were the norm, and because it probably costs a lot of money to rebuild, the college has not felt the need to change them. However, I do not think these statues resemble what life is like now on the Penn State campus. As I conclude my post, I question the very existence of the advertising world. I wonder if advertising really has the ability to make improvements in the race dialogue, but I guess we will just have to wait and see because who knows maybe an advertisement will change the way a young child thinks.
I found this article very interesting because I am a business major and although I am not majoring in marketing or advertising both majors really interest me. I am taking a marketing class right now and surprisingly we have not talked about diversity in advertising. We have talked about to whom certain products are advertised to, such as what demographics, age, race, ethnicity, etc. I never really thought about it until I started actually learning more about the issue in my marketing class. I would never watch a commercial and say, “Oh, wow look there is a black baby in the ad too.” I guess I kind of didn’t realize it. I found it very interesting that in the article it states that “Advertising has to reflect reality, to some degree.” Now even though the commercials may not be real-life depictions of how a certain product is used or a specific group of people hanging out advertising a product or service, I think it does kind of show a goal for the future in diversity and that hopefully in the near future it can be the norm to see Asians and Latinos dancing together at a club, or see a multiracial family interacting. Although the second one is said in the article to be one of the three taboos I think that soon that will change. Advertising is already changing so much in terms of diversity but I think that it still has a long way to go. When it comes to advertising I think the best way to think about it is the company is just trying to make money, therefore they are trying to attract the largest group of people. In the past most advertisements and commercials were directly towards whites, that was probably because they made up a large percent of the shoppers. Now and especially in the future, according to the MSNBC article, the roles will fill and nonwhites will be the majority. I think advertisers are just starting early and making their advertisements more appealing to people of all colors, ethnicities, ages, etc. They are realizing that by advertising to a larger group and a wider range of people will attract more sales which in turn means more profits. In the end it doesn’t matter what the advertisement is, whether it’s reality, imaginary or a hopeful goal for the future, money is the main objective. I think that this entire change though is a positive step towards building the bridges between people of different races and ethnicities. One small thing I thought I should touch on was about the Penn State brochures and having a multiracial group of people on the cover. I honestly didn’t notice or remember seeing that but just thinking about it I find it pretty funny. I think it is obviously that we are a predominately white university and that it is not extremely diverse. Yes, there are organizations and clubs that try to bring about more ‘peace between colors’ but we are in the middle of Pennsylvania so we are clearly not as diverse as say Philly or New York. But regardless I think this change is good and that diversity in advertising will continue to grow.
I think media, especially advertisements, play a huge role in the way we as a society construct our lives. The social “norm” is somewhat determined by the media. Once the media gets a hold of the new “cool” thing, everybody wants to wear it, do it, or be like it. Therefore I think it has its positive and negative aspects.
Lets speak fashion for a minute. If the media shows Jessica Simpson with her giant bags and totes, then us girls assume they are in style. Thus, we go out and buy them. Everyone wants to fit in with the social “norm” therefore most of us follow these trends set by the media and therefore look like one another. And eventually, under the surface we may lose our true originality or at least be too ashamed to show it because it is not seen as socially acceptable. However, that is just one negative aspect of media.
Taking this idea and looking at it in terms of race I feel reciprocates a more positive result. Awareness is what I believe a lot of society lacks in their critiquing of race. We already follow and mimic the media as if it were our job, so the best way to enhance awareness about race and diversity is through the media.
“Are multiculti ads, then, an accurate barometer of our racial progress, a showcase of our hopes in that direction” – This quote from the article actually made me laugh. Ummmm is anything in the media an accurate barometer of our progress in whatever its depicting?? No. We show ads that are completely bogus in regards to what they are actually advertising. For example, take any magazine ad. Almost all television and magazines depict American women and men as fit and healthy people. Unfortunately over half the country is obese.
I guess what I am trying to say is that I think that it is definitely a positive thing that we have multicultural ads. I think it is the beginning of something new. Right now, of course we are going to question why? And what is America trying to portray? However, everything has to begin somewhere and I think that this is step one. Actually getting these ads out is the first bump with a more a long the way. But eventually, one day generations from now, this will be nothing more than the “norm” and it will be looked out with out a second glance. I think everything is society that needs to be changed is a process and its up to the individual what they want to do to contribute and how they want to perceive it. Overall, I think we are hitting just one of this countries many stepping stones to race as a natural and humanistic feature with out any strings attached.
I think the diversity of races in advertising is something that the television viewers expect to see. On a daily basis, we all have encounters with people from different ethnic backgrounds, and I think television commercials are a way of reflecting our interactions. I also think these advertisements promote us to be more accepting of other races. The commercials always have integrated races being friendly towards each other; they would never express a hateful message. I think this is a way of teaching the common people to have more racially diverse friends and letting the common people be accepting of other races.
In my opinion, if advertisements stopped portraying multicultural backgrounds, I would be afraid that there would be some kind of superiority riot. If you only saw one group of people shown over and over again and there are thousands of ethnic groups in America, either those other groups would harass the creators of the advertisements into making more accepting commercials or the one group portrayed would think they are the only "good group" that should be seen. However, I do not think that advertisements are completely inclusive of all races. I have never seen a Muslim group in an advertisement, and this, no doubt, follows the anti-Muslim fear Americans have, believing they are terrorists. Commercials are normally inclusive of black and white people, but do not draw from the many Middle Eastern backgrounds, and I think that advertisements could have the possibility of Americans becoming more accepting of other people.
Many of my friends have said how much they love the ETRADE commercials, and I doubt they applaud it for its multiculturalism. I think good advertising is innately multicultural in our current age, especially given the population and buying power demographics. When I watch television that makes an earnest effort to include many races, I suspect that the company is specifically doing it in order to win over viewers. In the past year, Food Network has now created two shows with hosts of African descent. Before this, they had an all-white cast with only one person of who was an Asian host for one of the shows. I also take note of when commercials crowd in the one person who is not white, like in the birth control commercial with the girls in yellow swim suits, and can see that the advertisers are obviously doing it just to have a multicultural view. I doubt they often get those ideas from real-life scenarios.
“In these times, multiculturalism is cool — and likely to get cooler…” the article on MSNBC says, but I disagree with it. I don’t think advertisers portray a mixed-race group purely for popularity. I think they do it more to make a statement. I don’t believe there is a trend with mixed-race groups; I think there is a trend of political correctness that goes along with it.
While reading the blog entitled “Race and Advertising – We’re in a New World Now,” I could not help but think back to the same poster that I’ve been seeing everywhere on Penn State’s campus since I was a freshman 4 years ago. I’m sure everyone has seen it at some point – the big blue poster with the Nittany Lion and four students that states “Respect Comes Full Circle.” The students are white, black, Asian, and Latino. Every time that I see the poster, I think to myself “wow, they really went out of their way to show that Penn State embraces diversity.” Apparently I never really took the time to think about what would happen if the opposite was being portrayed. A poster of all white students definitely paints a more negative image than the poster that already exists. It is true that this is a damned if you do, damned if you don’t situation. But when considering the question regarding whether the media is driving this change towards political correctness or if society is changing their ways without influence of the media, I feel that the answer is in the latter. Sure, the media may help to facilitate conversations and plays an important role in race relations (both positive and negative), but we are living in a time in history where it is much easier to have conversations about race. The fact that a race relations class with over 500 students enrolled exists at Penn State is a huge step forward. Like him or hate him, Barack Obama being elected as President of the United States is another huge step forward. Lastly, like I mentioned earlier, the media plays a role but it is a part of the big picture. Television advertisements, like the E-Trade commercials featuring the talking babies, are widely accepted as popular and funny. They are meant to entertain the viewer and promote a product. But, what if they were to do something more?
If these ads were to facilitate a conversation among two people about race, well then isn’t that icing on top of the cake? The fact that the possibility of that happening exists is proof that we are advancing as a society and are starting to open our minds. The other advertisement mentioned in the article from Pepsi is also a good representation of the media promoting the discussion of equality. The commercial compares 60’s rock icon Bob Dylan to huge hip-hop performer and producer will.i.am. The commercial shows a lot of footage of blacks and whites doing activities together, some of which are activities that are mainly thought of as a white activity (i.e. surfing). Whether these ads are motivated by blacks having more buying power which leads companies to simply chasing the almighty dollar, or if this is inspired by companies changing attitudes is hard to say. It is safe to say, however, that attitudes are changing by and large and we are on the brink of something big.
First of all, I completely agree that no matter what you say concerning race relations, it is a catch-22. Even when it comes to political correctness, someone will think that they are just covering themselves to not look racist. I think we have to go with our gut and say what we truly believe. In other words, the level of our comfort should allow us to simply speak our minds without having to worry about who we are offending. In the long run, we will always be offending someone.
After reading the article, I realized that the media affects every aspect of our lives, whether we realize it or not. Through our culture, pertaining to music, television, celebrities, etc., we are shaped in some manner. When advertisers go out of their way to include different races, we subconsciously alter our thinking. In many cases, our friends may look very similar to us. This may be due to our geographical location in growing up or what we feel more comfortable with as we progress through high school and into college. If the media is promoting more diverse interactions amongst people, teens, as well as adults, may feel left out if they do not have relations with other people from different backgrounds. Yet on the other hand, I can see where Sam is coming from because maybe it isn’t the advertising that is influencing us, maybe we’re influencing the media. After all, ads focus their attention to the majority of people so that they can earn a profit. If these ad campaigns neglect certain groups from their ads, they are essentially losing money. In today’s day in age, I think we have become more accepting of others that are different from us, than any other point in our nation’s history. We still have a very long way to go, but we can see the change in the media, including advertisements. Although we may never know who is influencing who, I like to think of it as a simultaneous reaction. I think we, as the American population, understand that we are all equal and have no problems communicating and interacting with those who are racially different than ourselves, but I also think that the media understands that we are growing towards a more accepting nation. It seems to me that these ad campaigns are including more diverse audiences, not because they are afraid of being racist, excluding, etc., but because they will be losing out on major populations of people.
Overall, I think political correctness is still a major reoccurring theme that needs to be eliminated. It seems as Sam stated, “you’re damned if you do and damned if you don’t.” For example, whites should understand that if a black person called us Caucasian, we would feel strange about this term, but would not be offended. Yet in other cases, some whites may be extremely offended by this term. The same goes for black people. We need to stop worrying about how not to offend others and simply be respectful. If you happen to offend someone, apologize and try to explain what you really meant by understanding their offense to your argument. This is simply my opinion and although it is even hard for me to not be “politically correct,” it is something worth working towards, as a population of people who all believe that we are Americans.
I must say that I find myself as conflicted as Dr. Richards when it comes to the mixed messages we receive everyday from numerous media sources. On the one hand, these TV ads and such are showing how our society should operate – people of all races and ethnic backgrounds interacting, getting along, and enjoying the same opportunities and products. On the other hand, these ads are sugarcoating what is still a troublesome issue here in the United States. As the article states, there are still many disparities between whites and other races as it pertains to employment and average income. However, I tend to be somewhat more optimistic when it comes to these ads and their effects. Everyday in class or on the street we are presented with some of the sad realities of living in this country. Over and over again, we are shown statistics about the differences between whites and people of color and after a while it gets quite depressing and I begin to feel pretty helpless in attempting to change these problems. Therefore, it’s kind of nice to take a break from reality by watching a little TV and seeing shows and ads that illustrate what life would be like if we lived in a fairer world where everyone was equal. Unfortunately, this is not the way the world works at this time and I am somewhat pessimistic that we will ever be able to view one another as total equals.
To change gears a little bit, this is where I get kind of confused in the whole equality conversation. I’m not talking about equal rights here because I believe that everyone should enjoy those. My confusion lies in how I am supposed to view others as my equals yet still express my own individuality. Are these two ideas, equality and individuality, in conflict with one another? Perhaps it’s just the evolutionary psychologist and natural selection enthusiast in me coming out, but I tend to believe that competition is an innate characteristic in every organism. In humans, this competition manifests itself in different kinds of –isms, like sexism or racism. That is why I do not believe that we will ever be able to view one another as a total equal because at our core we are in a constant competition with one another for mates, resources, and survival.
So, while total equality may never be a possibility in my eyes, I still believe that these ads are doing something positive that allows us to dream about what the future may hold. It also benefits the ad companies financially by opening up their products and services to more groups and making them feel welcome, which I always view as a positive thing. I also think that as people of color grow towards becoming the majority this country we will see these inequalities disappear to an even greater degree.
When I see ads for Penn State (or any other college for that matter) showing a group of students--each carefully chosen to represent a different race--standing around smiling, laughing and generally having fun, I cringe inside. Not only do most racial/ethnic groups not naturally mix together so homogenously, but when do you ever see people THAT happy while working in a lab, reading at the library, or even just standing around at the HUB? I hate to sound bitter, but none of those ads show reality--whether it be the way in which different races truly interact here, or even just something as simple as everyday campus life. Being at Penn State is (for most people) not depressing, but it is never as ecstatically happy as the models in the ads make it seem. Can you imagine if, instead of showing kids cheering at the football games or eating ice cream at the Creamery, the commercials showed stressed students pulling all-nighters during finals week? Or freshmen calling home crying because they’re homesick and fighting with their roommates? Of course this would never happen, because to show these sorts of things in a commercial would be absurd--however, that doesn’t mean that they are not part of the college experience for many people. Penn State isn’t doing false advertising (there really are happy times at Penn State) but what they choose to show IS very selective (it isn’t always happy here). Advertisements by definition only depict positive images and ideas, because they present an idealized view of whatever it is they are trying to sell. Do you really think advertisers are going to show racial groups voluntarily segregating themselves when racial equality is such a cherished principle in America? This doesn’t mean all the different races get along all the time or that all people prefer to be part of multiracial groups, but many--if not most--people would agree that these things would happen in a perfect world.
I see no harm in commercials depicting a fantasy world where all races interact harmoniously, because un-reality has always been the norm for advertisements. Most people know that the events, places, products, etc. being hyped in ads are not so great as they’re made out to be, but for the most part this kind of advertising has never caused serious societal harm. For instance, when is the last time you got a cheeseburger at McDonald’s that looked as perfect as the ones they show on the commercial? On the other hand, does anyone ever really expect to get a McDonald’s burger that looks that good? People are smart enough to know that the world shown in advertisements is little more than wishful thinking, so I doubt anyone is seriously affected by commercials that depict perfect racial relations. I don’t think it glosses over the real, serious issues in our society because people are aware that we don’t live in the fantasy world of commercials. If anything, this kind of advertising may only serve to make people more optimistic about the future and cause people to want to achieve the perfection of many ads (I think the article accompanying the blog referred to it as “fake it till you make it”). A little bit of political correctness may not be of harm in this area.
It’s funny that we ended up having a blog on this topic because my roommates and I discuss the races on TV in commercials and such quite often. When you see someone white and someone black in an ad, you do tend to question, “is that on purpose?” At the same time if there are commercials with just one race, you tend to wonder why they didn’t think to incorporate someone of another race. The same goes for ads talked about in the blog such as those for prospective Penn State student. I think the fact that people are starting to be more conscious of using different races in commercials is a good thing. It shows that America is becoming more aware of the issues of race and involving more than just white Americans in TV. It also makes everything more realistic. It’s rare that you go anywhere and just run into one race, regardless of who is the majority, so this helps give a more true perspective of things. I also think it helps to make society look less racist, which is a great thing.
I read this blog a few days before responding to it, leaving me time to think about how to reflect on it and during that time I did happen to notice quite a few more commercials that were racially diverse, even a few that included more black Americans and no white Americans. The commercial with the children in the high chairs is a good example because it shows the two are friends, proving that people have moved passed racism and accepted it in a way to where it’s not weird to show to people of different races as friends on TV. Even as a white American, this is something that meant a lot to me. I personally think that the mistakes made in the past are an embarrassing truth that we as Americans have to accept did happen, but commercials such as these are a step in the right direction of moving past such racist times.
Being more racially diverse also helps out the companies who are advertising since it is unrealistic to think that only one race will be viewing the advertisement. As an advertiser, you want to target all of your customers and that means people of all races. The same goes for the brochures for Penn State students. I think seeing more of a diverse campus makes it seem more welcoming to students of all races and not just one.
Last, I do not think that having recently elected a black president has anything to do with the advertisements. I think America is just simply becoming more racially diverse in all aspects and it is just happens to show more in advertising and especially on TV.
With it becoming increasingly known that blacks watch more TV than whites, why wouldn’t they advertise in this way? Are they trying to be politically correct, no way! They are trying to make a buck. Way back when, when blacks were too poor have jobs and own TV’s (or so it was thought) advertisers wanted to appeal to their main audience, white males. Now that an increasing number of minority audiences, including female, are watching TV it is necessary to appeal to all audience. You aren’t going to make any money if you’re a racist now are you. This isn’t only happening in advertisements, every piece of media from children’s TV shows to late night advertisements have four little white girls playing in a field, with their one black friend who just moved in down the street. Is this because we don’t want to teach our children racism, or is this because the minority audience is increasing and TV shows need to appeal to everyone. Sure everyone wants to seem politically correct and no one wants to look like they are excluding anyone. And why exclude if you can make millions off of the minority populations. The media is finally realizing something that everyone else realized a long time ago and now we are laughing as they try to catch up. There are minority people who are not poor, there are increasing immigrant and minority populations that are pouring their money into the American economy. The media just realized this, and realizing what an opportunity they have. Minorities aren’t going to be minorities for long, and companies have been missing out on a big chunk of change by not appealing to minority audiences. Why do you think commercials appeal to women during the day and toward adults during prime time. There is nothing the media is doing to try to be accepting of everyone. They are trying to save their own asses, not to look racist, and do what every American is trying to do: get rich. Obviously advertisers can’t start putting all black or all Hispanic people on their commercials, or else they wouldn’t appeal to whites (and white people still make up a huge percent of the buying population). Although why do we see this as so funny? Why do we sit and laugh at the black and the white baby having a conversation about ETRADE. Why is it so odd to look at a picture of five people of different races coming together for a picture? No one said it was realistic, or that it actually happens or is true (none of the media really is), but it is working. We continue to buy, buy, buy and spend, spend, spend, and people make millions off of advertising. Obviously, no matter how unrealistic it seems, and even if it looks like advertising companies are trying too hard to not look racist, it is working.
I totally agree that we are on the verge of a new race relations era and that media takes a huge part in this. Media is a huge part of new styles and new “it” things to do. If the media and celebrities are doing it, then their admirers and anyone who wants to look “cool” will follow. Media portrays the new it things that everyone wants to be and wants to have. I do not think there is anything wrong with using the media to portray a new race revolution because sometimes media isn’t always the first to show trends. Sometimes society sets the trends and media follows portraying it to the rest of the world. So I do not think that one usually follows the other, it all depends on the situation. I kind of believe that looking at the race issues that society and media both take part in being the reason for the changes. As our society changes the media sees this and reflects it and as the media portrays multicultural ads and commercials society follows. Though I must admit sometimes when I see ads, even Peen State ads and there is conveniently a person of every race in the picture I cannot help but think that they were very aware of the race issues and wanted to portray a multiracial society here at Penn State. There is nothing wrong with doing this, it is just what comes to mind when I see an ad like that and I know I’m not the only one to think that; Sam even said it in this blog.
Another thing I would just like to add more along the race relation talks we have been having in class and how they have changed my thinking. Before this class when I would listen to someone tell a story or just in conversation and they would say “this black girl” or this “Asian boy” I would not realize it. I would just see it as a detail to the story not really paying attention. But now when I hear someone say those types of details I ask myself and sometimes ask them why did you say that? Just out of curiosity. It makes me wonder why we say these details, why we can’t just say their names or “some kid.” Then on the other hand I think to myself well what does it matter, they are black or they are Asians, that’s not an insult? Then again another thing that I ask myself is why someone will say “this black” person, but when it’s a white person they only say “this girl or this boy.” I don’t think I’ve ever heard someone say “this white girl?” I don’t know, I have noticed that my eyes have opened to the race issue and I am in the questioning stage, trying to be aware and rationalizing certain things. But sometimes these certain things I can’t answer because they’re been the question for years now at the race relations table.
This article was interesting and made many good points. Now that I think about it, I guess I never realized how many advertisements would put people of different race in the ad to try and sell something. Sam made a good point about the brochures for Penn State that have four or five students of different race advertising for the university. I also noticed that in their commercials that are shown on the television. If people were to see that forty years ago I think they would have been shocked but today, it is normal. Penn State is trying to become more of a diverse campus and is advertising to try to attract people of other races. One thing that I found interesting was something discussed in my discussion group the other week. We talked about how on campus many of the races are segregated. For example, you always see the Asians hanging out together, the blacks mainly hanging out together and same goes for the Indians. Now I know that is not true across the board but it is true for the most part. Anyways, when Penn State first opened I’m sure their brochures did not contain blacks and Asians because it was predominately white but today it is a way for them to attract other races. But if you think about it, Penn State is not that diverse today as many other universities are.
When it comes to the media and advertising, I believe that they play a big role in the way we think about other races. But the media and advertisers don’t necessarily care about races. I believe all they care about is money. They are just trying to make their products appealing to all the races. However, I still think many of the advertisements today are still mostly aimed at white people. You don’t see many advertisements aimed specifically at blacks unless you are watching BET or something.
However I do feel that when it comes to race, there is always going to be someone that is not satisfied. You can not please everyone and I agree with Sam when he talks about “catch 22.” No matter how many ads are multiracial, it does not mean it is going to make things better between different races. I think all together, the media just plays a huge role in how we perceive other races. Whether it is on the news or in advertisements, the media manipulates us to think certain ways. I think the media is partly to blame for a lot of the stereotypes we have about other races. For example, many people think all blacks are criminals because all the crime they see on television and stories reported on the news are committed by black men.
For the most part, I think multiracial commercials are a good thing but I do not necessarily think they are doing any good or changing peoples opinions about other races. I think advertisers are just doing this to promote their product and gain a profit. Bottom line.
After reading the article about race in advertising, I did not know what to think. “That’s Great. They’re trying to appeal to everyone” I thought at first. Then I kept on reading. “Oh, it’s all about the money. Why wouldn’t they want to appeal to everyone especially when the amount of money minorities are putting into the market is steadily increasing.” Even after finishing the article, and reading a few of my classmates’ blogs, I’m still not quite sure what to think.
As Sam stated, it’s kind of a “catch-22”; “You’re damned if you do and you’re damned if you don’t.” I think that his example of the Penn State folder with students from various backgrounds is perfect to describe my feelings. Upon first seeing this picture, I didn’t think much of it. I guess that’s kind of just the way I’ve grown up seeing such diversity in our country. There are people of different races and colors everywhere. However, after it was mentioned, I began to think about what they were trying to portray – that Penn State is a diverse place. But were they being too politically correct? Does the fact that they showed people from several different races make it too obvious that they were trying to show a diverse place? Maybe. But I don’t even want to think of the chaos that may have come about had they shown all white people, or for that matter, all black, or all Asian. Or even if there would be a difference in applications between people of different races.
I feel that advertising is much the same. What would happen if on that E-trade commercial there was only a white baby, or only a black baby? Would there be a difference in their clientele? Who knows, but it is surely something that these people must take into consideration. As I previously stated, I feel that these changes are probably generated, in a good portion at least, by money. As the Selig Center notes “African-American buying power has risen from $318 billion in 1990 to $845 billion in 2007 — a 166 percent gain. Whites' buying power rose 124 percent during that period.) Why wouldn’t these advertisers want to appeal to everyone? It is certainly going to give them a broader customer base and make them more money. That is what advertising is all about, right? Making money. But again, and maybe it is just me, but I would not have thought twice about it if it had been only a white baby, or only a black baby on that commercial. Advertisements don’t seem to affect me much. If E-Trade is going to give me the best deal on something, then I honestly don’t care what color the baby is on their commercial, but maybe that’s different for other people.
This is a very interesting topic for me because I am an advertising and public relations major and hope to one day create advertising campaigns. In working in pubic relations one of my major goals will to be to change and alter public opinion. This is mostly involving brands, however in doing so I believe the professionals in the industry have an interesting role in society. They have the power to use their advertising for good. To put forth an image for their company that is consistent with progress. I believe advertising has been able to develop positive opinion for a brand and in the process are helping society progress. They have a captive audience and if done in the right way, subtly, I do believe people will adapt their views and new norms will ensue. I do think is a conscious decision on the parts of advertising firms to show diverse audiences though. This is in order to attract a diverse clientele and as a side effect creates more acceptance among the public. What I struggle with then is this fake then and not genuine if it is done consciously? What I mean is this a form of racism in that different races are being consciously interjected into campaigns? I do too find it interesting when Penn States brochure shows students of all backgrounds on the front to draw in a diverse population when in fact Penn State is not that diverse at all and is mainly white. So then are they doing it in hopes to encourage more diversity? I don’t know and then wouldn’t students be then mislead by this picture on the cover of a brochure? This one picture stirs up a lot of controversy and at the same time says a lot. I don’t think we can progress without discussions like this. It is a catch 22 in that no one will ever be pleased. I think it is an attempt on the advertising firms part to incorporate diversity within, hoping to be accepting by all and it is just a side effect by doing so that public opinion comes along with. I do think the future of race relations will be a positive one in that we will all become more accepting. It wont be all due to the fact of advertising and public relations firms, however I do believe they will continue to play a large role and I hope to be a part of that as well. Open people’s minds and bring up open debate though advertising campaigns. In the end I do believe artists and companies should continue to portray diverse populations in an effort to lead to more diversity and I think that does include institutions like Penn State.
Media as a whole has a huge power over what we say, what we do, and even how we look. Through the media we keep in touch with what is going on, what is in style etc. The world is broadcasted through the media. The media dictates what’s right and what’s wrong and they have so much power that people actually listen to and believe everything they say. I think that the media has a huge power that could be used for good, yet many don’t. People or celebrities who are not good role models grace the covers of magazines showing teens and little girls that it is cool to be as tanned as an Oompa loompa, thin with blonde hair, and to get drunk and use drugs. Seriously, it’s like anything on MTV is cool and teens try to imitate everything they see. The Hills has such a huge influence on teen everyone wants to be characters on the show and try to buy the expensive hand bags they wear and they even start drama and get themselves into situations that are just stupid. They walk around using “valley speak” annoying everyone! Then you also have girls developing eating disorders so that they can fit into the double zero Fossil jeans that Lindsay Lohan was wearing. I cannot stand the Barbie girls that the media has created, they actually make me sick ugh… but what is even more disturbing is that these girls do not realize that they have become a standard, a girl that is a dime a dozen, a factory brand, nothing unique or special. But any who, as far as race being discussed, I think the media has made race both a good and a bad thing. One thing that really makes my blood boils is when you are watching the news and they are reporting a crime say a black person got shot and killed, then they will interview the most ignorant black person that they can find! I think that makes the Black race as a whole look bad, and it keeps the stereotype alive that Black people are ignorant and uneducated! I don’t even watch the news anymore, because there is no point they only report stories that make people want to watch, they are not genuine, and they always report the same stuff, I am just so numb from hearing of shootings, and the many health scares. I think if you watch the news too much, you will get caught up in their many lies and exaggerations. But as far as race goes it is discussed more and distributed in the media more, but sometimes it seems soo forced or like they are only trying to gain the Black or Brown people as an audience. I think the media just cares about money, and if that means that they have to make Black and Brown people feel included, then by any means they will.
The topic of concern here is basically the “chicken or the egg” question. Which came first: real life racial integration, or portrayals of racial integration in the media? It is hard for me to say. Obviously I would like to be able to believe that the media is changing because society is gradually changing, but I am not so sure if I can say that. The quote at the end of the article is very true: "Advertising is aspirational…it's who we want to be, a lifestyle we want — not always who we are." Advertisers have to depict “perfection,” or some form of perfect life because they need to show consumers the absolute best, or else the product will not sell.
The reason I say that I think the media—in all of its forms—is a bit ahead of actual American society is because it is somewhat rare to find groups made of people of mixed races. Everyone just tends to stick with their own racial, ethnic and even religious group. Maybe in some places in the United States this happens, but not where I am from. Even at Penn State University, you will rarely find mixed race groups of friends or multiple different races in one university organization.
Like Sam Richards, I get a funny feeling as well when I see a picture in an advertisement or a brochure in which every major ethnic group is represented. As terrible as it is to say it, it just is not how real life is everywhere. Seriously, how often do you see four women, (Asian, black, white and Hispanic) walking down the street together? The show “Sex and the City” definitely nailed real life right on the head with four white women…I mean, at least they all had different hair colors. However, it could be considered “wrong” and politically incorrect to only include one race in an ad or a brochure, etc. because some groups could possibly get offended. According to the US Constitution, everyone is created equal. I guess that means people must be represented equally in advertising as well.
I remember in my middle school French class, one of the textbooks we used had drawings of people on every page. There was usually a white person, a black person, an Asian, person and a disabled person in every drawing. I did not notice this until a very bright boy in my class mentioned how it is mandated by some type of law or rule to include a certain number of people or drawings of people from each race in school textbooks. I remember finding that very interesting and sort of strange. It just strikes me that there needs to be an actual written rule saying that every race has to be represented in school books.
I think it is wise of advertisers to mix up the types of people in their ads, even if it isn’t totally accurate because it helps show everyone what the world is capable of.
In the article Race Becomes More Central to TV Advertising I definitely agree with Professor Jerome Williams comment about minorities in the television business. He stated that for much of the past century, “minorities were either invisible in mainstream media, or handed negative roles that generally had them in a subservient position.” I remember when I was a little kid; I watched a lot of cartoons and other various kid shows. And majority of the shows did not have any minority actors or if there was a person of color, s/he would be a mute or dumb. For example, when I use to watch Lizzie McGuire, Lizzie’s little brother (who was white) had a best friend who was black. The black boy basically didn’t say anything throughout the whole show. As I think about it now, the Power Rangers had some racial issues, since the black ranger was African-American, the yellow ranger was Asian, the pink ranger was Caucasian, etc. However, currently the media is just now starting to accept integration in their advertisements. It’s kind of sad that it took this long for it to be “o.k.” for this to happen. In addition, to respond to Sam Richards comment on the “diverse” Penn State brochure, I think it’s interesting that the Public Relation department does that. It makes sense for them to put a diverse group of students on a brochure to draw more diversity onto this campus. I think showing Penn State at its usual state (which is predominantly white) wouldn’t have the same effect. For instance, as a black female, if I were to see a couple of black males and females and even some Latinos and Asians on a brochure, I would be more intrigued to attend that school than a brochure that would have a bunch of white people on it. Since, I would like to be more open-minded when it comes to different cultures and backgrounds. To think about it, there is a program up here called Achiever’s Weekend, where minority (mostly black) high school students come up to Penn State for a weekend and stay with a minority PSU student. So for the majority of the weekend they see PSU students of the same color; therefore, they automatically assume that there are a lot of black people on this campus. However, when they start in the fall it’s a different experience.
However, going back to the topic, I believe that integration on advertisements is the way to go. It’s about time we see different people of color who are not mute, dumb, or ghetto on television. I also think that the media does have a huge impact on how the society thinks as a whole. So even beating the stereotypes of different races can make a positive change.
After reading the article on race and advertising I began to contemplate exactly how often I am truly exposed to different races on TV. As a white person I suppose I take for granted the fact that if I am watching a show, or even opening a magazine the person staring back at me will likely have the same color skin as I do. In fact I never even think about race unless the person on the TV is of a different one from me. Perhaps this is a sign that there is not enough diversity on TV. Statistically white people far outnumber any other ethnicity in what is portrayed through commercials, TV shows and movies. Therefore I think we should embrace the rare advertiser who strays from the norm and decides to use a more accurate representation of this countries ethnic demography when casting for different spots. It would be a mistake to believe that all of these gestures are 100 percent sincere but at least they are a start. Cynicism is not an answer. Simply accusing the industry of using the token black or Hispanic child to appeal to all its consumers does not do much to tell them what they are supposed to do. Commercials that contain numerous races are often an advertisers best attempt to truly represent the population of this country. They may be doing this in the name of equality or they may be doing it to help sell their product but either way it is not a gesture that should be treated dismissively. Would we rather that only white people continued to be used in advertising. What exactly is the alternative that would make everyone happy? Does it even exist? While posing these questions I actually tried to think of a way that advertisers could add more diversity without it seeming contrived. The best that I could come up with was for advertisers to be persistent in their campaigns to use many different races. Maybe the reason it seems fake to us now is because we are so used to seeing only white people on TV. The result is that anything different or new seems so very out of place. When we see black and white kids eating lunch together our minds don’t assume that they are putting on some kind of show. Rather we accept the fact that they are friends who enjoy each other’s company, and we move on with our day unphased. What people need to learn how to do is to carry that same feeling over into the entertainment industry. Perhaps this is one of those times where you don’t really need to look very deep for the hidden meanings.
When I was reading this article, every question that wa asked about whether I’ve seen different races interacting with each other. I kept saying yes to every question. Maybe because it’s on TV that I’ve seen it. I never really took into consideration how much the media plays into bring diversity to the table. If I’ve seen Asian people, or black and white people sitting down watching the Superbowl, most likely the first time I’ve seen it is on like a McDonald’s commercial promoting. Then I will actually see it in person, when I go over my best friend’s house. Personally, at her house, I feel like everyone there is Cuban, black, Filipino, Irish, or Italian. A real mixture I should say but anyway. Yea, it makes sense to add diversity into the commercials we see every day. I think some people believe that diversity is anything aside from white. On BET (Black Entertainment Television), most commercials predominantly consist of black actors. In actuality, that’s really not diversity. I believe diversity is everyone with different races, ethnicities and cultures existing in one melting pot. Also another thing, I realized that when I think of minorities, right away I think of the black community first. Honestly, I don’t mean to. But its just the fact that I’m a minority that’s black, I’m going to put myself in the majority first. I remember when President Obama won the election, a lot of people, mostly white, were complaining that all the black people voted for President Obama, and that’s why he won. My response was well black people only make up 12-13 percent of the population. But in the article, the projected majority of the United States of America in 2042 are minorities actually make me open my eyes for a second. I realized that a lot of Hispanic and Asian people make up a very good portion of this country, which enables those types of statistics.
I don’t think I have ever taken the diversity seen in today’s society so much because it’s becoming more of a natural “phenomenon” so to speak. My friends through out elementary school and high school, I could describe us as diverse. It’s funny, our own little clique in our early years of high school were identified by our ethnicity. The Cuban one, the Haitian one, the Italian one, and the Puerto Rican one. Oh yea, and the new edition, the Columbian one as well. I thought that was funny. Honestly, I believe that the idea of diversity will become a little more second nature, and people won’t really notice the fact that the media has been enforcing it a little more. I believe older generations acknowledge these types of things more than our generation does.
The media business thrives off of society. If people change their views, advertisements adjust as well. Because of the heavy emphasis and great role of media in our daily lives, society and the media are dependent of one another, and will, for now, be interconnected and play off one another.
The marketing goal is the reach the greatest pool of customers possible. The media is going to do whatever it takes to appeal to every different type of person that would potentially be interested in the product. Advertisers will go whatever it takes to win the customer, and perhaps at the moment, they feel that adding a minority in their add will achieve such.
I think one of the effects of this class, is my conscientiousness of the media’s effort in targeting a variety of groups of people. Recent Old Navy commercials portray a group of young adults all of a different races and ethnicities intermingling, while modeling Old Navy propaganda. I think this happens to be a worthwhile and successful effort on their part. I know I am personally influenced when I see certain people advertising certain clothing. If I can relate to the advertiser and want to look like them, I will ultimately end up buying what is marketed. Some people would say that part of culture is how we express ourselves in appearance and dress. In recent discussion groups, students shared that they thought people of color dressed a certain way, sometimes different than how white people put and outfit together. By Old Navy showing a wide range and people (with different backgrounds) modeling the clothing, this is implying that anyone can wear the clothing a fit in.
I think that in today’s society, multiculturalism is the latest trend. Everyone wants to be labeled as “diverse”. With a president of color and a community that is more conscious of color, advertising companies are putting much more weight on appealing to people of every different background.
Penn State makes a large effort to advertise, not only the diverse range of opportunities available, but also the multicultural students population that lives and works on campus, in hopes that this will attract a wide range of applicants. Their idea is that, by advertising the different races and ethnicities on the front of a brochure, different people will be more attracted when they see that they may not be the minority. Penn State would never want to market that they the students consist, primarily of only one background (if this is even true). They survive off the idea that there is something here for everyone, which is exactly what they are trying to achieve on the front of their brochure. The United States is known as the “melting pot”, and with that, Penn State wants the same title.
I once heard someone whose mother worked in advertising that for every commercial over 30 seconds long that had more than three people in it, at least one of them had to be a minority. I think she said it was a law that was put into place. Now I haven’t sat and watched every commercial to look and see if it’s true but sometimes I will notice it and it seems to be. The fact that we have laws that tell us we have to have minorities in commercials is just sad really. I feel like as for the business side of things it makes sense to have different races in commercial or other adds because people naturally relate to those like them. So I would assume that the more minorities you have in an add the more potential customers that a company can have. I do understand the interesting sight of seeing five people all of a different culture hanging out by the hub, when in reality I don’t think I have ever seen that. It really becomes the catch 22 as Sam said because you can lie about how things really are or you can tell the truth. The truth is interracial anything at least at Penn State is rare. It is sad but it really does seem that way everyone seems to keep very separate and not integrated. What I think this school needs to do is get ways to integrate its students, I do not know how they should do this but I’m sure there is a way. This class is a good way with the group meetings but also I know I had to do a race circle for one of my classes and when I walked in it was 6 white kids. The group next to us had 4 African Americans and 2 kids of Indian decent. There should be a way to make sure the groups are all somewhat diverse. That would be a good start because a lot of people do those circles. Another idea would be that people could try and join different clubs like certain fraternities that are all one race. I doubt this will happen because at this point I think it would be seen as a person just trying to prove they are trying to be diverse and then would be less likely to accept them. Anyway I just think there is a better way to get people to know other races than only this one class, what we need is Penn State to sponsor some events that kids can see what a big issue this is and then they can take pictures there. I think the kids would respond to that as well students here are usually very willing to accept other races someone just needs to open the door.
The contradictory thought process of political correctness in advertising is definitely something I identify with. I see commercials on TV for Penn State, or any other college, and they’re so typical: a white male, a black female, a brown or Asian person, and someone in a wheelchair, all coming together to do some kind of chemistry lab. And, at the same time, I could see myself thinking these commercials just as ridiculous if only one race was represented. I guess it just seems sort of cheesy sometimes. I see representations such as these as a member of the “political correctness” side of the spectrum, as opposed to thinking that views are actually changing. I don’t know if that’s cynical. This blog kind of makes me consider less obvious displays of diversity and whether or not these are intentional. It’s easy to say that the cheesy college commercials purposely use diversity to be politically correct, but what about prime time television? Were the roles of Foreman and Kutner always meant for people of color on House? Was that what the writers originally intended for? Were they cast for their race specifically, or were the racial issues that sometimes come up on the show written after casting? I’d say that the media is probably a more or less unreliable testament to the true attitudes of Americans, especially with the prevalence of political correctness. The media has the power to make multiculturalism look “hip”, but is that really the point? This is something I contemplated during the Obama campaign. Don’t get me wrong, I voted for Obama. But at times, it sort of felt like people were on the Obama bandwagon because he was some sort of pop icon. Maybe it was the silkscreen style campaign portrait. It sort of seemed like Obama as a politician sort of snowballed into Obama as a person who will bring “change”, Obama as a symbol of diversity, and Obama as the center of the media and pop culture’s attention. Real signs of progress will come when multiculturalism doesn’t have to be made to look hip. People will cast people of any race not because they’re looking for a black guy as a criminal for their show, but because the actor was the best person for the part. The statistics we looked at in class closer to the beginning of the semester really shocked me. I never really realized how much the white race dominated television shows, or how different the top shows watched by black families and white families were according to the statistics. However, I definitely notice race more now, and not just in television. Probably for the first time, I see my own race, how it affects me, and how others are affected by their race.
I think that advertisement and how we look at the world are on two totally different ends of the spectrum. I do not know if this is good or bad but it just seems like the truth. When I see a picture on a brochure, like one for Penn State, and see a group of students that include a Black, White, Asian, and Hispanic person, I do not look at it as if it is realistic. It seems like a phony commercial to me or something. I usually picture them in the room where they are taking the picture putting on makeup and getting the lighting right, all the things people do before they go on stage. I guess this automatically comes to mind because I just see them as acting, which they are in actuality. However, I know that if I were to visit the place on the brochure I would never see that group of people, or even a group as diverse as them, walking around together. I do not think I have ever seen a group of friends that had a White, Black, Asian, and Hispanic friend. The idea seems almost “too diverse” for our day. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind it at all, I just feel America is not in a place right now that seeing a group of friends like that is going to be common.
So I guess I should look at the positive side of “diverse” brochure covers. The positive is that when a Black, Asian, or Hispanic looks at it they may have some hope that the place actually has people like them. Or they could think the exact opposite and think that the place is not diverse at all and just found some actors to pose for them. Some people are very pessimistic when it comes to diversity and do not want to give anyone or any company the benefit of the doubt. However, it is possible that a company could have their ONE black employee pose for a brochure with a few of the white ones just to show the world they are diverse. So, I do believe it can happen sometimes, but is it wrong? Is it wrong to showcase their minorities as if they are proving a point? Or do some of them just do it so that their minority employees feel included and not further segregated? No one knows their intentions but people should consider the possibilities because it is like companies and institutions will never win against the fight to express their diversity. People are going to keep being either optimistic or pessimistic, and there’s nothing we can do besides open our minds and consider: What exactly is their intention?
Advertising is a very powerful industry, that can manipulate and influence the perceptions of many, many Americans. The good, bad, humorous commercials are often said over and over again by friends and family as jokes. "Have you ever seen that commercial?" ...stuff like that. However, it is very evident that advertisements have become a lot more multiracial, portraying a less racist society. I assume the goal of these advertisers is too reach out to as many racial groups and backgrounds as possible, which makes perfect sense.
The superbowl is a major industry for commercials. Companies spend huge amounts of money to air their commercials during the superbowl, a sporting event that is watched by all races, ethnicities, and cultures all over the world. Therefore, it would be very beneficial for companies to use multiracial advertisements, with many different types of people, of all colors.
However, although this could be beneficial as it reaches out to many different groups of people, most Americans can not help but to notice the diversity in certain advertisements. Many Americans might actually criticize the company, saying "of course they had to throw in a hispanic person, or a jewish person, or a black person." As a result, this could actually backfire on the company trying to be politically correct, and racially acceptable. On the other hand, if a company consistently uses all white people, or all black people, or all of the same kind of people in general, the public will definitely criticize. "Why are there never any black people in these commercials?" And these critics are perfectly correct. So essentially, these advertising companies are in a pickle. They must be very careful in choosing the races that represent their company, because either way, in the world today, they are going to get criticized by someone. It's a lose, lose situation...unfortunately.
In my opinion, the correct decision as an advertising company is use to as many different racial backgrounds and people as possible. Be diverse! Be unique! Have everything, and accept the criticism. We want a diverse and equal country, so that is how advertising should be portrayed. Show interracial marriages, mixed children, interracial best friends, etc. The country should love this, and embrace it. Because this is what would make the country great, and this is what everyone should, essentially, want America to be like. Where race really doesn't matter. And since this is nearly impossible from achieving in real life, let's achieve it on TV, in fantasy. Because we can. Because it's cool to see. It is cool to see a world where race doesn't matter. Where it doesn't affect the way people are looked at or evaluated. America needs to see the beauty of it, even if it is only portrayed in a simple beer commercial on TV.
Yesterday in my discussion group, we got brought up a topic about is race easy to discuss outside a class such as Soc 119, or a race relations circle. The answer to many of us came quickly- yes. However, the more we thought about it that answer changed. At first, a few of us were quick to assume that race is not a big deal and talking about it would not be a problem. I disagree. Later in the meeting someone mentioned how a black student was quick to call this person a racist for laughing at something a black man said. That right there is why what we all quickly assumed before – is race not a big deal to talk about – is in fact a big deal. Today we all make an effort to be politically correct when we talk and watch what we say so we do not offend anyone of any color. When you watch television or read a brochure about a university or a company, the top selling point is the diversity and it shows in the pictures of the smiling faces being shown together. The reality of it all is that that is simply not true. The saying bird of a feather flock together is very, very true. Coming to Penn State I thought this is the chance for me to meet new people. At a school this big it seemed very possible. How very wrong I was. I managed to find girls who are from the city of Philadelphia, just like myself. I did not expand and reach out. I am not alone. When Sam wrote how he is not a fan of political correctness I could not agree with him more. It is true that television and advertisements are all going to be Catch-22’s. The reality is that none of us, or most of us, does not or do not reach outside of our comfort zones to meet different people. Watching television and seeing diversity being forced onto us almost seems ridiculous. The question is, is the diversity being shown on television and through advertisements making us realize that we have more in common with people of different races or is the effort we are making causing these commercials to be made? I am not sure of the answer. The reality of it all is that there is not going to be a change in racism for a very long time. I am 18 years old and it most likely will not happen in my lifetime. My conclusion of advertising and the media making an effort to be more diverse is that they are only trying to help. I believe that they think if we see that diversity among friends is not abnormal then it can help us make efforts to change. I am not sure if this is actually true and my conclusion is that it cannot help to try.
I think that some of the advertising commercials of today are funny or cynical. The commercial with the white baby and the black baby is funny, but it is also intelligent on the business aspect of it. Back when commercials first started airing or even still today…the actors were that were in the commercials were predominantly white. Advertisers today have started to realize that there audience isn’t just white people, and they need to capture the eye of all other people of color and all different ethnic groups. With the economy, the way that it is today, if companies want to make more money by advertising their products online and/or on tv, they need to have actors of different races. I think that that is part of the reason why they use people of other color for their commercials. That and the fact that, I think America as a whole wishes we were more accepting of race. I’m sure most of us would like to think that every ethnic group gets along equally well with each other. But sadly that is not the truth as of right now anyway. I think that most groups get along to some extent. You do not see whites, blacks, and Hispanics all playing basketball together at the basketball courts. You do not see Asians and whites going out to clubs together…although I have yet to see an Asian at a hip hop club at all. Pennstate University is the same as the media. The brochures and even the PSU commercials all have a student of a different background, to show people how diverse they are. When the truth is that Pennstate is not as diverse as I wish it was. In a way it’s kind of funny that they have a student from a different background, because they are trying to be politically correct. The phrase damned if you do, damned if you don’t is very key here. You get criticized for trying to be politically correct, and if you do not use people from different groups, you will be criticized for not being diverse. America is trying to be politically correct and I think that people do want to have better race relations and solve the race issue. That and the fact that within the next decade or so, white will no longer be the majority, and everyone will be multiracial, so we might as well try and solve this problem now because this will become a reality. People will have to learn to get along and not be racial or hold grudges against people of different races. One day we will see whites and blacks and Asians and Latinos all playing basketball together or going to clubs together!
Advertising obviously impacts society. This article is very eye opening because I think in part it is absolutely a catch 22. When people put different races in one advertisement or brochure, they obviously could not cover every race. Therefore, the attempt to cover about five different cultures is made. What about the advertisements for places like Victoria’s Secret, Target and Dove? On every website that I googled there are at least a few colored women in the advertisements. I think because there is an attempt to reach out to other cultures it proves that media is growing towards multiculturalism. Dove sticks out the most because of their “Real Beauty Campaign.” Their goal is to show women of every size and age that they do not have to be stick figure models to be beautiful. Getting slightly off topic, the company did a global study that surveys women about their perception of personal beauty. It showed that women of Japan and Brazil had the highest levels of dissatisfaction. Super models in today’s advertisements are predominantly white, and people who view those figures as the ultimate goddess will falsely believe that if they are not white, tall, and thin, then they are not beautiful. Naturally, a few models are of a different race here and there. Do supermodels set the tone for who is beautiful? Do the people we see in the advertisements really portray society? In some cases yes, and in some, no. Advertisements like Penn State’s want to come off as multicultural, but when you walk around campus or get the numbers it is obviously a predominantly white campus.
I think we have to give some credit to the people making these advertisements because if the ETRADE commercial only have white babies on it, they would without a doubt be considered racist. However, are they neglecting the races outside of white and black? It is true, that no matter what the media portrays in advertisements, society will constantly critique. After all this talk about the statue of five children on Hintz Alumni Center lawn, I got curious and decided to check it out. I found an article in the collegian that said Mrs. Helen Hintz had a lot to do with the choice of this statue. She wanted to portray children who wanted to be in the Olympic games and the statue title is “Olympic Wannabes.” Each child in the statue is in a different stage of performing a cartwheel, resembling a task that takes place in gymnastics of the Olympics. I wish the article went on to describe why she chose the children to look white, but perhaps she had no meaning to display a certain race at all and that is why the statue is bronzed. Like Sam already stated, advertisements in the media are definitely a Catch 22.
I like idea of multiculturalism in the media. The media has a very big influence on the lives of its viewers. People will believe a lot of what they see on television and making multiculturalism mainstream is a big step in the right direction. If people see more of it, they will become more comfortable with it. So when people see it in the streets its not such a cultural shock to them. When I saw the commercial of the two babies, I didn’t even think of it as a multicultural thing, I though it was a good and funny commercial. This is a big step up from how African Americans had been portrayed in the media in the past. In the recent past African Americans were seen in the subservient positions and as minstrels. African Americans in the media were not at all likely to be seen in a good light in the media; they were made to make fun of themselves, in blackface. They were mostly in positions that were demeaning and depicted as almost inhuman. So to see a white baby and a black baby together in the mainstream media is a amazing in my eyes. Now the media seems to be making a conscious effort to make multiculturalism more accepted. I honestly believe that part of this is because Obama is the president and the race issue is no longer being swept under the rug. Since our president is multicultural, our society can do nothing but accept it and get on the multicultural bandwagon.
I do believe in the idea of Charles Gallagher, that there are more African Americans in the media, but they still are not being depicted in leadership positions. He also talks about how you do not see many mixed couples in the mainstream media. When you do see mixed couples in the media it is almost shocking. Whenever I see it on rare occasions, I even make note of it. I find it rare and something that still makes people a little uncomfortable. I don’t know why but it does. On the subject of black people depicted in the leadership roles, it is still scarce. The only mainstream commercials I have seen that had an African American in a leadership positions were ones with rappers such as Russell Simmons, Jay-Z, and Sean Combs. These are men who were once rappers, made it big and turned their money into something positive. You very rarely see and person of color in a leadership position in corporate America. But we can only ask for so much, we are being depicted as people in the media in a positive light. We will make steps toward to being depicted in leadership positions.
I think how advertisement is done these days are pretty cool. I can say that I do agree for the most part with the political correctness of the commercials and media; however like Sam said at the same time it makes me wonder what is going on in the producer's mind who made the advertisement. Do they think it would be wrong to not add diversity to something that is not essentially diverse, or is it just to make everyone happy? Who knows?! I know that when I was searching for colleges that I always saw at least ONE black person on the cover of the brochure welcoming us "prospective students" to their school. Especially Penn State, knowing good and well that there was a percent of around 7-10% African Americans here and then maybe that might be too high. So what was the point of that advertisement when it was semi-false?... Maybe to seem more inviting or welcoming?
Another thing that gets on my nerves with advertisement is when advertising fast food places. As if every African American loves McDonalds, all the commercials are centered around a growing black child or a black group of friends clubbing, just it's OUTRAGEOUS! I thought white people liked McDonalds too but commercial producers seem to thing otherwise. So why is this happening?... I think maybe because McDonalds and fast food usually show up in the black community or urban communities and that is what it appeals to so in conclusion black people are the people that consume this food the most. But why can't those commercials be diverse too? So the food that can cause hypertension, high blood pressure, etc. can be advertised to the black community, but academics can be diverse.... seems a little iffy to me.
Maybe that is when I have to start asking questions. Whatever the case a lot of commercials are multiracial and are working toward becoming aware of culture little by little.
I think the media has a big take on how Americans view other races. I mean lots of kids grow up in a one race community so all they have for reference is the media. So if the media gives off that black people are a certain way and if white people are a certain way then all of these preconceived ideas will be in the way of not judging a person by their color but by their personality. So yeah I think advertisement has a lot to do with how we view race. I mean come on we as African Americans have our own channel because all the other channels are usually not directed to the black audience. You have BET, UPN, MTV, VH1, NICK at NIGHT, etc. So what do you expect? They have even separated us in TV?
Needless to say this is usually convenient and a benefit, but we'll see where we can go from here :)
New marketing techniques are attempting to advertise by appealing towards a larger, more diverse audience. This includes advertising for example, by commercials, by including a mixture of different races and ethnicities. These commercials portray these different ethnicities as people getting along very well with one another. They are playing basketball together, discussing different stock options together, listening to music together, etc. I think these ads are very creative. They appeal to a larger audience, which I think is a great marketing strategy. The e-trade commercial for example is one of my favorites. The commercial portrays two babies, one white and one black. They are both very young babies in bibs sitting on their highchairs discussing potential stock options. This kind of diverse advertising now a day is very common and I think is a great marketing technique. Like the reading said, the advertising companies are pushing towards social justice. More and more ads like this are going to be seen in the future. Advertisements are no longer showing just white folks, rather the marketing companies are trying to push towards commercials with all different kinds of people and cultures to appeal to a lot more people. This is a great idea for companies because America is only going to become more and more diverse. In America, majority ethnic populations will no longer exist in the near future. Marketing strategies like these are attempting to put racial divisions behind us and are attempting to move forward in a unified way through assimilation. The article goes on to show how the black population is increasing its buying power by 166% in the last 17 years in the United States, and that number is still rising. Furthermore, so have Latinos, Asians, and Native Americans. Marketing companies have recognized this and therefore have tried to appeal to these diverse races by including these people in their advertisements. Advertisers are trying to find ways in which these diverse groups connect with one another and then go with that information to create ads. The article says that it is more of a mind-set than a demographic. As far as I know, people are responding to these advertisements in a good way. Every time the e-trade commercial comes on with the babies, every I know seems to laugh and enjoy the babies speaking with such intelligence. Also, the Gatorade commercial with all the diverse athletes with Lil’ Wayne speaking in the background is a big hit. Advertisers took a big risk when coming out with commercials like these, but I think they have done a great job. Because more and more ethnically diverse ads are coming out like these, I think it is safe to say that they are working. Hopefully, in the near future, all ads will show a diverse group of people. This will help marketing companies appeal to a larger audience, and will hopefully help racial divisions that still exist unfortunately.
When it comes to media, marketing, and advertising, it is all a numbers game. The article Race Becomes More Central to TV Advertising gave good insight on the factors that marketers think about when promoting a product. I believe it is all about selling whatever it is, whether a gimmick, idea, or physical object, through captivating an audience. This can “boil down” to relating the good to the people. Now a days, fast food restaurants like McDonalds have made commercials that are relatable to the urban crowd. For example, there was a commercial with a Black guy singing in the rain about “Mc Nuggets lovin’”, like a bad music video. I have also seen McDonalds commercials with Black families accompanied by music that had a more hip-hop appeal. Another example is a Sleepy’s furniture commercial where the theme song sounded like late 90s R&B. I remember saying to my mom, “did you just hear that commercial, what was up with that?”, and she replied thinking the same thing. Both of these commercials are only examples of how the media has diversified itself, which leads me to the think about the reasoning for such diversification.
It may seem somewhat pessimistic, but I do not necessarily think there are more minority faces being seen in the media simply because America is turning a new leaf in the steps towards equality. For the most part, I think that it is a business strategy. Like the article said, minorities are increasing their contributions to the economic market. At one point in my life, I think I saw a statistic that said African Americans are one of the biggest spenders in the United States. The sad part is that they are at the bottom of the economic wealth scale. Obviously, corporate America knows what it needs to do to keep minorities wanting and purchasing more.
Another scheme where diversification has risen has been in advertisements. Like Sam mentioned in his blog, on the cover of a Penn State brochure, there are five people from five different cultural backgrounds. I do not know who Penn State is trying to fool, but clearly it is not the people who attend this school. Penn State has a demographic of about 80% Caucasians. The minority community is very small at this university. However, to the outsider who views this particular brochure, they have a reason to believe that Penn State is a diverse place that strives to emphasis its diversity. This is clearly marketing that targets people, minorities in particular, with efforts of selling a product; in this case, it was education.
The MSNBC article pointed out, there is still a lack of Black people portrayed positively in the media. There are few shows where minorities are the doctors, lawyers, CEOs, or head bosses of big corporations. This is a sign to me that the new rise of minorities being portrayed in the media is not necessarily due to justice, but in fact a economic strategy. Like the author of the MSNBC article said best, marketers don’t see Black or White, they see green.
Pepsi’s newest spot, “Refresh Anthem,” which debuted during the Super Bowl is an advertisement that features Bob Dylan and a hip hop producer will.i.am, is a very interesting commercial. In the very sense of the advertisement it shows a collage of images from the ‘60s and today to celebrate generations past and present. Through this promotion it shows both blacks and whites returning from war, surfing, skateboarding, dancing and waving American flags at political flags. Through the use of both Bob Dylan and will.i.am, it is trying to appeal to both a black and white market at the same time. This is also shown in the ETRADE advertisement with the juxtaposition of the black baby next to the very familiar white baby that in the past has sold the advertisement of ETRADE is so easy that an infant can do it.
The MSNBC article makes a very relevant point, that today there is an increasing strategy by marketing associates to try to target more than one audience through the same advertisement. Is this an idea of being more racial acceptable, or of a firm simply trying to cut costs? It just makes me think of a few marketing associates in a company board room planning an advertisement, considering the ideas of how to reach each market in the right way. From a business sense I could see how it would be beneficial in two different ways. In one way the advertisements seem inclusive of many different cultures and can be right in a sense of ”political correctness”. However on the other hand they are hitting two different markets with the same advertisement.
Does the horse pull the cart or does the momentum of the cart motivate the horse keep moving is a very good question. Did this advertising trend of inclusiveness begin with a push because of the nations desire to reconcile its racial problems which is clearly present in the aspect of younger Americans. Currently, younger Americans have ideals of trying to put racial divisions behind them and move forward in a more united way. In contrast is this racial inclusiveness only occurring due to the fact that the advertising firms determined a way to manipulate the current situation within in America to make it work for them? The MSNBC article indicates that recent studies have found that there were few nonwhites in decision making and creative positions within the advertising industry itself. Therefore one would think that this push of multicultural advertising might be for inclusiveness. However, more likely it could be white advertising determining how to approach the markets in a socially or politically correct manner based on the current thought processes of the demographics within the market.
When it comes to the new racial advertising, the companies are clearly trying to be politically correct, something that is looked at as so important if you don’t want to be torn apart by the media. It is funny to look at however, when you see situations between certain people of different races doing things that you would most likely never see in the real world. Another goal of advertisers when making these multiracial ads is to reach out to people of as many races as possible. If you have all white people in a McDonald’s commercial, chances are people of different races are going to think that the ad is racist. I know whenever I walk into a McDonald’s there are never only people of one racial background, but many backgrounds. They do a nice job with their advertisements I have noticed, because they make sure to include people of almost if not every race. Whether they have athletes or just normal people in their ads, it is almost always racially mixed. Another thing I have noticed is not just Penn State, but many other colleges send brochures and packets, or have advertisements on TV with people of many races. My younger sister is looking at colleges right now so when I went home over break, seeing the brochures and packets out on the table it reminded me of these racially diverse advertisements. Political correctness is something companies definitely use to their advantage so that they don’t catch any heat from the media. By including different races in advertisements, the company is basically telling America that they accept people of every race, which does two things; increases sales by including more people, and also keeps the company in good standing in the eyes of society. Whether or not political correctness is the best for society, no one knows yet. Like Sam said in his blog, political correctness is a catch 22 in society, because you’re damned if you are politically correct and damned if you aren’t. With society moving forward in race relations, my opinion would be political correctness is the best for everyone. Advertisements are normally the “perfect” situation, such as the five students each from a different racial background on the Penn State brochure. The only problem is that these situations almost never occur in real life. This is a bit misleading then to the consumer because the company is portraying a situation that almost never happens in our society. I have mainly white friends, and if we go to a restaurant together, I’m sure its not exactly politically correct but it happens all the time with groups of people and others can’t get mad about it. Instead people can get mad about advertisements which are supposed to portray real life situations. Go figure.
Our country and society is so focused on being politically correct and making certain that we do not offend anyone in anything that we wish to do. The people of our country make sure to include someone of every race in the media, so our people are not seen as racist.
It is a blatant fact that the media is able to sway our opinion on many different aspects of our lives. Whether it be a commercial that is selling food, clothing, music, etc advertisements tend to have this effect on our culture. Advertising has changed tremendously over the years, becoming more and more sexual and comical, but also more and more diverse. Our television commercials and magazine ads are trying to be more and more “politically correct.” Advertisements are now making certain that they include a person of every race when selling a product. Penn State’s brochures even have a picture of one Latino, one white, one Asian, and one African American. This is not a true representation of the Penn State community, for our campus is not this diverse. But in order to be “politically correct” and in order to not be seen as a racist this effort is made.
There is nothing wrong with showing someone from every different background doing things together. An Asian, white person, black person, and Hispanic person all can be part of the same social circle at Penn State. But in reality, our world is not like this. Although some groups integrate and join together, there is still some separation between races.
The situation with the media and being politically correct is a lose, lose scenario. Some people may be offended if the commercial they are watching is only portraying white people selling the product. This may be seen as discrimination towards people of color, and favoritism towards the white people of the world. At the same time, if people of every single race are being portrayed, people may see this as a way to avoid racism. People may be angered by this and see it as the media being too politically correct. It is sad, but unfortunately no matter what is said someone out there will be offended by it. Race is still a very touchy subject in our country, because we are always trying to prove to each other that we are a place for equal opportunity for each and every race.
In my opinion, being politically correct hinders race relations. If people are not truthful with their words, and always hold back what they truly wish to say in order to be politically correct then the conversation at the race table is not completely real. People have to be respectful and listen to the opinions of other races and other people in general, but if people hold back what they wish to say in order to be politically correct, race relations will not get anywhere. Most people who try to be politically correct usually are doing it for the image, because society expects us to be this way.
The issue at hand really is a catch-22: I can’t remember the last time I looked at an advertisement for Penn State and thought “man, that’s a really racially balanced depiction,” so I would have to agree that I feel a little overwhelmed by my own cynicism on the subject. On the same token, as a white male would it be fair for me to not be cynical of such “racially balanced” pictures and advertisements? Would it really be better to just be accepting of both extremes of advertising as a naturally occurring part of society? In short, my answer to that is no. Any blanket acceptance of such themes can really only be seen as rational ignorance – a theme that is more than satisfied to perpetuate racial gaps and inequality. Consequently, I am adamantly opposed to falling into this theme, or allowing those around me to participate in it. Unfortunately, that brings me back to where I started: Can I ever hope to balance my cynicism? I think that the key to this (at least for me) is achieving a balance outside of advertising and seeing the themes that these companies are promoting actually playing out in my daily experiences.
On the other hand, do I (as a white male) even have the right to be cynical of these kinds of issues? As I sit here writing this, my roommate (who happens to be from India) challenged me on this point by asking: “Why does the group that does the persecuting get to be critical of what is ‘racially balanced?’ If anything doesn’t that make you more racist?” Here again, the argument that I previously talked about would be my answer: by not being critical, by allowing these things to happen without even a second thought I think that I perpetuate part of the problem. This argument is similar to the one that we use to challenge Morgan Freeman’s statement that he would just rather leave the issue alone; not talking about it is NOT the solution, but rather a perpetuation. Do I have an answer? I don’t think so, but if you know someone who does I would love to meet them.
As an afterthought on the article: I think that the direction that Pepsi is taking is probably the best idea that I’ve come across for eliminating this kind of issue. After all, they DO sell a product that is (nearly) universally accepted, so focusing on the issues that connect groups outside of racism seems like it will be a pretty accurate depiction of what it means to be an American.
Of course, in the end I could just be overthinking all of it, and it might not matter at all to anyone else…lol
These days, one does not have to look to the high powers in the advertising industry to notice that the racial tides are changing. All it takes is a short conversation about race with a parent or grandparent to expose the differences between our generations' views and how far we have come in the past few decades. I come from a predominantly white neighborhood, in the same city that my parents grew up in. When the issue of race comes up in discussion with either of my parents, I find them to be generally tolerant people. However, unlike myself, they are much more likely to comment on race when they are irritated by a stranger of a different skin color out at a store, or to crack a joke about people of different ethnicities. While I will admit that I do not stop them from making such ignorant remarks, I can say that I personally do not make these types of comments or crack racial jokes. And while that difference between my parents and myself may seem very minor, it is just a small indicator of how each generation is becoming more and more tolerant and integrated as time goes on. If you're looking for further proof of the steps forward we have taken in the world of multiculturalism, take a moment to examine a conversation you would have with your grandparents. In my personal experience, while they will claim adamantly that they are tolerant, our discussions on the topic of ethnicity always seem to be tinged with a hint of racism. Perhaps these are the remains of a generation of segregation and color-based social norms.
With regard to the article's reference of our generation going "beige" and accepting multiculturalism as the "hip" thing to do, I'd have to agree. It seems to me that every generation of young people has been eager to make progress, to somehow leave their mark on the world. Whether it be through young people's "free love" of the 60's or the rebellion against parents with the acid-wash jeans and rock n' roll of the 80's, every young group of people is eager to step away from the rules and ideas that govern their elders lives and find their own way of moving forward. Perhaps this multiculturism movement is this generation's way of making their mark and changing the world for the better. In discussions with my friends, those who are both white like me and of different races, I find that the majority of us would be open to a romantic relationship with a person of a skin color different than our own. However, ask our parents about what they think of this idea and I am sure you will raise more than a few eyebrows. This is because, even without realizing it or trying to be "hip", the young adults of this generation have grown up in a time period where skin color is not such a big deal. While segregation was a reality for many of our grandparents, to us it is nothing more than something we have read about in our history books, probably while in a classroom with minorities. We have grown up in a world without such a visible divide along the race line and because of that multiculturism is something we are a part of without even realizing it.
You know what; I got to agree with Sammy Richards on this topic. As we always discuss in our discussion group, the usage of political correctness is a huge hindrance in the reality to fully talk about race without holding back. Political correctness makes a huge road block in the discussion at the race table. If we want to make any progress, people should be able to get everything off of his or her chest and from their mind into a conversation. We also talk about in class how we are all hypocrites. Yes, I think I am one too. I am a hypocrite in the fact that I think political correctness is stupid but I also think it is necessary in some situations.
Political correctness, I believe, should be used in advertisements, commercials, and things to that nature. What the person trying to convey the message has to keep in mind is, “What is the goal of your campaign?” A company trying to sell…Pepsi, for example, wants to sell their product to the most people possible, regardless of race or ethnicity. So, in order to get the widest audience that they are capable of obtaining, Pepsi will use people of many races in their ads so they could lure the most people they can to buy their brand or product. And Penn State uses a similar tactic. In the University posters and pamphlets, there are people of different races hanging out. In one picture in my dorm lobby, there is a picture of five people just chilling and relaxing on the lawn. There is a white girl, black guy, asian girl and I forget the other two, but you catch my drift. In marketing and advertisements, it is essential for political correctness.
But let’s go on the flip side. I think political correctness is disastrous. We can never gain progress in racial unity if people are not speaking his or her mind. If people are trying to say the right thing all the time to avoid offending anybody, we will not know what the person is trying to say. Mean what you say and say what you mean! In our discussion groups, it should get heated a lot more. I think people use political correctness not to offend anyone, but that ain’t right! In order for people to understand one another, we must understand what everyone is thinking.
To sum it all up, political correctness is a wild issue. I like it but I don’t like it. The bottom line concerning political correctness is that it is useful in some situations and is detrimental in other places. What we all need to do is understand where and where not to be politically correct so we can function in race relations to the fullest.
I’m not really for or against this—I guess it depends on the ad, though. I mean, the two babies chilling is fine, and maybe it’s even good to show people that image. Maybe if TV tells people it’s okay to be friends with people of other races, more people will integrate. And if more people integrate, then some of the barriers between the races will decay just that much more… and THAT is a good thing.
So I think these kinds of ads are good. They show multi-racial groups hanging out and having fun or just doing what people do. It sends a message of equality. We don’t want to hide the fact that here is still discrimination and segregation everywhere against people of color, but we DO want to integrate communities. Integrating communities will eventually lead to the diminishment of these quantities of racism in the future, which is what we want.
What’s not okay is when advertisements make subtle comparisons between races. I’m not talking about making fun of the stereotypes—that’s fine if it’s in good fun. I’m talking about when one race is looked at as superior in one aspect or another in an advertisement. I know, I know, we went over the black people from West Africa running faster due to their long legs and short torsos (in general). I referring more toward mental aspects as being implied as “superior.” For example, I was reading a magazine and came across an ad for a powder to put into water to give it flavoring. The ad had some text along the lines of “You are dull. You need excitement. You are exciting. You are FUN!” it ran across the bottom of the page, and above it were two pictures. The picture on the left was above the first two sentences. It was of a white female, and the picture was in black and white. The female had a sullen expression on and she was looking at the ground. She was wearing a very conservative and plain dress. The background was plain. The picture on the right was above the second two sentences. It was in color. In it was a black female, who was wearing bright pink and orange. She was laughing and mid-jump. The background was full of life and color. To me, this advertisement was trying to say that to have fun, you have to be black or as get as close as you can be to being black, or at least, you certainly CAN’T be white! I resent that. Of course, if it was the other way around, it would be just as bad. The only way the ad could have made a correct comparison was if it had the SAME person in both photos; in one photo he or she would be bored and in the other he or she would be excited. The race wouldn’t matter then—it could be a white person or a black person or any other color (as long as it was consistent). If the photo is not consistent, it cannot avoid making a direct comparison between races, therefore asserting that one is “better” in whatever aspect was being compared. It’s kind of the same idea as when Sam showed us the “White and Nerdy” video by Weird Al. It’s hilarious, but it’s also kind of disturbing how white people are often depicted as “boring.” I don’t know… I guess I just think multiracial commercials and other types of ads are fine, and even beneficial, as long as they don’t accidentally assert that one race is superior to another.
The article about Race and Advertising in TV caught my attention. I for one am a sucker for advertisements; once I see something on TV I want it, whether it be some type food at a restaurant, an article of clothing, or some workout program that probably will not work, I will make it a priority to get it. So honestly when I am watching commercials I do not even notice the races. I am not trying to say that I am one of those people “who do not see color,” I am just trying to say that when I watch commercials the first thing I look at is the product, not who is selling it. Granted, when I see Olive Garden commercials, which I am a sucker for the most, it is all about food. Although whether it was a white woman or Asian man, I would not care because it is the product that they should be selling, not race.
While, I believe it is good that advertisers are trying to change things now to be more racially diverse. It is showing how far we have come, that now you can even put out advertisements putting many races together doing the same thing, whereas not too long ago blacks and whites were not even allowed to go to the same school or drink from the same water fountain. Although, while we made it far, we didn’t make it far enough, many places and things are still segregated, not because we have to be just because we subconsciously do it. So I see this whole race friendly commercials kind of a forced effort to not seem racist. It seems like they are trying to make it seem like every where is perfect and everyone is together. It might seem like in commercials we are making a change, but commercials does not necessarily portray real life and how it actually is.
Although, on the other side I can see it as a good thing, like there are probably other suckers for commercials and advertisements who believe anything they see on tv. They might be drawn into the fact that maybe since it seems like we are diverse on tv we should diverse in real life, or maybe if a white person sees a commercial that portrays a black person or person of another as really cool, like maybe they are selling a fast car, then the person watching the commercial might want to be friends with them and make them believe that they do not need to stick to just their white friends and they should branch out. I know that is major stereotyping but its just a general example.
So basically I feel like advertisements now featuring many races is like a forced effort to not seem racist and that in some cases it may work to make us all more culturally diverse.
The media plays a huge roll, if not the largest role in the way that people are perceived. For instance, Italian Americans are portrayed as loud, hairy, food-obsessed, fat, greasy, and big-haired people. While it is true that Italian Americans are very connected with their family, like eating and often get loud in large family settings, the ways that they are portrayed on television shows such as the Sopranos, and other various sitcoms affects the entire group negatively. While I do not deny that some of the portrayls are in fact funny, for example, Marissa Tomei in “My Cousin Vinny”, but they still add to the negative views. But what we have to do is not be so upset by the images. While it isn’t something that we should just willingly accept, without a bit of knowledge that the truth isn’t in what we see or hear, we cannot take personally the media’s portrayals. It always seems though, that when it comes to race someone always get offended. It always becomes a question about whether or not the person is racist. I think that race is our society is one of the most difficult and fragile issues there are. People do not like discussing it, facing it, or being involved in situations that are centered on it. First of all, because most of us do not have the tools to face an issue as intimidating as this and secondly if we do, many of us believe, like the article said that whatever situation we find ourselves in turns out to be a “catch 22”. People always feel like no matter what they say, or how they act someone is misinterpreting them and so they feel that they have made a mistake. The point about the Penn State brochure is interesting. On the one hand it is nice to see a mixture of very happy looking people. There is probably an Asian, a white-person, a black-person, possibly a Native American, and a Hispanic. Half of me wants to be happy that there are different groups in the picture, the other half thinks it’s an unreal depiction and a silly attempt to make people believe that that type of diversity is the face of the university (or any university). As for the sculpture, I think that getting upset over whether the children are all white is ridiculous. Would it be better if the children were all Asian, or all Black, or all girls, or boys? No because people would still have something to say about how there is no diversity. I don’t think that if I walked past the statue I would think twice about the race of the children. For one thing, its art. A second thing is that I don’t know what there would be to gain by getting upset that the statue depicts only white children. Then again here comes the catch 22, is this feeling because im white? Would someone tell me that im being racist? Maybe. I wish there was a different way to explore race relations with out all the negative feelings.
This article raised the question of perception in the Medias portrayal to include more multi cultural values. That by constantly sending out this portrayal they will desensitize us into thinking in this way only. I mean this is a very odd topic to consider and very puzzling as to what is used and what shouldn’t be used in the media. Like what Sam said if we would have a brochure of Penn State with mostly white kids on the cover it would be true, but for some reason this would be viewed in bad taste. And if we showed more people of color in it then it would almost be an insult because one there aren’t a large number of people of color here and two it would almost be like they were token or just thrown in to look good. I think that the media in using people of color to their advantage and almost whoring them off to gain political and social support. I don’t really think that people in the media really give a shit about the plight of people of color but if they exploit this idea and make it look like they care it is all right. By the way it goes back to the old conversations what is wrong with this idea of having a mostly all white school? This idea of white guilt has been so ingrained into our society that we almost don’t think about it. There are all black schools in America and nobody is crying out that it is racist or that there needs to be a white kid to add diversity to the school, but for some reason when there is a school full of white kids everyone gets offended and there needs to be a change made. Why can’t we just stop the bullshit and just be honest. Is it so hard to admit that yes Penn State is a mostly white school and there is nothing wrong with it? No instead we need to have a Mr. Black Penn State pageant, are you fucking serious! Things like that just perpetuate differences, draw lines and raise problems in the future. If we all just accepted everyone for who they are as human beings and move on there wouldn’t be any problems. But back to this idea of infiltrating multiculturalism via the media, I think that it is a good idea and of course it doesn’t matter what color skin the people in the commercials are, but aren’t we already manipulated and indoctrinated to believe in that predisposition anyway? Since birth we have been told that everyone is equal and everyone is good, but then we grow up. I just don’t like people telling me what to believe or think and not to and sense birth we have been told lies and aren’t we narrow minded for not raising the issue and question what has been considered the unquestionable?
I always have enjoyed those E-trade commercials, and when they added the second, African American baby I really though nothing of it. I also haven’t really noticed that a lot of companies are trying to be more politically correct and incorporate all races into their commercials. I’ve generally always seen movies or commercials without race behind the actors, and I think that is partly due to my upbringing but also due to the small step toward anti-racism our country is making (although a pretty small step). I guess that was the mission of those companies: to try to change our idea of races and racial differences subconsciously and without us really noticing them. Due to this I feel as though a huge step toward racial equality and a continuing downfall of racism, I still feel as though there are still miles to come until it is completely gone.
As Sam said about seeing textbooks or brochures for whatever, I completely agree. I would often see a brochure for a college or an organization and in each one it shows a picture of about five young people; each differing in either their race, culture, or disability. For example, there is almost always a white girl in a wheelchair, a clean cut looking African American man, and an Indian girl standing beside an average looking white male. Why is it that these schools feel obligated to show every kind of possible student in the cover of their brochure? The sad truth is that even though everyone would like to think that all of these groups of people differing in race, cultural background and ability level live and work in harmony, it is completely untrue. Someone in a wheelchair or someone with other disabilities simply does not have the same opportunities in the workplace. I don’t agree with the fact that that is right to say the least, but unfortunately it is the truth and I’m not sure it will ever not be the case. By advertising a university in this light, however, does help to bring in all types of people, but at the same time I wonder why they need to be so cliché about it. Everyone will hang out generally with people they feel comfortable with and with people like themselves, and that is not necessarily bad, just human nature. At the same time, if the universities used all people that were white or all black that would also be looked at strangely. One would argue that they are being racist or sexist. You basically can’t win the battle of political correctness, and that is true to most issues we have discussed in this class. It seems like no matter how hard we try we will never be right in one way or another, so there isn’t a sense in trying to please everyone.
Fake Diversity?
I know it is a common practice to try and show idealistic images when trying to promote things, but in some cases could this be considered false advertising? In the blog it mentioned that Penn State shows a very diverse scene on some of its paperwork for the admissions office. It is somewhat ironic that Penn State tries to show diversity when they have an entire student organization to show minority students around the school.
The Student Minority Advisory and Recruitment Team, also known as SMART is a group of students that give tours to recruit minority students to come to Penn State. Recently they have expanded to give tours to white students as well, however for the last few years they have solely been in charge of giving tours to prospective students of color. They even had a different tour route showing different aspects of the campus that a more diverse group of students may find interesting. To quote a member of that organization, “We don’t talk about campus safety because the people we talk don’t care about it. They come from the inner cities, State College is one of the safest places they have ever been.” If Penn State wanted to be diverse, as they show on their materials, why would they create a separate organization that separates people before they even chose to come to Penn State.
It is funny how a school can say it promotes diversity, when it is really just segregating its students right from the beginning. I would not call Penn State a diverse place, however it is more diverse than the rest of the state of Pennsylvania. As it is a state school, I think that anything more diverse than representative of the state that the school resides in is a good start. Anything more would seem to be forced diversity. I am all for diversity, do not get me wrong, but I think when it is at the expense of others it is completely inappropriate.
I am in an organization where they recently picked an executive board that promoted diversity instead of looking at the qualities of the candidates. One advisor, who happens to be African American, even went as far as to say that one person, “would be the fourth white guy on the executive board, and how would that look?” She did not say that he was unqualified, or undeserving, in fact he had more experience than anyone else competing for the position, however because of the color of his skin he was looked over. This is a form of blatant racism.
If people are getting hurt because diversity is more important than quality, there is something really wrong. Penn State does a lot to try and become more diverse, but is it alienating its students by doing so?
This reminds me of that one Scrubs episode ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pD8ZLcoJomU ) where Turk is pictured twice on the cover of his college pamphlet because he is black, and the college is trying to show diversity. The episode clip is hilarious to me! Mostly because it exaggerates the extreme lengths that the media and advertisements from companies go to these days, trying to prove that whatever they are advertising is equal, diverse, untainted, and progressive. But like Sam added, wouldn’t most of us be more upset if they didn’t include a sampling of all races? I guess I get skeptical when they do include people of different ethnicities in certain ads, because I feel like it’s often far too contradictory with the means of that company. I don’t believe them at all, that all they want to do is send a good message and promote wellness for human beings and that is their sole purpose. I think, okay, and you have people of that very ethnicity practicing demeaning work in sweatshops halfway around the world, Wal-mart. Good one. Or more importantly, say Nike for example, has different races in their ads too, and they also have people working, HUMANS, working under inhumane circumstances giving a message that everyone can do it or whatever, that dreams and hope can take you far, or you can do something if you set your mind to it. Now that just pisses me off because obviously for too many companies it’s mostly just about the money. They don’t respect human beings as a factor in the business equation. Ah, except as commodities.
So how can they include everyone on some college pamphlet, or through a company’s logo or add I want to be part of someday, and have me looking at it and finally fall in with it, and believe that they are true blue, no doubts, no second guesses? It’s like we just want people to naturally, intrinsically allow everyone to be, and to be equal. No prejudice allowed. I think that’s what a lot of us want; at least that’s what I think that’s the conclusion I’m coming to. And, at least I want people to gladly hold the door open for anyone so anyone can be part of a greater happening, have a fantastic opportunity as fairly as the next guy or girl. We want everyone to be innately good. And what’s wrong with that? High expectations can’t always be met with humans because we are not perfect. Besides, humans can’t just let everyone be and leave it there because we are always conscious and drawing conclusions. And so, companies will always analyze what types of people go on their advertisements, because that’s one of the basic things about humans interacting: thinking about how other people see things different from how they them self may see things.
In responding to the blog, Race and Advertising – We’re in a New World Now is to me a very important to society to gain more races and cultures together. Having advertisements of on television, newspaper, and brochures of different races working together will have a strong impact in society. I’m so glad to see things such as the photo of the African American and the White child sitting side by side. By me viewing that picture, I can analyze something from that photo. I can see that in reality that the African American and White races can work together side by side now without segregation. Back during the slavery time, there were a lot of Jim Crow laws that African Americans had to abide by. African Americans were invisible to the media, could not attend the same schools as White students, couldn’t use the same Water Fountains, and other prejudice laws that African Americans had to face. I believe that there should be more advertisements with different races not only African Americans and Whites, but other race ethnicities. The Civil Rights Movement was designed to get the African American race to be treated equal as the White race. If more people in the United States of America focus on the person for who they are instead of their color, then this will decrease racism even more. Now since Barack Obama is the first African American president of the United States of America, this is the start of a new change. In the article advertised msnbc “Race becomes more central to TV advertising” stated that the Barack Obama campaign sensed that the United States of America desire to reconcile its racial problems. Years back, I couldn’t have imagined that there will be an African American person running the United States of America. I believe that this is an eye opener for us to accept new changes like this, and to work together as a team. At one point African Americans couldn’t even act in movies in Hollywood and didn’t even get a good education. Back in the 1800’s and the early 1900’s that it was a privilege that African Americans could even work and eat around White people. Now of days, African Americans can eat, work, and hang out with White people. African Americans back in that time era couldn’t learn how to read, write, or speak proper English. If an African American did know how to read then they most likely would have been assassinated by White people. Hopefully, we can continue seeing different races and cultures hanging out together. Each culture, race, and ethnicity can teach one another something about their heritage. Racism is always going to exist, but advertising race will help make society become a better place.
In regards to this issue discussed in the blog, I would actually like to commemorate the media for taking a stand and giving our nation hope for diversity. I think that our ancestors have put in their blood, sweat, and sorrow-felt tears to be able to glance down from above and view a collage of acceptance literally everywhere. Even though it may not be from the heart, it’s still being reenacted every day. The demand for T.V. is more prevalent nowadays more than ever before because it keeps the nation informed and it teaches it moral lessons pinpointing how to at least respect thy neighbor. That’s all we as an American culture asked for in the first place. I believe that anyone would instantaneously become stupefied if they witnessed every living soul doing minor courteous deeds for strangers from different ethnic ranges. I think the media has forced us to dive head first into this new era and fear is the sticky glue preventing us from leaving the dock. It shouldn’t feel like a “Catch 22” if you really appreciate the fashionably current “alterations”. I mean, granted the companies are probably incorporating the many divisions of our world’s culture because of sales and reputation status but nonetheless, it is a foot in the door. If you really think about it, what African-American person would really buy something from Hollister Inc. if they didn’t have that one black surfer dude standing next to that rocking blonde on sunny California beach grounds? I know I sure wouldn’t and Hollister clothing doesn’t even fit my size! But I go there every now and then to get a whiff of the air freshener and because I feel somewhat welcomed. Companies are making that their main goal for the present day generation because they realize those color lines from 1760 are being withered away year by year. (Hint: Obama) I would say that the “Most Improved” award goes to Pantene Pro-V for making a shampoo and conditioner for women of color with relaxed hair. I can’t even keep track of how many times I would get criticized for using this product on my “black hair”. But little did my ridiculers know this new creation existed. So I really can’t get mad at them, or at the artist who created those white children statues out of brownish copper medium, or if it’s going to taking the nation forever to see that the multicultural aspects in our society need to be paramount in our homes, schools, and hearts. America, specifically, isn’t just following another message/movement. No, this time around were giving this one life so that it can flourish and grow in the future with our youth. It may be just me, but for some reason I think that Dr. King looks at these commercials and then grazes how I and thousands of other students hold the door for my fellow peer (race unidentified) without hesitation and smiles the brightest grin ever known to man.
After reading Sam’s blog post and reading the article he attached with it about race becoming more central to television advertising, I have so many mixed emotions. Please, don’t get me wrong, I think it is great that all races are becoming a part of television advertising, it is showing how far our country has come since the days of slavery, but then another part of me feels as if it is forced. Every time I see an advertisement, commercial, brochure, I always wonder, why did they put a person of color in the middle of all of those white kids? It’s going to make them stand out so much. I feel as if advertisers are ignoring what is really going on around them and not accepting how our world is still segregated. I know myself along with many others have friends of different racial groups, but when are you ever going to walk up to a crowd of students at Penn State and each one is belonging to a different race and is a different culture? I almost have to laugh when I receive and see pamphlets like that sitting out because I half wonder if kids from a sheltered high school think, ‘wow I’m going to have all these amazing colored friends when I get to Penn State.’ Although it shouldn’t stop them from having friends from different cultures, it feels more forced than natural. I feel like I am being so negative and maybe it’s reflecting from the week I have but I must admit this is how I feel, most of the time. But I don’t want to sound like a person who is not hopeful of a time when people will actually look like the front of a Penn State brochure and not have those invisible walls that keep them so far from another race that it almost seems better to sit alone than with a group of people who wouldn’t even take the time to understand you because you’re white and what do you know. But then I tried to put myself in the position of people of color. How must they feel every time they watch commercials that are overflowing with white people. How can they relate all the time? It must get so tiring and annoying to never see people from their culture interacting with one another. As I’m writing this journal, the television is on, and the past five commercials have had solely white people interacting and then I flip my choice and wish there was a black family or a family of color thrown into the mix. I guess I just need to admit that I am on the fence about this topic and I don’t know if I’ll ever have the right answer. I don’t know if it will never stick out to me like a sore thumb when I see a circle of people from different races sitting in a circle or a commercial with one black baby and one white. I guess I’ll have to get back to you on this one at a later date.
I definitely agree with Sam in saying that there is a Catch 22 when it comes to advertising and mainstream media regarding race. An effective way to catch people’s attention is during primetime television, just like the ETRADE baby commercial. Now, the ad clearly shows us that integrating is a common occurrence. The question I ask myself is whether this is forced. Certainly, it is necessary for all races to be present in television shows, movies, business, medical professions, education, etc. However, is the political correctness Sam tends to reference hindering our ability to actually integrate and be nonchalant when it comes to race relations? I think that political correctness poses this threat and can be insincere. I feel that there is pressure in today’s world to have a certain amount of minorities present. I really found Sam’s reference to Penn State brochures to be quite humorous. We all can clearly see the little diversity at this university. However, Penn State has to make sure every race is featured on the cover. Surely, it is not appropriate to have strictly white people. However, I don’t feel its representative to make this university appear to be a melting point here in Central Pennsylvania. In my opinion, we just need a snapshot of people versus a staged picture depicting such a diverse higher institution.
I think the bigger picture is that today we see these advertisements as pressure from the general public to show how far race relations have come. However, when the next generation comes along, these will be common occurrences to it, just as biracial couples are to the children mentioned in the article. The awkwardness we clearly see today will eventually pass, which is the ultimate goal of the mass media. I definitely think President Obama will help when it comes to furthering race relations. Just think, it was a huge deal when President Kennedy, a Catholic, took office. Surely Obama will change the thinking of not only this nation but possibly the views and actions of the entire world. It will be interesting to see the progress of the nation in the next 20 or 30 years especially with the predictions of whites becoming a statistical minority in the United States in the distant future. Putting a minority in the White House is the first step. However, the major progress will be when minorities and women work alongside white men to run this capitalist society. That will mean the wealthy people of the United States will include several minorities, not just a few.
Everyone these days are so concerned with being politically correct. The media has defiantly also fallen into the political correctness trend. Now almost every advertisement features people of all different races. I must admit, that when I see a commercial with people of all different races I laugh inside. I find it humorous that our nation is so concerned with “equality” that even a television commercial must feature people of all different ethnicities. I completely agree that this topic is a catch 22. Like I said earlier, I always notice commercials that feature people of different races but I also notice commercials that feature all white, blond beauties. I don’t know if there is a middle ground or an answer to this dilemma, because either an advertisement is trying to be fair to all or it is seen as favoring one group. This past summer I worked for an advertising company and one of my tasks was to help out during a casting for a commercial. After all the children were seen I sat with the producers and listened as they discussed the children. I was shocked that the producers picked the children based on their skin color. The producers all fell in love with a small bubbly African American girl; while thumbing through the boy’s resumes producers commented that they needed a light skin boy to make it even. The children were not being chosen based on how they performed during the audition but rather on very superficial terms, their skin tones.
Our nation is comprised of so many different races and our media faced the pressure to represent all different groups of people. In a sense I feel that this “equality” is not genuine; I don’t think producers are casting people of different races because they would do the best job, they are casting them because it’s the “right thing to do”.
Advertising will do whatever it takes to sell their product. If showing multicultural things on their commercials will sell products then that is what will happen. Money drives a lot of what is going on. However, the intentions of the advertisers are not really important per say, what is important is how do these images shape our perceptions of the world. If showing a black baby and a white baby on a television commercial tares down any type of racial barrier then something good had occurred. Many people will argue that advertisements do not effect them, however many, many studies show that advertising does effect us and it does shape our perceptions of the world. Scary, but when advertising is promoting something good, then it is just that good, even if they are only trying to make a profit. A new age is certainly upon us and political correctness is strange in its existence. Political correctness teaches to be accepting of others which is good but at the same time it seems to force us to bottle up any cognitive dissonance we may experience when we may have a thought that the world deemed “racist.” It makes us not ask questions and only assume that if we are politically correct then that is end all be all of the race situation. We all know that that is not the case. With these new types of media coming in, hopefully it helps those who do not have much contact with people who are different to them to shape their perceptions and help them see others as equals. For those of us who spend time with different people all the time these advertisements are just that, advertisements. We must keep asking the questions that crop up in our minds, we must not simply dismiss our confusions and follow blindly into the realm of political correctness. We need to move into an age of realism. When I say realism I mean we need to be real with out thoughts and feelings and not sugar coat them with nice looking words or gestures. Political correctness is moving us in the right direction but it pointless if we cannot have conversation and discuss our thoughts and ask questions to other. Americans love to have recipes for everything. We turn everything into recipes and if you don’t follow the recipe precisely you are deemed a deviant. Political correctness is nothing more than a shallow recipe for racial differences. We need more than that, we need understanding. At this point in time I feel as though we are in a transition period between dropping the political correctness recipe and really looking into this race issue in order to understand its insides.
As the article states, it is clear that we are currently experiencing a racial integration breakthrough in the media that can be witnessed simply by watching a few minutes of television. I think this is a huge success for race relations and can only be seen as a positive. It is important with the diversity in our country to have many different races present in tv shows, commercials, movies, and other publicly viewed aspects of the media. I have seen this new form of race relations develop even through cartoons. For a long time I have been a fan of the animal-loving Spanish speaking Dora the explorer and how the Spanish language is incorporated in the cartoon. The other day I was watching tv and saw a similar cartoon, this time of a little Asian girl who spoke in English but also said some words and sang a song in her native tongue. I think this is very important for young children to experience. It is a similar situation to the kid’s show host who was born without the lower part of one of her arms. If children see this on the tv in their homes, they are in a safe environment where they can ask their parents why these people are different, whether it be by race or physical disability, which will then better prepare them for the world outside their home. Furthermore, it allows children of different races to see aspects of themselves represented in characters shown on the television. In this week’s discussion class we talked about how most famous African Americans are athletes or rappers, so the young of this race who aspire to be famous feel they must decide if they want to be an athlete or rapper. Well now, they see famous black rappers, athletes, and the President. But still, where are the black doctors, lawyers, scientists? What about Asian children? Where are their Asian role models in the media? I think in this respect we still have a while to go for equal race representation in the media. On another note, I feel that channels like BET are roadblocks along this path to success. I realize that television is still dominated by the white race, but there are no channels called white entertainment television that distinctly set a channel apart from the rest to be devoted solely to the white race. People argue that every other channel besides BET is white entertainment television, but I disagree with this, especially now when we see more diversity than ever in the media. So, as it seems we have reached new levels of racial acceptance—and we have, there is still work to be done. Every race needs to embrace every other race and be completely comfortable with interacting and sharing their lives with each other.
It's funny that Sam used this picture to illustrate this article. After taking this class, I saw that commercial with the two babies of different races and I was like, "Oh, so I guess this white baby found a little black friend all of a sudden." This was probably due to one of the employees saying that they needed to be politically correct. Do I think this is necessarily wrong? Not really. Do I think it's right? Not really. I think it's an attempt to be "politically correct" but at the same time it is sending out a message to people who would not think twice about race. I think it is sending out a message that it is "hip" to have different colored friends. I mean, I would not think twice if there were two black babies on the TV. I really do not care. I think it's cool that people are starting to view minorities as an equal. Finally, right? I really don't think anybody should be mad about something like that or about the statue at the alumni center or wherever Sam was talking about. Okay, so all of the kids were white. I'm assuming the statue was of a family? Well, they have a choice. A white family or a black family. Since most of Penn State is white, I'm assuming that there is a high probability that the person who thought of the statue was white meaning he would most likely choose white for the family. I really would not look into it any more than that. I'm sure the guy wasn't thinking about race in that situation.
I think Penn State chooses to put 5 different people from 5 different cultures because they are trying to be diverse. It has to be hard being in central PA trying to be diverse. There is 30% of the people coming from Pittsburgh and 30% of people coming from Philadelphia. Most of these students are from the suburbs meaning the majority are white. Putting different races on the brochure is a good thing in my opinion. If we put all white people on there, somebody would have a problem with it. If they put all different races on there, nobody can have a problem with it and it is sending out a good message at the same time. Therefore, it is good that Penn State is putting that on brochures. Even if it is not perfectly diverse, we are trying to be.
Overall, I think the media has an effect on what people thing. But for once, I believe they are conveying a positive effect by putting different races in commercials and all of that good stuff. Even if it doesn't illustrate a realistic day in the lives of those people, it puts out a positive message for the people viewing it not thinking about anything other than how the commercial is spamming their brains. There is nothing wrong with what they are doing.
I agree with Sam that political correctness is definitely a Catch-22. “You’re damned if you do and you’re damned if you don’t.”
I think Penn State and other large institutions that promote “equal opportunity and zero tolerance for discrimination” need to promote the institution with multi-racial posters and TV commercials. If the advertisements for the university were all white people, potential students and their families would think Penn State as a racial school. But, if the advertisements only featured people of color, those potential students and their families would know the university was lying, especially with the location of Penn State.
As far as advertisements on television like the new ETrade commercials go, I’m a little indifferent on the matter. I think it is good that advertising agencies are making an effort to diversify its messages and include a wider range of audience members. I think it’s a great step from Aunt Jemima commercials to where we are today, but to play devils’ advocate, what took them so long? Why is it just now in 2009 that we can see one white talking baby sitting with one black talking baby? And why is it that we as Americans need to turn on the television or some other medium to get a lesson in racial acceptance? Is it now okay for whites to talk to blacks and Hispanics to talk to Asians just because our televisions are telling us that it’s okay? Shouldn’t this just come naturally to us? Why does the television get to dictate when we can accept other races and cultures especially when we realize we have common interests and values.
The other topic I’d like to comment on is the Byers’ Choice statue of the children playing in Hintz Family Alumni Center. I don’t see how this work of art is racist. Maybe Penn State could be called racist for planting it in one of the central spots on campus, but when I first saw that statue race never came to mind. I saw children happily playing together, which I thought was appropriate for its location. I never looked at that statue and thought, “Only the white race is represented.” I look at it and see beautiful art. Something an artist created, I’m sure without intentionally making it a replica of solely white people.
So why do we always have to push the issue of race? Whether it’s in our schools, advertisements, artwork, race seems to be everywhere. Why do we have to justify having a black and white baby communicating on a television commercial? Why can’t we just let it be? Are we not ready for that or do Americans need a lesson on acceptance through the media and pop culture?
I think when people make a fuss over things it ends up making them one hundred times worse than the problem really is. Obviously many people have issues with race I get it. But even with peoples issues it is not something that people consider before everything they do. So there is a statue of white kids, maybe that was the person’s vision was a statue of white kids who knows. But then people are like, oh he’s a racist artist and why didn’t he think of all the other races…. who cares get over it. Making a big deal that a black statue wasn’t included makes it more obvious that people are like catering or babying the black race and other minority races. If we’re all equal (which at this point isn’t the case yet, but people say we are) why stick up for other races why can’t it be ok to have a statue of white people why MUST they be together with all the other races. I feel this way for more than just the race issue, I can’t stand when people feel the need to pick at a problem that’s not even relevant just to complain. To make myself clear, I do think there are many issues with race but in the aspect of the statues people bring race to that and it is just a statue. But I also feel like when people put all this effort into making things fair and equal it’s the same exact situation.
On most brochures, I don’t care what they’re for, you always have the white person, the black person, the Asian, and the Indian so somehow almost every person can see one of them as themselves. Bullshit. How often do you see a group of four people and each one is completely racially different from the other. For me it makes it feel more fake like they had to go out of their way to accommodate all people. And I really doubt people are fooled by those things. Like you may get a brochure about penn state in the mail and see all the happy races…you get here the first thing you see is that it is all shit. The minorities we do have all clump together for the most part and as I minority I think I would feel tricked thinking they sent me this to interest me in the school but it doesn’t actually exist. I really feel like it would be the equivalent of penn state talking all about their great foot ball team drawing in all people that want a school with school spirit then coming here only to find out there is actually no football team. For mostly white people, we need to stop trying to overachieve in the areas of racial equality I think it kind of makes us look like morons.
I could not agree more with your conclusion on the issue: "It's quite a "catch-22"--you're damned if you do and damned if you don't." On one hand I also want to be appreciative of the trends I am seeing in ads - that we really are all getting along, but on the other hand I want to be cynical and think that it's staged to conceal the inequality and injustice that still exists between different groups.
The key to understanding a bit more about the situation is understanding the key of marketing and advertising. These corporations and advertising campaigns are in it for the money. Just as the MSNBC article noted, they are picking up on what's "in" with today's youth and what's not.
Pepsi and Coca Cola's campaigns are specifically effective in showing youth what they can connect with. Our generation is overall more exposed and in contact with ethnic minorities and other cultures. Thus when we see Latinos dancing at a club, blacks and asians shooting hoops and other scenes with subsequent racial groups, the audience is able to connect with the different groups. What's interesting about this strategy - and the article touches on this - is that it helps connect the audience to cultural groups they identify with, but also perpetuates stereotypes in society today.
When I think about this type of advertising that occurs at Penn State, I am more cynical than I am appreciative of the current trends. There's always the token black or Asian friend in the mix of white students gathering together on Old Main lawn for frisbee. It seems like these informational videos are showing an all too generous view of the supposedly ethnically diverse campus that Penn State is. But when you look at the other option of not showing diverse students, this would be an advertisement that would not be nearly as effective in drawing ethnically diverse students.
Nevertheless, marketing and advertising has come a great distance in terms of racial equality. While numbers of ethnically diverse upper-level managers in companies or other higher level positions are still very low, they are making gains in the entertainment industry. I cannot think of many other countries in which ethnic diversity and inclusion is so apparent on television.
We often as individuals place too much of an emphasis on solving problems of racism and social justice through the media, which should not be our primary means of change. While media can be helpful in facilitating this change, media has also encourage racial stereotyping and has given terribly racist views to ignorant individuals. Fighting against racism and injustice here in the United States must start on an individual level, then move its way to a more systematic level and then to the level of the media.
After reading the blog and article about race in advertising, I must admit that I laughed because I tend to always realize when race is “equalized” in advertising. The E-Trade commercial mentioned in this blog, is probably one of my all time favorites, yet their advertising campaign did not start off multi racial. My friends and I will, when watching television, always point out television commercials that tried way too hard to be multi racial. I vaguely remember some type of medical advertisement with a group of older men going fishing, four men, all friends, what races were they? Black, white, Asian and Hispanic. I don’t think I will ever be able to look at ads that were intentionally diversified and think that it was some type of normalcy in everyday life. It will always look like someone in that ad department was trying way too hard.
I think it is a good thing that television ads are becoming more interracial, but to me it I pretty apparent when it is being done. As I was reading the beginning of the article I started to think that I don’t ever seen interracial couples on television or print ads for that matter. Later in the article it then began to discuss this exact point. As the article says, I think that my generation is much more accepting of this. If I were to seen an interracial couple in a commercial, print ad or on a television show I would not think twice about it. I think that if this were to be displayed on a television show it would be portrayed as some type of issue or hardship the couple goes through, it would have a different dynamic than a couple with a couple of the same race. I think that the people that need to be broken through to are those of the older generation. If we can break these people than interracial relationship will become more accepting first in the media and then in turn, real life.
In our discussion group we openly talk about interracial relationships and most everyone says they are completely fine with it, for most of us even our parents are fine with it. Once we start talking of our grandparents generation is when the line starts to blur. The perspective that we did not talk about was although everyone thinks it is okay for everyone else, would they themselves be in an interracial relationship? I know that this is probably difficult to measure because everyone is attracted to different people, and some may not be attracted to those of a different race. I think it would be interesting to look at this view point.
After reading this article, I feel that the media has shown a different perspective of race. One good example I can remember were the Beijing Olympic commercials that showed athelets from different countries united. To some this will show great compassion, but what if others are not pleased with the result of showing trust with different ethnic groups? It seems obvious that no one is getting the satisfaction that they need. I feel that the media will never have both sides agree that what is being shown is fair. So how do we apply this to our lives? As a college student, I feel that I see diversity anywhere I go. Anytime I go to class or the cafeteria, the same groups of people will be hanging out with each other. Also anytime I see a commercial relating to our university, they are always showing students from different cultures helping each other either in fundraisers or projects. Personally, I feel that colleges such as Penn State are using this approach as a way to attract more students. I know that some people consider reasons of coming here such as the parties or sports, but if we really think about most of the students in our class are from different countries. In fact, they are applying for the same major as you so that’s something you have to consider. As I look back at media attractions, I feel that no specific ethnic group is being targeted when it comes to education. To me, this is Penn States, idea of showing equal rights hoping that they could become welcomed. I will take that into consideration and give you an example from the newscast. When it comes to specific crimes or murders, I promise you that the targets in these cases or both blacks and whites. I don’t know if it’s because both groups are the most populous in the U.S. or they are trying to persuade viewers as the superior group. Its awkward to say that but there is a possibility in which advertising tries to classify a specific group as superior. In terms of the catch-22 phrase, I feel that we are dammed if we do as well as if we don’t. Racism as of today is a topic that can never have the best solutions but to only use our judgment. No matter what, people are going to argue with each other because this society is only based on opinion and not facts. Eventually, the advertising campaign will cause more problems because they like to be the instigators. With that, we are going to receive more complaints and no one will get what they deserve. In fact, only this new world of racism is being developed. I hope that we can develop a plan to constrict certain rules in this agenda and be cautious from our actions.
I have always felt that media and advertising play a huge role in our lives. If it weren’t for certain magazine advertisements or television commercials we may not ever think of ever trying a specific product. It is advertising that allows us to gain insight into new ideas. The same goes for the idea of race and multiculturalism. To answer Sam’s question regarding the cause and effect relationship between race and media, I believe it goes both ways. The media, in a sense, is definitely letting us know that multiculturalism is “in” right now. However, I also think that we now live in a time when it is pretty much perfectly normal to socialize with races and cultures different from our own, when this used to be completely unacceptable. In this week’s blog Sam mentions that whenever he comes across a brochure or advertisement with a group of individuals from all different walks of life, he sometimes feels as though this was done on purpose. However, if he came across a picture of all white students, he’d say this might be an act of racism. It really is a catch 22 in a sense. It is almost as if however we think about certain situation or whatever we do, some people might perceive it as being racist. I personally have never questioned something like this. For instance, looking at a Penn state brochure and seeing a black student, a white student, a Hispanic student, and an Asian student with their arms around each other would not make me feel as though this was done purposely in order to show the diversity of Penn state. I probably would not be phased by this picture and see nothing “strange” about it. I guess in a sense that is a good thing. I consider myself to be a very open and accepting person. I don’t believe that I am by any means racist and feel as though everyone deserves to be treated equally, as I am sure many people would agree with me. My high school was very diverse and my classes consisted of people from all different races, cultures, and walks of life. I guess growing up in such a diverse community allowed me to be more open-minded and accepting. As I was reading through some of the other blog responses I noticed someone mentioned the idea that there has been a significant increase of minorities in the media. Truthfully, I don’t think the reason being is that producers are trying to prove that they are not racist. I feel as though these people are just right for the roles they are playing. I think we look way too deeply into race issues and hopefully sometime in the near future we will continue to become more accepting of other races and cultures, even more so than we already are.
This article was so interesting and it really touched on something I feel that I have been taking note of more and more often today. I recognize the integration of other races into ads making them “multi-racial” and targeting other races that were not targeted previously. I also notice when pictures for ads or brochures include people of different races together smiling and trying to promote a sense of unity. Especially when applying to colleges, this was prevalent. There was not one brochure that I got that did not try to depict “diversity” by showing a picture of 5 college students all of different races. So now that I have gotten the chance to read this article and see people acknowledging this in ads, it is very interesting to me. I think that making more of these ads is going with the trend. People are realizing that this country will soon no longer be predominantly “white” and have to market to a wide variety of people. In some ways I think it is a good thing because I think especially for children, it is good for them to see people who “look like them” on TV, even if it is just in silly ads. I think it does something for their self-esteem. Also I think that social chasms should not be “airbrushed” out. It is something that needs to be addressed. Although I believe that ads that include many different races can be beneficial, I also think that they are not addressing the problem of “racism”. I also believe that in a way they are putting out a “fake” message about relations between different races. The truth is that everything is not always happy and cheerful and conflict between races does exist. In class, although learning the stages that people of color and white people go through when dealing with race relations is very eye-opening, I think that it is being “killed” a little by the amount of time we have spent learning this. I find it important to learn about and recognize, but I don’t think that it needs to be focused on for this long. I found myself enjoying class much more before the first exam than I do now which disappoints me a little. I do enjoy reflecting on race and conflicts between races but I also want to dig deeper and learn more information. I feel as if this certain subject has been dragged out for a little too long. Hopefully, things will pick up for the last couple of weeks, but I feel as if the class was definitely more powerful and more eye-opening before the first exam than it is now. I hope this will change!
I think that advertising has come a great way in the United States. Many years ago, seeing multiple races together on television would be unheard of. However, with the advancements made in society today, it is acceptable to see diversity in advertisements. I do not believe that the situation depicted in the advertisement has anything to do with the company’s current situation though. It has to do with where the company wants to go and where they are striving to be in the future.
When a school like Penn State that is predominantly white shows a brochure with five people of different races on the cover, I know that this is not the way things really are. Seeing a similar brochure in high school, I thought that that is what Penn State would actually be like. However, I know that it is nothing like that today. There are many racial groups on campus, but Penn State is a reflection of the demographics of Pennsylvania—white. I have no problem with this, but if what a company or institution is advertising is not true, many people are going to be let down. At the same time, I understand that that is the direction they are going in, but there should be other forms of ‘recruitment’ to get more diversity on campus.
At the same time, advertising is rarely ever true. It never has, it is not now, and it never will be. That is just the way the industry is. Americans have not really started to mix between races. It is getting better than it has, but it is still not very evident. That is where advertising comes in. They are the intermediary that brings the races together—the idea that whites, blacks, Hispanics, and Asians should all be associating with one another. Showing races interacting with each other shows normal people in society that it is okay to associate yourself with someone of the other race. Because advertisements show an abundance of diversity, I think that this will help society grow from a diversity standpoint. People strive to be more like advertisements and the things and people they see on television, billboards, and magazines.
This is not the way everyone feels though. There will always be someone with more conservative views, someone who does not like change, or someone who is stuck in the past. Because of this, it is going to take a tremendously long time to grow towards a more equal nation. Obama is going to help the race scene immensely, but it is going to take much more than that. Until people realize the nation we live in, and how it is not like the one we used to live in, we are not going to move very far towards a more diverse nation.
Okay first and foremost I want to say that I really liked this article! I crack up all the time when I see that commercial of the talking baby…. But any way back on point. Like Sam said it’s a “Catch 22” you’re damned if you do and you’re damned if you don’t. But I must admit when I see a brochure of five different races intermingling on campus I get a little confused. I start thinking to myself who are these people kidding, when do you ever see a real life image like “this one” on campus. This must be a joke! To be honest I believe the school did this because if they weren’t to include all different races it would come across as though maybe they were prejudice or indifferent to different races of people. But then on the other hand this is highly unrealistic. This school doesn’t possess much diversity black and others races are still the minority by farrrrrrrrr! When you walk into a cafeteria for the most part people are still segregating themselves. The majority of whites sit with whites, black with blacks, Indians with Indians and etc (In most cases not all.)I mean yea we might mingle in group projects or occasionally talk to our neighbor in class but when it comes to leisure time do we see the same interaction? When you getting ready to go to a party are they the first person you think to call? Just food for thought; or if so it always seems to be that a group has the one token black chic/guy Asian chic/guy etc, wow are you diverse now? When it comes to advertisements now days the images they depict show that we live in this state of harmony and everyone is hunky-dory and getting along as if everything was normal. If an outsider who’d never been to this country were to base his/her beliefs of these advertisements, they would be in for a slap in the face. I mean I think it’s great that advertisement firms are not just using the majority in their ads anymore and are trying to account for everyone, but is this in an effort to promote diversity or is this just simply a ploy to bring in more customers they once didn’t have? In the end a business is still a business and they are there to make a profit, not be social movements. But with this quote in mind, "Advertising is aspirational," she adds. "It's who we want to be, a lifestyle we want — not always who we are,” is absolutely true. Advertisements aren’t always true depictions of reality, but maybe airbrushed ideas that look good. This catches the viewer’s eye, and these advertising firms hope that they catch on. So maybe just maybe these images could inspire people to get out of their comfort zone and make this image a reality???
In the blog “Race and Advertising”, Sam says it seems were on the “threshold of a new era of race relations and that it's bound to be positive for everyone” and I completely agree. I think with advertising it’s a way to incorporate race relations without it being in your face and obnoxious. Advertising is everywhere and by subtly making changes so that everything isn’t dominated by whites people will start to think of that as the norm…even though it should be already. It is a catch 22 when you’re falling on the line of being politically correct or being a racist. I think for the sake of race relations diversity should be featured in bruochures otherwise what are we working for? Things like this will turn into the rule not the exception to it. It is sad that things have to be consciously done to include minorities and people of color but I believe that we are evolving and things are changing for the better. I think that this could act as a cause-and-effect where people begin to mix together more readily because truly, the media plays a huge role in society and how people want to be perceived and how they want to act. Advertising is such a huge industry and it’s purpose is to make people think in certain ways about things. With a country that has no shortage of magazines or televisions or newspapers, it’s hard to ignore. Advertisers want to market to a broad group and by creating a diverse ad, they want to show people that it’s good to intermingle with different races – it’s what we should have been doing all along. So maybe the advertising would be a catch-22 but in the long run it would have a big benefit on society if it has the effect that all other advertising has. It would be appealing to see a diverse group of students on an advertisement for a university or something else along those lines. One of the things that attracted me to Penn State is that I read in a book of top universities that there was a very diverse group of students and at this point in our lives, it’s important to expose ourselves to that if we didn’t have the experience in high school. Maybe this is the audience that the advertisers want to reach – those who have never had the experience of mixing with different races and thinking it’s “normal”. I know one thing, if I never had the experience myself I wouldn’t feel nearly as comfortable as I am now talking about race relations. I think the best way to reach people without trying to hard is absolutely advertising.
I think the idea of cause and effect is an interesting approach in analyzing advertising and the media in relation with our society and cultural trends. Is it the media that shapes society and tells us what to believe, what is in style, what is socially acceptable, what is “in” and what is “out”, etc? Or is it society that picks and chooses what we as citizens like and dislike, and then the media and advertising build off that? Perhaps it could go both ways, but this is something that will keep going in circles and continue to progress as time goes on. Secondly, it is very surprising that advertising is incorporating many races in order to reach a wider audience and that trend is just beginning now or has just begun recently. As stated in the article, Race becomes more central to TV advertising, “To advertisers, though, they're simply smart business — a recognition of a new cultural mainstream that prizes diversity, a recognition that we are fast approaching a day when the predominant hue in America will no longer be white”. That just goes to show the ignorance of society and our culture in the past as advertisers have disregarded the fact that the media and advertising is predominantly white. Again, is this trend of advertising to a wider range of people an idea inspired by society? Or is this type of advertising creating more of a multicultural quality of our society? Additionally, this is important for the media to do as the article, Race becomes more central to TV advertising, explains how “If current trends continue, demographers say, nonwhites will be in the majority in America by 2042 — a prospect not lost on advertisers, says Melanie Shreffler, editor of Marketing to the Emerging Majorities, an industry newsletter.” That is a pretty surprising idea, that “nonwhites will be in the majority in America by 2042”. That completely flips around this whole idea of racial inequality and minorities in the United States today. It is very hard to imagine our country the opposite way of how it is now – not saying it is a negative or positive thing, it is just different. And naturally, society has been shaped and taught to fear what is different. It is interesting to think about how our culture would be once the white people are outnumbered. Would there be an entirely different perspective of what is on the “race and relations table”? How would it be different? Perhaps the media will have an answer for us by the year 2042.
The most disturbing thing about this article is the fact that advertising has that much of an effect on the population. Everything on television, every billboard and flyer, and even people’s t-shirts have an effect on people. It’s just psychology, there’s nothing we can do about it. That’s why there are so many censors and things are labeled socially unacceptable. Some images can provoke certain feelings and people get offended. Those people who get offended and sue are totally unnecessary and crazy. Who cares that there are only white children in an artist’s work on campus. Art is supposed to be a means to express oneself without restrictions, with a sort of freedom. If you’re art rubs someone the wrong way, stop looking at it. Why can Andy Warhol paint Mao Zedong, a communist leader responsible for many people’s deaths, and not suffer any consequences? First of all, because he was a pop icon and every piece of art of his is considered genius, no questions asked. Second of all, because there isn’t a significantly large portion of the population in the United States that was affected by Mao. What if Warhol painted Hitler? Exactly. So obviously there are some restrictions when it comes to art, and art is used for advertising. Advertising is a form of art in a way. When one creates an ad, they are trying to send a message. The most concerning thing is sending the wrong message. With racial bias floating the through the air and fogging the view of every piece of art and advertisement, it’s hard not to send the wrong message. Every picture doesn’t need to “include” everyone. The guilt that lies inside everyone who has any type of racial bias makes us feel like we need to include everyone. Eventually it will all work anyway. History tends to repeat itself. Sicilians were conquered by the Moores and eventually made a new race with darker skin. The point is, again, that everyone needs to chill out. Pretty much every blog I write has the same message: chill out. I’m at a loss of words; some of these blogs don’t require so many words to respond to because the answer is so simple. The picture of the babies is cute. I don’t care that one’s black and one’s white. I didn’t get any message of race while looking at it. When it comes to babies, I see innocence. The first word that comes to mind is baby. If the two babies were 12 years old, the first words are black and white, then grey. The answer to all of the problems of race rests in the hands of these babies and God help us if they fail.
I remember walking through the room as my family was watching 24 (yes, I was walking through – I don’t have the time of day for that show) during an episode when the guy from the Allstate commercials was president. Somehow I asked which guy was president (I think it was a dramatic scene and it may have sparked my curiosity) and I was just taken aback at first that he was black – not because I am/was racist … just because a primetime show chose a president as a black man. I had never considered the idea of a black president, and never considered the reality of having all white presidents … it just never crossed my mind. As I thought about it I came to the conclusion that it was perfectly acceptable and lo and behold a few years later Barack has bridged that gap. I think that this small television exposure led me to question and accept the idea and I’m curious what I would have thought about Obama if I had never watched that scene. (side note: I now take it that there is a woman president – is 24 predicting political futures? Or just raising questions?)
I think that this is important because it isn’t just advertising that is showing this assimilation of race. It’s a shame that it took the business aspect of realizing that they weren’t fully utilizing their advertising money to shine light on the lack of TV diversity – but at least the problem was addressed I guess? It’s funny to me because from an advertising standpoint (unless this is all on a subconscious level) I don’t think that I am influenced by the race of the person in the ad.
I think that this diversity in advertising has a very positive effect on the children growing up. The article mentions students in Texas who are perfectly ok with the interracial romantic idea, but who parents and grandparents still feel it crosses boundaries. I wonder how different it would have been for my generation if Sesame Street and Barney had all white casts... That is why I am hopeful that these ads won’t lead America into believing that suddenly all races have fair and equal treatment. They aren’t advertising that everything is ok, just that everybody is ok. I’m excited to see how it will affect the children growing up now, regardless of their race, to see such diversity in their everyday lives: on TV, in public, advertisements and even the President - who as I recall was a significant role model to me growing up (Not old Bush – I wasn’t a fan … but Clinton was just COOL). Hopefully this all leads to a point where that teacher could ask about the interracial couple being acceptable and the students wouldn’t understand the question – because some day there will truly be a response “why wouldn’t that be acceptable?”
I do not think that civil rights movement occurred because Americans views altered. I believe that, their view point’s change largely because this movement got underway and led to cultural transformations that they could no longer ignore. As a result, people were forced to accept or at least pretend to accept these new prescribed attitudes. That’s why racism still persists today; it is just more obscure, and less frank. In addition, the mass media and advertising play a major role in our perceptions about people of different cultural and racial groups. This is because people are shaped by factors and forces outside of their control and if in society there are prescribed roles and attitudes that people are suppose to abide by, and then people will in efforts to fit in with society and not to be the deviant. That is why people try to remain politically correct in effort not to offend others. Similarly, media-decision makers are telling us that multiculturalism is "hip" and we are now buying the message, just like we buy into all the other messages that the media sells to us. This particular scenario is nothing new, it has been going on for years, and will continue for many years to come.
I think it is really funny how the brochure for advertisement at Penn State has a picture of individuals from different races, making it appear like this campus is really that diverse, even though this university is truly not that diverse. I do not think it is wrong at all. In fact, I think it would be better to have students of different races on the brochure even though this school is not really diverse than to have a picture of just European Americans. At least, people of color will fill more welcomed to attend this university, and we can also have more students of color in attendance at the university. I think that I would almost be offended if a saw the brochure without any individuals of color, because I would perceive that as people of color are not considered important enough to be on the cover of a brochure and I am pretty sure other people of color will feel the same way about that as well. I think it is an important marketing tool for the school to cater to different racial and cultural backgrounds so that the University can have an even wider applicant pool to select prospective students from.
I do think that we are on the threshold of a new era of race relations and that it is bound to be positive for everyone. This is made evident with people efforts to speak politically correct, the use of affirmative action and things such as the mass media promoting and advertising multiculturalism.
First off I would like to start off by saying that coco puffs are really delicious, that’s just a little shout out to Don. I don’t know how someone correlated cereal and race, but props to them. This blog was interesting to read because I often think about race in advertising. For instance in class, Sam talked about how humorous it is to see African American people wearing shorts in the L.L. Bean catalog. I feel like advertisers sometime use pictures of people of various backgrounds to show the diversity of the clothing, and show the buyers that many people can use their product. I know that there are some brands that I don’t wear for the sole reason that I am not in the race that the typical buyer of that product are. For instance, Baby Phat and Rocawear are two brands that, in my hometown, I have been told not to wear unless you are black. However, my opinion might be different if advertisements had white people wearing their clothing.
The Penn State brochure is humorous because it shows so much diversity in one picture and it is really a school that has a majority of white students. Is it wrong that Penn State incorrectly represents the population at their school? No, they know what they are doing and it is an attempt to get more minorities. Just like we talked about in section the lion ambassadors have two separate tours that they give for white students and black students. I think that is totally absurd. Is that legal to do that? And also the Hintz family statues are all white, so is Penn State a racist school. I don’t really think it’s racist to have all of the statues white, but then again I am white.
Sam ends his blog by saying that by using race and diversity in advertising we are improving race relations. I guess that is true, but I am not exactly sure how it improves it. I think the companies are just getting more of a variety of buyers. I mean, even if Baby Phat came out with an advertisement with white people wearing their clothes I probably wouldn’t buy them because I already have the idea that many people of my background don’t wear those types of clothing.
It is amazing to think about how much television sways people’s perceptions of race. It isn’t important who usually wears Baby Phat, but in an effort to avoid embarrassment or jokes I do not buy those types of clothing. Am I a racist for doing that? Absolutely not, but now that I talk about it I feel kind of ashamed. I shouldn’t be afraid to step out of the box and be my own person and wear what I want to wear.
Personally I think this is a step in the right direction for the media, the community, and the company from a corporate citizenship standpoint. As a black, white, Latino, Asian, or Native American person you are obviously going to pay attention to those things directed to you. For example in the African- American community people tend to watch BET (Black entertainment television for those of you who don’t know) more than in the White or Asian or Latino. Now let’s think, why black entertainment television was created, probably because there was some kind of concern in the black community that they weren’t getting the correct representation, television wise. The results of the implementing BET were tremendous; the CEO of the company Robert Johnson is now a multi –billionaire reinvesting in the community that helped him achieve such fame. I think this a great example of what diversifying your audience can really do for a company, it gives you a bigger customer base, more faithful customers, and will most likely increase profits. I’m sure it wouldn’t hurt a company to add a few black and brown faces to your commercial or your infomercial; it really won’t hurt it can only help. See the thing is these days is that media has such a large influence (not that it always hasn’t) on everything we do, and the plight that African American’s have with the media is that we are portrayed in a negative manner, and the only African American’s you ever see on TV are people who rap, sing, play a sport, or have done something illegal. Now I’m not saying that BET is portraying the black community any better than the “white media”, but I think that having the option to be represented in the media is extremely important. Although minorities in the media are still misrepresented I feel like things are making a move toward a better representation. Now I want to talk a little bit about the phrase “you’re damned if you do and “you’re damned if you don’t”. Some people like to criticize advertising companies for putting that “token black guy (or token minority) in the commercial” just to prove that their company doesn’t discriminate; but in the same breath you still have those people who sit there criticize if there are no black people in the commercial. So I completely agree with the statement above, it’s completely true the media can’t really win the race war at all. I think to really win the race war Personally I think this is a step in the right direction for the media, the community, and the company from a corporate citizenship standpoint. As a black, white, Latino, Asian, or Native American person you are obviously going to pay attention to those things directed to you. For example in the African- American community people tend to watch BET (Black entertainment television for those of you who don’t know) more than in the White or Asian or Latino. Now let’s think, why black entertainment television was created, probably because there was some kind of concern in the black community that they weren’t getting the correct representation, television wise. The results of the implementing BET were tremendous; the CEO of the company Robert Johnson is now a multi –billionaire reinvesting in the community that helped him achieve such fame. I think this a great example of what diversifying your audience can really do for a company, it gives you a bigger customer base, more faithful customers, and will most likely increase profits. I’m sure it wouldn’t hurt a company to add a few black and brown faces to your commercial or your infomercial; it really won’t hurt it can only help. See the thing is these days is that media has such a large influence (not that it always hasn’t) on everything we do, and the plight that African American’s have with the media is that we are portrayed in a negative manner, and the only African American’s you ever see on TV are people who rap, sing, play a sport, or have done something illegal. Now I’m not saying that BET is portraying the black community any better than the “white media”, but I think that having the option to be represented in the media is extremely important. Although minorities in the media are still misrepresented I feel like things are making a move toward a better representation. Now I want to talk a little bit about the phrase “you’re damned if you do and “you’re damned if you don’t”. Some people like to criticize advertising companies for putting that “token black guy (or token minority) in the commercial” just to prove that their company doesn’t discriminate; but in the same breath you still have those people who sit there criticize if there are no black people in the commercial. So I completely agree with the statement above, it’s completely true the media can’t really win the race war at all. I think to really win the race war in the media it comes down to the people themselves. As long as minorities don’t produce anything negative to report then there will be nothing to media to manipulate and report to the public. in the media it comes down to the people themselves. As long as minorities don’t produce anything negative to report then there will be nothing to media to manipulate and report to the public.
I believe that the media definitely plays a substantial role in the promotion of race. Some messages or signals can be subliminal when it comes to discrimination and prejudice. The example of the commercial with the black and white babies is a perfect example. For instance, the wealthier a person is, the more likely they are able to purchase expensive fashions. Poverty-stricken persons are more than likely to purchase inexpensive fashions. There are definitely negative side effects in response to fashion. The modern fast-paced change in fashion embodies for some many of the negative aspects of capitalism: it results in waste and encourages consumers to buy things unnecessarily. There are also illnesses and self esteem issues that aspiring fashion seekers go through. Sicknesses like bulimia, anorexia, bankruptcy, suicide, and simple addiction to retail. He argues that the need to distinguish one from others primarily appears in the higher social strata. As one style comes into fashion in higher social strata it is imitated by members of the lower strata. As result of the process of imitation the style loses its exclusiveness and therefore its attraction to those who are in the higher strata. They change then to another trend in an attempt to stay distinctive from those in the lower strata. Simmel emphasizes thus that we imitate people who are, in one way or another, superior to us.He also exemplifies that fashion can be used to distinguish one group from another while both may be living in the same social conditions. Simmel suggests that some primitive peoples living under exactly similar conditions sometimes develop sharply differentiated fashions. Simmel also notes that the balance between the need for distinction and imitation can sometimes shift. He suggests that individual appearance will always stand out in societies where need for distinction is deeper. However the need for imitation guarantees that appearance never clashes with the style in fashion. One can argue that individual appearance in societies with a deeper need for imitation will show more resemblance with the style in fashion.Fashion is thus a product of the tension between a need for imitation and distinction. The need for distinction can develop between individuals in different strata belonging to the same group, but also between two groups. Balance, and therefore the individual appearance, can be shifted between, more need for imitation, and resemblance, versus more need for distinction, and outstanding fashion. As shown before, Simmel acknowledges that fashion doesn’t always originate from the elite. Sometimes fashion can be used to distinguish one group from another.In conclusion, I propose that the fashion industry stays cognizant of the message that they portray in worldwide. No one can honestly put them to blame independently but it’s recognizable that it’s majorly influential in people’s lives. I would honestly take more of the standpoint of DuBois. Simply because his view is very connected to the looking glass self theory and I honestly believe that that’s true.
I was definitely intrigued when I read Sam’s response to this particular topic. I definitely agree with him in that I am very cynical of the brochures that have every ethnicity displayed or vice versa and only one specific ethnicity displayed. I feel that only having one particular ethnicity displayed is definitely not right and should not be the way to go. But, for some reason when I see the group of all different races I get the feeling that it was done purposely just so that it could be seen as diverse and politically correct which is why I think it bothers me. I would rather see the group of diverse students on the brochure because Penn State is a diverse college (and a lot of people may disagree with me on this, but I am not saying it is the most diverse place just that it does indeed have a variety of different ethnicities.) I think that this should be portrayed to incoming students and that all of the people who do make up Penn State should be represented. So, even though I do view it as people trying to be politically correct, I feel that everyone is deserving of that.
As far as advertising goes, I find it interesting that these arguments are made. I am happy and glad to see these different advertisements made that include all different types of people. I feel like it goes back to the blog entry about the disabled woman appearing on the kid’s television show. I think that all types of people should be represented because as an American I feel that is exactly what our country is. It is a mix of many different types of people. When I think of America I think of the idea of the melting pot and that so many different people have migrated here and made this their home and that is what makes our country so special. I feel like the fact that the discrimination occurs is stupid- like we’re all different and we all came here to live a better life. Why does it differ amongst races? Why should it? I’m sad to see that it has taken this long to truly diversify our commercials and television shows, but in the end I am glad that it is at least happening. I do think that there is definitely some headway to be made as far as that goes, however. I think that stereotypes from the media, etc. need to be dropped and allow people to be who they really are and that it should not just portray a specific “type.” This kind of reminds me of how in discussion we talked about the “white black girl” and the different stereotypes that arise from this sort of thing. I remember discussing how there was a clothing magazine with a black man and he was dressed “white.” It’s all of these sorts of things that make people question the ads and commercials and whatnot and think about political correctness.
When I see an advertisement with people of almost every race, I don’t see it as being real. It just looks like they included all races, to be politically correct, and because this does not depict reality, it often makes me turn away from it and not pay attention to what it is saying. I think that most people would agree that when you cannot come to an understanding of something or relate it to your own life; you often are not too interested in the message that is being conveyed. While, I think that in the ads such as Pepsi and Etrade, it’s great that we have come to a point where we can integrate races in the media and advertisements, but it makes me question the effectiveness of the whole idea of “visual diversity.” In the article, it explains that this “visual diversity” is when commercials allow advertisers to connect with a wider audience by having different racial groups represented. But I feel that this go have an opposite effect and that people wouldn’t be able to connect with the advertisements because again, seeing racially mixed groups is not something that people can relate to as much. I think it would be more effective to reach different races by presenting them with images that they can relate to. And having advertisers aim at specific target audiences of color- I think this would be more effective. For example, in the black community if a black girl from a predominantly black community saw a commercial for a beauty product used by black, white and Asian girlfriends, she might look at it and think “I don’t have any Asian or white friends, this does not pertain to me I am not interested.” BUT- if the beauty commercial showed a group of black girlfriends, she might be more interested in the advertisement, because she could relate to those girls and can even picture herself with her friends and possibly stay more in tune with the message of the commercial. I do believe it depends on the commercial product and message, but overall I think a lot of things would be better advertised if they are allow people to truly draw connections from their own life. I definitely believe that as a society we have made great lengths in putting people of color in the mainstream media. And as far as business goes for advertisers, white people at some point will no longer be the majority and so really they need to begin placing minorities in mainstream advertising. While I think that it can be more effective placing realistic images in ads, as far as race goes, the ads that have mixed races such as Pepsi and Etrade are doing it in a subtle way that I think is effective. I think it’s the advertisements that include every single race in one picture that just turns me off. No doubt about it, people’s comfort levels with race are changing every day and therefore businesses and advertisers must be willing to change as well.
I do not feel the Civil Rights movement occurred because of the media. There were few diverse families on television. It was the effectiveness of leaders such as Dr. Martin Luther King. Their efforts to raise awareness about race, was very efficient. The enactment of Title VII of the Civil rights act was a momentous piece of legislation that changed the basis for the future. However people’s ignorance still limits women and people of color from certain aspects of employment. However I do feel that the media develops people’s opinions towards certain races. For example how many television shows represent people of color in their programs. Many White Americans gain perception of African Americans form what they see in Rap videos. Some people ignorantly associate people of color with criminal activity. It may have influenced some people’s opinions of people of color. However I feel that white people’s perception of people of color is heavily influenced by the rap culture. Stereotypes are developed towards people of color because the way certain music artists conduct themselves. For instance some rappers gesture gang symbols in their rap videos. A white person who does not normally come in contact with African Americans have the tendency to associate what they see in the media with the whole race. I feel people who think this way, are sheltered and do not thoroughly understand diversity. I am glad for shows like “The George Lopez Show” that puts to rest many stereo type about Hispanic Americans. George Lopez is a comic genius. As a result his sitcom has given many families a new perspective on Hispanic Americans.
Sam noted that one of the Penn State brochures has people from all different races in it. I am glad to see Penn State is a predominantly white campus is coming to the understanding that we are a diverse nation. However many institutions may do this to increase admissions. Businesses and educational institutions do not want to be deemed as a non diverse environment. The stature outside the Heinz Alumni office is of White children. I agree where the diversity is. As the alumni of Penn State are majority white may have something to do with this. What if the children were all black? I agree with Sam this doesn’t sit well with me either. Why couldn’t at least one child statue be of color? I am not sure what time period that statue was made. The era the statue may be related to the era it was made. People need to come to the grips that our students are now becoming diverse. Does the ideal Penn State student have to white, or was this statue just made unconscious to race. Overall, I feel that our nation has improving with race relations. But I feel that glass ceiling still exists. Invalid reporting from the media does not help.
In the article, “Race becomes more central to TV advertising” the author claims that minorities were either invisible or handed negative roles in media’s past. I am not exactly sure how far back the author is referring, but I can distinctly remember different races getting along in a lot of the programs I watched when I was growing up. I will agree that sometimes they were given “easy” character traits. On the Disney show Recess, one of the few black kids was the coolest kid on the playground. He had swagger before we all knew what swagger was and he was always picked first when playing sports (thankfully the creators made his favorite sport kickball rather than the time-tested basketball). Though in Recess’ defense, they also played into some white stereotypes; they had a handful of smart and nerdy white students. If we are looking for a revolutionary example to break black stereotypes, we have to look no further than the Nickelodeon classic, Rugrats. There is a black family on the show and as soon as they are introduced, we can tell that they are not a regular black TV family. They are cultured, have well paying jobs, and are much more reserved and educated than most of the white people on the show.
I am aware that these are cartoons, but when we are growing up, these were the characters we looked up to and emulated when playing make believe games. I never realized it until now, but these shows gave a lot of great lessons about living peacefully with other races. And since they are children’s shows, the writing was always light-hearted and fun. Problems never arose that would pit the black kids against the white kids, so we should have been trained to live the same as the characters we watched. Phenotypically, we could tell that these other characters were different from us, but the shows never provided any information that they should be treated differently.
Now that I look at my examples, I have gone down a path that I frequent when talking about race relations. I have mentioned blacks as the only minority. It always seems like getting over this boundary is most important and then relations between all other races will just follow suit. Essentially, any progress between black people and white people sets the precedent for how people who are different from each other should act. Still we rarely see Mexicans on TV. We have George Lopez and Carlos Mencia leading the pack on Mexican entertainers, but their material is all about stereotypes, which just takes them a step backwards.
The article raised the point that marketers are including other races because those races have money just waiting to be spent. This is an ulterior motive and a great business move, but it will have more positive outcomes. Although they are trying to tap into this well of cash, we see people of different races hanging out and we see that is okay.
I must say that by taking Soc 119, I have definitely started looking at racial issues a little more closely, and I have been noticing differences in many aspects of life. One example is just like the article and this section of the blog, regarding race and the media. After reading the article, I agree with what points were brought up. If you watch enough television, and pay attention to the commercials, you would understand the significant changes made by the media. In the past, I remember seeing a lot of commercials depicting only white males and females for many different types of products. Occasionally, you would see a commercial or ad with someone of another race, but it was rare. Today, however, possibly due to the change in presidency, with Obama in office, the media can feel more comfortable marketing their products using multiple ethnic backgrounds.
Media today uses a variety of ethnic people for their ads, including Asian and African American. One example was posted on the blog and was talked about in the article. The new E-Trade commercial includes two baby boys, one of them white, and the other black. I believe that the article was right by saying how we see companies creating these racially diverse commercials where the people of different races are together to promote the product. This can also be seen in a lot of the online dating ads on television. I can recall seeing a few where a white couple, a black couple, and an Asian couple have been talking about their experiences with the online dating service and about how great it is. However, I have not seen many commercials or ads using Indian or Native American or other racial types. Are those companies singling out only Asians, African Americans, and whites? Or are they just using them as examples? What about those people who are Indian, Native American, etc.?
The last thing I wanted to touch base on was the same thing that Sam spoke about in his blog, about the brochure for Penn State with the ethnically diverse group of students. Yes, it’s true that Penn State is a very diverse campus, but I also agree with Sam that the artist in this case might have just wanted to be politically correct. Visuals such as those, however, can be taken the wrong way, as Sam had also explained. What if the brochure was only depicting white students? Or how about the artist with the statue at the Alumni Center, which also depicts only white children? What motives does the artist have, besides being politically correct? Honestly, even though political correctness could only be done in order to make things seem fair and to express a truth about what was said, I think it is the right thing to do. We see how our nation is becoming a little more accepting towards other ethnicities, whether it’s just the times or because we now have an African American leader in our country. In the future, the media will probably change even more, but taking these small steps now to integrate different races could lead to a bigger leaps.
I believe an important focus of this discussion would have to be that the media has always, and will always try to appeal to the people who are going to make them the most substantial amount of money. Being that the United States is slowly becoming more and more “ethnic” is an important issue in the world of advertising because if businesses were to appeal to only white audiences, by the year 2042 they would be aiming at the minority population. Making money is truly a key factor in advertising. It seems as though these companies, although incorporating individuals of varying ethnicities into their commercials are not focusing on how this is going to affect viewers on a personal level, but rather how it is going to get them to buy their product. In addition, it was mentioned in the article that a teacher’s students always ask him, 'Isn't it better to have these ads? It's kind of a fake-it-'til-you-make-it kind of thing,'" to which he responds, "The problem with that, I tell them, is that distortions and false impressions never do anyone any good." To this, I would have to disagree. Although these ads may not particularly be the most efficient way to encourage cohesion of races in our nation, advertisements have more of an impact on viewers than any of us may realize. For instance, we go into a store and we see two boxes of cereal, one with the words Kellogg’s on the box and the other Sam’s Choice. If you were to look at the ingredients they are identical in every way, down to the red dye number 5 but most consumers still reach for the name brand cereal. We think that we are immune to the commercials we see on television, but the truth of the matter is we are more inclined to be influenced by them than we may think. For this reason, I would have to say that I think these ads are actually a good thing. While they may be creating a skewed picture of how the United States is today, creating “false assumptions that our race problems have been fixed, that all Americans are living comfortable, upper-middle-class lifestyles in racially harmonious settings.” If enough children watch and see this positive model of peaceful interactions of races on television they will be more inclined to have positive attitudes towards other races as they grow up as well. Therefore, it is apparent that the face of the media is changing, but it would seem that this is not necessarily a bad thing. So long as people keep their heads on their shoulders and realize that television is rarely a snapshot of real life, we can use the positive messages new media is sending regarding race relations and use it to encourage a more harmonious environment.
Whereas twenty years ago when the media and advertisers focused around primarily the white population when it came to including them in commercials and magazine ads, today marketing campaigns are reaching out even further to include all ethnic groups and races. This integration, however, has lacked the social impact of successfully eliminating racial inequality and stereotypes among racial and ethnic groups. These stereotypes still exist in commercials and advertisements, as well as in movies and television shows. Even though today’s generation looks to conquer racial stereotypes, the truth of the matter is that we are doing the complete opposite, by in fact expanding and further spreading these ethnic/racial generalizations and labels of people. Examples of these can be seen every day, and perhaps every time we watch the television or listen to music. The lyrics of musicians oftentimes contain stereotypes and even the style of music is representative of a particular ethnic or racial group. Television shows such as Family Guy and South Park continue to express and portray extreme, and oftentimes vulgar, examples of these stereotypes that attack particular groups of people. Therefore, the issue of racial stereotyping is continuing to thrive and become an even bigger concern for a society that is looking to put an end to it.
Now, on the other side of the issue are those that believe that the problem of racial inequality and media stereotypes is diminishing and becoming a lesser concern. People on this side of the line see the use of both black and whites in the same roles in commercials and Hollywood productions as a way to put all races on the same social and equality level. For example, in the popular commercial for e-Trade, displayed on the blog, a white baby and black baby are shown on the screen in order to promote the ease of use of the online stock trading company. But beyond the overall message that the company is trying to present in terms of its product and services to the customer, the makers of the commercial must have had some reason in using a black baby to accompany the usual white baby mascot. One could argue that this was an attempt to include another racial group to the picture and further promote the product to a new population. By including the black baby, the company was seeking to have an impact on the black population market in order to extend its products and services to this group. Furthermore, a newer version of the commercial includes five babies, the original white baby, the black baby in the previously discussed commercial, another black baby, and two other white babies. Is this a sign of change? One would like to think so; however, as long as there are movies and other forms of media, or even word of mouth, racial stereotypes are bound to exist and thrive in society and as long as that does hold true, racial/ethnic equality will continue to be a false hope.
It is exactly like Sam said in a number of our classes. The worst name you could call a white person is a racist. We all walk on egg shells around certain topics because we do not want any other race to think we are judging them in anyway. And I think this is why these advertisements are all inclusive of other races and not just one. We as a country try to prove to ourselves that we do not have racism, and that we overcame that issue a while ago by putting a white person, a black person, and an Asian person all in one commercial as friends. However this is not how it really is in our culture.
There are people who still have hostile feelings towards people of other races and this issue seems to be avoided while making everyone look like friends in the media. There have been major advancements in race relations, I feel, and I think this is evident through our election of President Obama. However much people of different races respect each other or are cordial to one another, it is another thing entirely to socially hang out with them. Even on the Penn State campus, rarely will you see a very diverse group eating lunch in the hub together or sitting at the bar with one another. In the movies, they always mix races together or show a multiracial couple. But in reality, these occurrences are few and far between. For example, I have good friends of different races, but when they are not hanging out with me or me with them, we tend to stick to our own races. I do not know why this happens, but it is generally the case in most people’s lives. This shows that as much as we might not have any hostile feelings towards members of a different race then our own, we still have a ways to go.
And from the article, it mentioned the fact that in the near future our country is not going to be made up of a majority of white people. Therefore, advertising firms have decided to broaden their scope because of people who will view their ads in the future. By being more inclusive now, it will show that not only people of a certain race are being targeted, like whites, but rather that everyone can buy their product, or whatever it is that they are selling.
I totally agree that it is a catch 22 when it comes to advertising. We criticize people for being all inclusive with a mix of races, but then we also criticize the people who only have one race in their advertisement. I do not know what needs to be done, but hopefully we will only start mixing with other races more like it is depicted in our media.
After I read the article pertaining to race and advertising and reading the blog for today, I had several mixed feelings and emotions regarding race and advertising. Writing this response as a white male and coming from the generation in which I live I see nothing wrong with advertising products using people of various racial and ethnic backgrounds. I can’t say that my parent’s generation or my grandparent’s generation would say the same things I am saying, however I am optimistic that our generations’ way of thinking and views of our multi racial society are a good sign that times and opinions on race are steadily changing. Growing up in previous generations all you would see are white people on TV and in advertising, primarily because white people ran these markets. Racial segregation was still a very prominent thing in previous generations, where white people were the overwhelming majority and consumers. So I guess it somewhat makes sense that advertises felt compelled to advertise with white people in an attempt to have white consumers make a connection with their product. Times have changed. As our society continues to grow and become more racially equal I think using multiple races to advertise products is a very smart thing to do. As kids of my generation who have grown up more accepting of race and more educated about race move into positions of power, I believe we are beginning to see the racial divide. What I mean by the racial divide is how thoughts and perceptions of race and race relations are changing for the better. Personally, I grew up in a community that had multiple races and I have always been exposed to other kids of other races for as long as I can remember. I believe that these experiences have shaped my views on race and how little it means to me personally. Although I admit to seeing race in individuals I don’t see that as a negative thing. I am willing to buy a product that is advertised using Asian, or Black, or Latino people. Race really has nothing to do with advertising success to me personally. Quite frankly I think someone that would let those little things affect them are extremely closed minded and just silly. As I reflect on my views and feelings on race I can only say that I believe race relations are improving and there is proof all around us. I believe that our society is well on its way to opening the doors to other racial groups beside white people. I applaud these companies that advertise their products using members or other races because they are subtlety changing perceptions of race by depicting members of all different races coming together and getting along in connection with their product. Personally I think this is a very effective tactic for these companies to use and I see this as a sign of the changing times and improvement in race relations.
I think the cause and effect of media on race relations is an interesting thing to think about. More and more today we see ads depicting people of all races enjoying and doing things together. There are so many commercials out there now of people of all colors bonding over different products and services. I think it is a good thing to expose this to everyone and show that people of all backgrounds can like the same things. I think young people today are more open to the concept of inter-racial relationships and even having a black President in the White House. It frustrates me that some of the older generations are so resistant to change and are used to seeing things one way. I know for sure that if I brought someone of color to my grandparent’s house and told them that he was my boyfriend, my family would have a problem with it. I wish I could do something to make them see that this isn’t such a bad thing, but that would take a lot of convincing.
Back to the idea of advertising and race relations, I think it's a good thing to expose people to different races in the media, but I also think that sometimes people are trying to be politically correct. I have seen the Penn State poster with like five people of different races sitting together in a circle. While this is a good picture, I feel like Penn State is just being politically correct. They might think that someone of a race that isn’t represented might feel left out. While this might be the case, I don't think a representative of every race should have to be present for everyone to feel welcome at Penn State. I think this is somewhat of a bad representation of Penn State because for the most part, I don't think we really are that diverse of a school.
Often times when I see a commercial, I don't really notice that different races are interacting. I think my focus is more on the product or service that they are advertising. I think it is good for some people to see who might not be used to seeing different races interacting, particularly the older generations living in the United States. It is a fact that black Americans and other races will be a large part of the population in the coming years. Everyone needs to accept this fact and just deal with it if they feel uneasy about it. I think America does have a long way to go if we want to be accepting of all races and some of these adds show how long of a road it is going to be.
The article about race and advertising in the new media was actually a really interesting article. I really had not noticed that commercials were becoming diverse in hopes of appealing to a larger audience. It does make sense that if the nonwhite population is going to be the majority by 2042 that advertisers would try to reach out to that part of the market. I think that it is awesome that we are at a point in our society in which it is not a big deal to have different races in the same commercial. However, I think it is important to remember that there are still economic and other differences that occur between the races.
“Some critics wonder if depicting America as a racial nirvana today may have an unintended downside — that of airbrushing out of the public consciousness the economic and social chasms that still separate whites, blacks and Latinos.” This is exactly explains the problems with multicultural advertising. The ads paint this unrealistic life of multiracial connections. There is not a perfect relationship between all races at this time, and for advertisements to try to depict that everything is perfect is not okay. Although, I agree that it is important to reach out to all different races through advertisements it is not fair to show a “perfect life” when one does not exist.
One of the interesting topics that the article touched upon was that it is more important to “focus on a cultural approach with versatile images and campaigns easily adapted to highly individualized tastes”. It is not so much about race anymore because as a society we are definitely becoming more diverse. I personally feel that new generations are more accepting of seeing different races on TV, so they do not really think about seeing a black baby and a white baby, like on the Etrade commercial. I just see two babies. Focusing on individual’s interests and hobbies is the better way to do in advertising in order to reach out to a broader audience. I believe that this is the next step in advertisements.
Another interesting point of the article is that there are still topics that are taboo to the public regarding race. For example, I have never seen an interracial couple sitting down to dinner in an ad for pasta dinners. So there are definitely some obstacles to overcome, and there are still the older generations who are not comfortable with interracial relationships and other things along those lines. From that part of the article it is clear that there is still room for improvement in the advertising world.
Overall, I thought the article brought up some very interesting issues to think about when it comes to advertising. Although, as a society we have come a long way in what is seen on television in regards to race, there is still room for growth. There are still boundaries yet to be crossed, and issues between races that need to be dealt with in real life. I think that is a terrific that there are more commercials with different races, however; there are still real issues that need to be addressed in order to ads to have a real meaning.
When it comes down to race and advertisement you are starting to see people of different ethnic background in different ads. Many advertisers are starting to promote diversity with their products to appeal to different audiences. I never really paid attention to how ads have become diverse until I read this article and some of the other response to it. When I was reading I thought to myself “there is a point to this article more ads are becoming more diverse.” I sat at my computer and reflected on this point. I thought about the same Penn State brochure that Dr. Richards is talking about. I saw the brochure after I became a student. When I saw this picture with the five students from different backgrounds and I thought to myself “This does not represent our student body here a University Park.” The University Park campus of Penn State is not diverse at all. I think that diversity in these ads is all about money. Usually retailers will pick a target group they would like to sell their products to, so the commercials or ads will try to appeal to the people they want to buy their products. When people see someone like them in ads they might be more tempted to buy the product that is being advertised. The more people the retailers appeal to, the more profit the producers and retailers will make, so for producers and retailers to make a good profit they try to appeal to all people. Years ago you didn’t see ads with many Black, Hispanic, or Asians but now just about every ad you see has someone with different background other then white. I also think that many of companies are coming out of the days of racism and accepting all people for who they are. The ads try not to discriminate against other people and trying to reach out to everyone. Yes, I do believe that a lot of the ads that are being advertised are unrealistic but I do believe they are promoting diversity in many areas where diversity is not a topic of discussion or places where you don’t look around and see people of different backgrounds. These ads are showing people what society should represent. These ads are also promoting diversity in a positive way. They are trying to help people accept all people. As a little girl I watched television a lot and I do remember seeing commercials on television that were predominantly white, as I have gotten older their has been a shift in the way things are advertised. Now you see more people with different cultures on TV. I think these ads will help people to accept all people no matter their ethnic background and teach us what society represents.
It makes me a bit angry to hear the double standard that Sam described in his blog. It is undoubtedly present today, but I don’t like how people respond with, as Sam said, “cynicism”. It just makes me want to pull my hair out sometimes because, again, like Sam articulated very well, “you’re damned if you do, and you’re damned if you don’t.” Why can’t people just see multiracial characters in advertisements without wondering what the ulterior motive is? Or let me put it this way: If you’re going to question the motives of these racially diverse advertisements, then why don’t you question every advertisement regardless of the race of the ad? Advertisers are just doing their job: selling a product. And they are always researching ways to tap in to the human brain, a tactic that was employed way before these multiracial ads. Advertisers are always trying to “trick” you, if that’s the way you look at these ads, but that’s just the way their businesses run. As the NBC article explains, it’s just a marketing ploy that is meant to cater to a mixed population that will mostly embody today’s minorities by 2042. Advertisers are simply being smart: they understand the growing demographics of their minority consumers. Even if they were trying to be “politically correct” what’s so bad about that? I guess you could say that my thinking right now is somewhat embedded in the reversal stage of racial identity. Sometimes issues like these just make me feel as if it’s just about impossible to make anyone happy. Here are these advertisements that are multiracial, and that’s bad? People are skeptical? Should they only include white people within advertisements? Would that be acceptable? Absolutely not. It’s just very frustrating because it really does seem that sometimes people want conflict or they grab onto things to take as offensive for their “cause”. Why would it be beneficial to the progress of race relations to be cynical of multiracial ads? Ads should have included many races in the first place, and now it’s being fixed and you’re mad? I don’t understand what more people could ask for. In some instances, it just seems pointless to try to be aware of our actions influencing race relations since it’s just going to be questioned anyway.
Going back to the blog about the disabled actress on TV, I am a firm believer of the affect that the media has on the human psyche, especially at a young age. Just as I think it’s good for kids to be exposed to disabilities at a young age; it’s also good for people to get used to multiracial ads. The adult generations of the times are not used to seeing these types of ads, and that is why there is cynicism laced throughout their interpretations. However, as a toddler grows up seeing these types of ads, he is being given the impression that this is the way the world works, races all coming together, just like in the popular media. If these multiracial ads do nothing else… even if they are motivated by “political correctness”, or if they are trying to cater to growing demographics, whatever the “real motive” behind the ads, the outcome will be a new generation of encouragement to mix interracially, and the good that comes from that outweighs any ulterior motive that people are so skeptical about.
The sudden surge in multiracial advertising is certainly painting a rosy picture of race relations, but it can also be very misleading. For people who are from areas made up predominantly of one racial group, and have not had many opportunities to interact with people of other races, it must be a little weird for them to see these ads. Their lives consist of dealing within their own racial group, and to constantly see pictures of multiracial groups frolicking together in what appears to be the “real America” must be somewhat confusing. For instance, I grew up in a primarily white area in northeastern Pennsylvania. There was never any racial tension in my neighborhood or in the schools that I went to; people of color stuck for the most part with other people of color, although at appeared to me like everyone got along pretty well. For me and my friends to see advertisements that depict equal parts of different races hanging out so naturally made us feel like we were completely out of touch with race relations outside of our town. These advertisements paint such an idyllic picture. For those of us who had no experience with race relations, it could be a little misleading. My older sister graduated from high school two years before me and went to Temple University. It was not until she and her black roommate got into an argument and she was called a “typical white bitch” that my idea of race relations was really challenged.
I don’t mean to sound so pessimistic about the increase in multiracial advertisements. In fact, my first instinct is that it’s great that the media is beginning to represent so many groups in their advertisements. After all, the United States is the most diverse country in the world, and that should be celebrated and reflected often. Like the article said, I think that President Obama’s campaign and election have had a huge effect on making multiculturalism, particularly black culture, seem “cool”. I remember seeing the giant black buses that the campaign drove into State College in, and how the Collegian had reported that Obama seemed more like a rock star than a presidential candidate. Instead of the stuffy, old white man that we are used to, here comes this young, hip, and innovative new politician who can actually relate to young people. In my experience at least, black culture has always been seen as “cool”. Maybe because there were so few black kids around me, it always seemed so unattainable. It almost seems like President Obama has brought a new air of legitimacy to people of color, as strange as that sounds. Here is a man who overcame many disadvantages and now holds the highest position in the world. Overall, I think that the increase in people of color popping up in advertisements is a good thing – although it may be an exaggeration, it portrays the United States that should exist. I hope that reality soon catches up.
While reading this blog entry, the first thing that I thought of was the pictures in my sixth grade science textbook of students doing a laboratory experiment. In every picture, there would be a white person, a black person, an Asian or Hispanic person, and a person in a wheelchair. I had never thought about it or even noticed it until someone pointed it out to me, but after reviewing it, it was so blatantly politically correct, I couldn’t believe I hadn’t noticed it before. When I see ads that show a multiracial group of people, I definitely notice it but I don’t automatically think of the motives behind the advertisement. It would be just like if I saw someone on television with green eyes, my mind would immediately register that this person had green eyes, but I would not think anything else of it. The same situation applies when I see a black person on television – my mind processes it as “Oh, that’s a black man” but I wouldn’t really think anything of it.
In my discussion group, one of the TAs had mentioned the other day about how she was watching the television show “Family Matters” the other day and it had just occurred to her that this was an all-black cast. When I was younger and watching The Cosby Show or The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, I really didn’t pay much attention to the race of the characters, and looking back on it now, I’m shocked that I didn’t really pick up on it. I just watched it like any other TV show. I think it’s important to show diversity in American media, but I still never really think about it. Right now, I can’t even remember the races of people on the most popular television commercials. However, there is a point where it goes a little overboard. I think it’s possible to display and encourage diversity without exaggerating it and making it into a bigger deal than it is. I know a lot of American stores have gotten in trouble in the past for only having ads with white people, and a lot of advertisers are probably just looking to not get sued. I can only say this from a white person’s perspective, of course, but it all kind of seems a little hokey at times. The pictures in my science book were basically saying “Hey, look! Just because you’re Cambodian doesn’t mean you can’t do science experiments just like the white kids can!” At some point, it almost seems like it’s mocking other races. But I agree with Sam about the catch-22 situation. On one hand, it seems a bit silly to have to include every race in every advertisement – why should it matter? But on the other hand, from a perspective of a person of color, I might get a little offended or feel alienated if my race wasn’t included in the media.
I think this article is great in its timing because now, more than ever, I have been seeing all types of these television commercials where white people are together with people of other races. Sam explains this perfectly in his blog; you are damned either way if you have all multiracial people on a brochure or all white people or all black people. I definitely feel like advertisers have no right answer here but they are just trying to do the “right thing” and have people of different races together because they are afraid of the alternative. The alternative is if advertisers put all white people from a school together on a billboard than they would be criticized for being racist and unjust. So rather than facing that scrutiny of being racist, the advertisers put multiracial people together so that at the worst they will just be misrepresenting the population. But hey at least they won’t be called a racist. One problem I have with advertisers putting people of all different races together is that it can be misleading to the public. Like for instance: a university puts five students of different races together on its brochure to send out to those kids applying to the university. They will look at the brochure and probably think how diverse and multicultured that university is. But in reality that school might be predominantly white, where people of a certain race do not interact with others from a different race. The advertisers in this situation would certainly be misleading people to believe that particular university has diversity when it really might not.
I think we are living in a time, though, when people are still so sensitive about race and race relations that advertisers are taking the politically correct stance and playing it safe by having multicultural ads. I have a big problem with political correctness but I feel like it needs to be present in advertising involving the national public like on a television commercial or something of that nature. Advertisers definitely don’t want to offend anyone and want to reach out to the general population so I guess it’s not a big problem that they’re being politically correct all the time.
I completely agree with the fact that including multiple ethnocentric groups in today’s advertisements and commercials only heightens the ethnic catch-22 in which we find ourselves. To be honest, I had a similar reaction to Sam’s when I thought about the presentation of multiple races in our Penn State brochures, as well as the Hintz Family memorial. I immediately get cynical and think that they could have done better to recognize different races, or I would think that we are paying to much attention to being politically correct. How can we really tell which motivates us? And which motivates those in charge of advertisements? I think it would be easy and simple to say that they are only trying to appeal ot the greatest audience that they can. This includes people of all races, ethnicities, genders, class systems, etc. Additionally, the motivations of a certain businessman in charge of advertising do not necessarily reflect that of an entire company.
That being said, what are we to do about this conflicting paradox? With the way that society is today, it is wrong to not include all ethnic groups. And if one does not do so, they stand the risk of extreme criticism. At the same time, people who avoid this (and so pursue political correctness), are accused of only doing so because they have to, not because of any intrinsic motivation. But what else is one to do? We have almost jinxed ourselves. No one can win in this battle it seems. Either you offend a certain group of people by leaving them out or you pursue including everyone only because to not do so incurs unwanted consequences.
So where do we go from here? I have no idea whatsoever. Part of me wants to say that it is infinitely better to include everyone (even if only out of political correctness). And for this simple reason: advertising greatly influences our culture and the way that we think as a nation. The more that we see these images, the more open to them I think we will be (even if subconsciously at first). I would personally rather see diversity in advertising than none at all.
I think that those who get easily offended by this issue are taking themselves and others too seriously. Honestly, what more are our media “moguls” to do? Yes, they have a lot of power over to influence our culture, but at the same time there are a lot of things which restrain them in their pursuits of ethnic fairness. I do not have any solutions to this problem - I think that is important for me to say. All I know is that this issue of ethnicity in advertising will be one that is certainly around for a while and will definitely generate many interesting, stimulating conversations.
I agree with what many people are saying about this article and the general topic on advertising in the fact that this can either cause things to become worse or make it better.
I feel that when certain advertisements include a handful of different races working together or using the product, and they are all overly excited, it seems too forced. It makes the viewers feel like they’re trying too hard to make the world perfect. It makes me sometimes feel that that ideal life only exists on television and will never come true. Then that just puts me in a bad mood for the rest of the day. If this is how a simple commercial can make me feel, imagine how many other people it is affecting. This whole idea on trying to incorporate all racial groups could actually cause things to back fire.
People may not buy their product because it reminds the viewer about their past and how things may never change for the better. It could also cause people to become angrier towards others and the advertisement itself because “us white people” are trying to make something happen that, in their opinion, is just entirely false.
However, in my opinion, I completely agree with what the first blogger posted. I feel that every form of advertising represents an ideal life with their product. They are not trying to sell what we know to be true; their purpose is to make the viewer believe that by using their product, our lives would be better. And if their product is shown with every race, then those that are part of a minority can feel as if that product can be used for them as well.
Although at first I start to question the advertisement on whether their use of race is correct or natural, I then look beyond that and start to realize that all they are trying to do is sell their product. The more people they target, the more people will buy their product, and therefore the more money they will make.
I don’t see anything wrong with the advertisements. I actually think that they are for the better. Not having everything be so segregated may actually help the races to feel more comfortable with one another and to possibly work towards overcoming racism. After all, advertisements and the media are what persuade people to change their ways, whether that be by the clothes they wear, the things they eat, the way they talk, or even the people they hang around. If advertisers can persuade the every day viewer to buy their product, what makes you think they can not persuade them to act a different way?
I feel like whenever the world has discovered something different, we resist it for a while, we fight it until it can no longer be fought against- and then we do the most human thing ever. “If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em”- if you can’t put people into sections of society by race- blend and call it fashionable. You’re right in one aspect- it’s your perfect catch 22- force people to make a decision as to what culture they are going to follow. It is human nature to insist that people belong to one thing- one community- one race. Multiculturalism makes you the odd one out. You are not completely anything. Having lived my life around the world, with all sorts of people, makes me one of those odd people out.
I have no regrets, though, because the people in my life who have accepted me are like me too. I just hope the world realizes that multiculturalism is something that benefits all of us. The media needs to learn that the face that we all have differences make us the same. Which means that our problems make us all human, make us all people, make us all the same. This is something that needs to be shown to the world.
The root cause of problems in race relations is that some people are too ignorant to understand that we need to learn to blend with each other and accept each other for who we are. People overlook the fact that, too often, they point out people’s immediate mistakes while ignoring their own past mistakes. There is no true ‘American’ that can say “This land is mine”, because inevitably, only Native American people can say that. Because they are of this land, they are the first people to settle here, and they accepted everyone who came in. They gave them a way to survive and prosper and then were wiped out by the same people they kept alive.
That’s not to say that we shouldn’t have multiculturalism. I’m saying we need to start easing ourselves into it especially in an era of revolution where new leaders are coming into place. The world is changing and mankind must accommodate to these changes by changing itself. It’s about time we all learned that we are important to each other regardless of our nationality, color, or any other defining factor that the world judges us by
Companies target specific audience. If they fell that their products are more used by people of color they will have a color of person in the advertisement they use. For example Huggie diapers are used by all color children, white children or just any kids. Son in their advertisement they use, they have a black child and a white child. Personally I don’t think they have both children in the advertisement because they want to overcome the society issue or the race issue. I think they have both kids because all races use diapers and that’s how they make their money. Money is the key. With so many diverse cultures in America these days, there are numerous of target audiences to expand to, and to make the most money, corporations must market their products to anyone and everyone they think may buy into it. Although the examples given above particularly deal with a target age group, within this society today, differences can range from anywhere between age, race, religion, sexual orientation, nationality, gender, and profession. For instance if I see a hair product that is working well for a white girl I am not going to go get it simply because my hair texture and her hair texture is different. What works for a white girl is not going to work on me. For others it might be different. Companies know that and that’s why they have these two kids in the advertisement because the product can be used by both kind of people. I think money is the main cause of this but I think society is changing too. Our standers are changing by a little bit. I think people of different races are interacting with each other more and not concentrating on race so much now, but I do feel the media plays it up a little bit. Although there are people that do not care what color your skin is, there are people out there that do. I think it is incredible that the media is now advertising this new era of racial integration because it is present today and hopefully people that are still closed minded and think race is a problem will see these commercials and change their views. The reason why I think “Of course they include one person from each race in that commercial” is because I feel that the creators are just trying to be politically correct. I do not know why it bothers me somewhat, but it does. I wish it could just feel natural to see that commercial, but whenever I do, I think the same thing. And the funny thing is, is that when I see it in everyday life, which I do, you see blacks interacting with whites and Latinos and every other race, and vice versa, but when I see it on television, I feel like it is forced.
Remember when rock and roll was the devil’s music? Well I don’t really but I remember learning how people in the 40’s and 50’s (especially the parents of the teens listening to the growing genre) were convinced that it was sinful to listen too. Rock and roll was seen as controversial and had huge objection especially in the Christian community. How does this relate to the blog on race and advertising; just as our majority white country have once objected to integration to minorities so it parallels the acceptance of rock and roll. Put more clearly, when I read the blog/ article I thought of how the increasing minority culture, especially media, is increasingly influencing our culture as a country. Sitting at my computer listening to a rap CD I bought from and upcoming music artist, I know that the generation before us has no interest in this genre. What was once with rock and roll is now with the rap and hip-hop in the rejection by our parents. As we continually submerse ourselves in music and TV of a growing minority’s culture it changes our way we see these different races. Media has a colossal influence on the way our country views people of a different race. This is the new “cool” way to act and relate to. And whether I see it changing for other people, I knew it was that way with me from early in life. As people continue to accept this new culture and attempt to imitate it’s appeal, we’ll also accept minorities as equals. While some of the subjects of this music for example, can be controversial to the eye of someone of an older generation, it isn’t the curse words or drug references that we accept but the culture that it comes from. Through this avenue of media we as the white majority can familiarize ourselves with different races and consequently treat them as equals. I only see growth from here and whoever happen to be behind this major media decisions are modern day civil rights activists. Kudos to them. Also, I think that while rap/ hip-hop music has always influence the youth which grew up with it, TV commercials with interracial concepts are influencing older generations. Even the most conservative central-Pennsylvanian cant object to an interracial group of men drinking some ice-cold beer watching a football game. As we continue to see these commercials or here this music it may subconsciously expand our comfort zones towards different races, therefore taking baby steps toward a truly united country in both land and cultural/ racial acceptance. So with my first philosophical blog entry ever, I like to think this all makes perfect sense. I’m not going to go back and read to make sure but damn this is a good response.
I believe that multiculturalism in the media is great. I think that the media is trying to reach all audiences and that for the most part they hit every category of people. But does the media put too much thought into trying to reach every culture. In the Penn State brochure, Sam brought up the question about it being absolutely necessary to have every ethnicity present in the cover photo. My question is why isn’t there a Native American on the front with everyone else? In a way we are still being stereotypical. We have the “core” races in the media but do some still get left out? Do you ever think that it might all be a little much I personally do not feel like if I saw a commercial without a white person in it I would be offended? I really don’t think about it that much. I don’t feel like there is a need to have every race in a car commercial. I get the point we all can drive you don’t need to have every ethnicity present to make a selling point. At the same time I do not know if I am being ignorant to peoples feeling in saying that I don’t notice the color of people’s skin in commercials. I think the media has all kinds of selling schemes and using race is one of them. I believe that multiculturalism in media is something that has come about in the past few years and it rocks. It helps sell to every audience. But maybe if we all stop looking for race in commercials and in other media we would be breaking down a race barrier. Is it bad that I sit at home and don’t notice that the girl in the cute dress in a Victoria Secret catalogue is Hispanic? Like Sam said this topic could go both ways. If I saw a Penn State brochure and it had all Asians on it I might wonder if there were any other races at the school. This is a hard topic to talk about because the more I think about it the more confused in my thoughts I get. I think multicultural media is needed and at the same time I do not think that there should be such a huge emphases on all of our differences. I truthfully have to say that I have never really put thought into this topic and now that I am I really have no idea where I stand. It is cool that we are becoming more culturally diverse and I hope that we keep going in that direction. But am I the only one who does not really notice the color of the guy on my cereal box?
I think it is encouraging to see advertizing start to integrate different cultures and races into their commercials and ads. The media has a huge affect on society, so little things such as putting black and white people together in a commercial, can have a positive impact on people. It could be subliminal and we might not even think about the fact that there are two different races in the commercial, but that is also a good thing, when it becomes so common that we no longer take notice to it. The media should be careful however and not make it too obvious, such as the brochure for Penn State with the five different races in it. This is obviously a way to try to reach out to different cultures and say “Look at us, we are accepting of everyone, so come here and give us your money”. It all really comes down to money. The companies and the universities are trying to broaden their horizons of people by acting like they are more accepting of people; however all it really comes down to is expanding the market to get more people to buy into the product. This is not such a bad thing because as a company, you are always looking to get more customers, and it can have a positive impact, by creating ads that depict equal treatment.
I think it is a good thing that the ads are getting more diverse and I think it is an even better reflection of out society. They are continuing to make the ads more diverse because people do not have a problem with them. If the companies were loosing customers because of the diverse ads, they would pull them, however people do not see it as a big deal and continue to buy the products. I think this shows how far we have come as a people because I am sure there was a time when some people would have refused to buy a pepsi if they saw a black man drinking it in a commercial. I think the media has a done a good job to help us move forward as a society by promoting diversity in the commercials. In the future, kids probably will not even realize the fact that there is diversity in commercials because it will be so common that they will not have anything else to compare it to. It will be completely normal and most people will not even think about it. That is another aspect of the ever continuing movement toward social equality and accepting. It keeps getting better and there is always need for improvements, but the more we move forward together the better, and that is what we have been doing for many years.
I believe the change we are seeing in the representation of various minorities in advertising is more due to marketing techniques rather than an effort by big companies to be inclusive. This change in representation is an attempt to expand the target audience of a product, not one to promote equality, but regardless of intent I also believe the change is beneficial to race relations.
At times the advertisements follow racial stereotypes, such as a Skittles commercial I recently saw which involved a white doctor, a white patient, and a Hispanic patient named Jose. The implication is that all Hispanics share the same or extremely similar names. This could be offensive to some, but the marketing team that created the ad obviously thought that the benefits of reaching a more broad audience outweighed the possibly offensive nature of the ad.
This is common in advertising, but the stereotypes, when they existed, are meant to provide minorities with a connection to the ad, and as a result, the product. The multiracial individuals in the ads will often seem to agree on their approval of the product at the very least. This strategy seems to be quite effect, but is mostly a result of an increase in minority population and relevance in the consumer class.
The inclusiveness of these ads is not politically driven, but economically. The effects on race relations however have been beneficial. When a content white person, such as myself, sees an ad in which a black man and a white man (or babies) are best friends, a thought bubble practically appears above my head expressing my surprise, because I have never had a close friendship with a black person. This is not a form of racism, just an effect of lack of exposure. For example, I would likely find it as difficult to relate to “redneck” white people as I would to relate to African Americans. I come from a New England suburb, and most my neighbors are upper middle class and white, so I find it difficult to connect with people from inner city districts or rural central Pennsylvania communities.
But because advertisements show people of obviously different races and backgrounds having things in common, it allows me to open up more to the idea. The important thing is that everyone is being exposed to race. That is the first step in realizing an equal world, and television is providing that exposure more and more. There are more steps to be taken, but these ads together with modern civil rights movements and a general population increase in minorities will hopefully bring to a place where race does not provoke naïve judgments, and we can work together to tackle larger problems.
It seems so unfair that advertisers just cannot win. They are either too politically correct, or not politically correct enough. I feel that advertisers will never stop getting grief about their work until the world as a whole decides what is and what is not Okay. The chance of that happening anytime soon is very unlikely. People in this world are incredibly indecisive when it comes to race and how to deal with it. In all honesty I cannot sit here and say that it is stupid to argue about racial diversity. I have personally made comments on pictures in college brochures that only portray all white students. They are never positive or understanding, so I can empathize with those on the side cheering for political correctness. Yet, on the other side I agree with Sam when he says that political correctness is annoying. Sometimes I feel like political correctness is like when we are young and we say whatever we think our parents want to hear. We are all adults and I feel that we should be able to express ourselves truthfully and for the entire world to hear. Unfortunately, if we expressed ourselves in such a way we would be in danger of being stuck with hurtful labels: close-minded, ignorant, or the ever popular racist. Many times people who are called racist are not actually racist. Misunderstanding and misinterpretations are such a big part of the struggle that we need to overcome. Advertisers are constantly fighting against this struggle since they are constantly getting thrown under the bus by various groups of people due to their work. Yes, of course there are times that these advertisers portray something in their advertisements that are blatantly rude and disrespectful. No, this is not always the case. People need to stop over generalizing about EVERYTHING. STOP. It is not that serious. Race is constantly being made into this overly mellow-dramatic topic. If people stopped looking into the tiniest details for clues about race things would not be so difficult. I personally just say what I mean and mean what I say. I know what is appropriate and what is not. There are those that say they do not know what is appropriate to bring up in the company of people of different races. As was said in class, just ask them what is and what is not okay. If they do not give you a straight up answer just respectfully take their answer and move on. Do not stop trying to learn, but do not obsess about it either. Ever heard of a happy medium? I am sure you have. I guess all I can say is that we need to give some of these advertisers a break. They are just trying to put some food on the table for themselves and their families. I understand it is upsetting when there is a questionable advertisement (Obama/monkey shooting). But can you honestly say you never made a race joke before in your entire life? Some of these advertisements just take it way past the line of appropriateness. Some are just made in good, clean fun. Can we really persecute ALL of the advertisers for something many of us are guilty of?
Green definitely speaks louder then color. As an ad major I understand that one of the components to advertising is to determine a target, like a bi-racial niche in the market, and then discover a problem. If it is an existing product or service, the job of the advertiser is to create a solution for the product. If it is a new product being launched you again would find a target but then try to find a reason why the target is need of this product. As an advertiser you should fill a void in the consumer’s life and differentiate the product or service from similar ones in the market. The ad needs to be personal and relatable so people will want to make a purchase. An ad does not need to be realistic; it should simply create a lifestyle one aims towards in their life. So, while advertisers are simply putting on airs pretending they care about intertwining all races in the ads, when in actuality we all know it is for the benefits they will receive from the increase in minorities that is occurring in our lives today. While their motives are hypocritical, since most advertisers preach interracial interaction in ads and then most companies who endorse the ads do not hire minorities by large and cater to the white race employee; we must remember It cannot hurt for advertisers to preach something they may not believe in, if it is a concept that others who view the ad do support. America is a country that defiantly does not speak for itself, they are constantly following trends in society, they are constantly hanging on every word that advertisers are promoting and while I do not know if that is a good thing for the American people it is a great thing for the marketing industry. And more relevant to this article it s great for all viewers of the interracial ads because 9 out of10 times viewers won’t protest the idea reinforced in the ads and pretty soon all races will become a comfortable expectable part of life. We are taking baby steps here to become a more liberal excepting society, and it is a good thing we are because, if society was not being bombarded with interracial concepts then come 2042 when the white races decreases it won’t be such a shock to all the close-minded individuals that there are, because by then they will have become excepting of interracial lifestyles. Hopefully these ads will bring a better tomorrow for society, and while many companies were once afraid to feature minorities in advertisements in fear their target might be raciest and thus boycott their product, lowering sales. Today this is a fear that advertisers do not have to be concerned about since, Obama is in the white house. As far as the advertising days of aunt Jemima syrup , well we have defiantly come a long way since then and there is only more improvement that one can foresee in the future of advertising and entertainment. Also, I find it interesting that the article mentions that many blacks are assigned roles in entertainment that suggest a negative image, and while this may be true, this concept is also improving. However, in light of the entertainment industry, I do not think we should forget the professional sporting industry. Today the majority of professional sports like, football, basketball, and baseball mostly cater to minority men. However, this has not always been the case, at one point in history all professional athletes were white and it was illegal and frowned on for a minority to be in the industry. We must remember how far we have gone from the days of Jackie Robinson and understand there to will be a day like today in the sporting industry, that the public will not think twice if a interracial concepts are enforced in the media. We just have to remember just like it took time for America to warm up to the idea of athletes like Jackie in the sporting industry it will take time for entertainment and advertisements to become more accepting of the idea. While, this is by no way fair, this is reality.
This blog is an interesting one, especially because I am an advertising major. I keep thinking to myself, for a student that is an advertising major like myself, when I hopefully pursue the career in the industry that I hope to work in, will I have to think about race and political correctness a lot? I must say that before this class I really did not think a lot about the different races of the people that I encounter on a daily bases. Now, I find myself always pointing it out and consciously thinking about it in my head when I am walking to class or walk past a person of another race. Before, it really did not faze me when I passed someone of a different race. I still cannot decide if that is a good or bad thing, but it is just the way it is. I find myself paying the same sort of attention to certain advertisements. For example, when I see a fast food commercial, and the person behind the counter is white and the customers are black, I think to myself are they doing this just to be politically correct? But then I also think to myself, why is it that they are just being “politically correct” by making the white person the employee, because I really have never thought or believed that all fast food workers are black, because that is just ridiculous, and I hate how it makes me feel racist. So really I am just completely confused and it bothers me. If it were a black person playing the part in the commercial of the fast food employee than it would be considered wrong, or politically incorrect. The whole thing is just frustrating, and definitely as Sam Richards said a catch 22. I also feel the same way about the Penn State brochure that Sam is talking about in the blog. After being accepted to Penn State I really wanted to research the school before I made a final decision to come here. I remember having a specific conversation with my Dad about how on every website and brochure that I saw or read about Penn State the pictures only showed people, and not the campus. I wanted to know more about what the campus looked like, I specifically remember telling my Dad that the website and brochure did not help me at all because I know they were just putting pictures that made the student body seem diverse, which is something that every college seems to try to do. The websites or brochures did not help me make my decision at all, and in fact were very unhelpful, but this seemed to be a similar trend amongst a lot of schools. I hated how I couldn’t get a feel for any schools unless I visited.
Perhaps it’s just my background as an advertising major, or, maybe it’s just the way the world is, but I fully feel the mass media controls the majority of society. I mean, you can’t possibly make the case that videogames have that effect on kids to make them violent and then turn around and say that the media doesn’t have a substantial effect on society, albeit different. Mass media, which is an umbrella for commercials, TV shows, news broadcasts, magazine articles, radio, all of it, has a profound effect on the agendas and the tendencies of the public to the utmost degree. This being said, what came first then, the civil rights movement or the media’s image? After carefully thinking of this question (other than the obvious answer to it) I would state the case that the civil rights movements obviously came first and I’d imagine that the media tried to fight it back then. But we were not a culture so technologically “plugged in” then so their influence was minor especially in comparison to today. Now though the media buys into it to save face because race relations became the cool thing to do. Sam made a great point. It is blatantly obvious that a publication was going for political correctness when you see one Arab, one Asian, one White, and one Black person all on a cover. At the same time though, you would just shake your head in disbelief if everyone on there was white. Interestingly enough though, (this pertains to white people. I can’t speak for other races) white people would not be disappointed in the publication really at all. More so they would be in disbelief that this publication would be so out of touch that they would overlook something as obvious and not include the other races in the depiction. So I would say that white people would be disappointed in the publication not because of race relational issues but more so of missing and overlooking today’s social norms.
In regards to political correctness, it really is something tough. I always chuckle and think back to that classic line about a rose smelling just as sweet by any other name. This couldn’t be any farther from the truth in the era of political correctness. You say the wrong term and suddenly said rose becomes vastly offensive. To some degrees I feel as though it gets taken to a certain level or ridiculousness. For example, I am a huge opponent of the word chairperson (I know Thon does this and it aggravates me too). There is nothing wrong with the words chairMAN and chairWOMAN. I cannot believe that it is such a big deal to differentiate someone by gender in their title when their name does it anyway
Advertisements are turning in to multicultural because the buyers are turning in to the multicultural too. And if the advertisement producers are hiring I’m sure lots of different background people go there so that sooner or later they are going to cast someone with different back ground. I understand that there are a lot of different backgrounds on one person. The whole white race has a multi race too. They are either part German or Irish or European but, other race see that as just white. And next century I’m sure there are going to be lots of mixed races people is going to come and no one will be able to say what their back ground is in two mins. Like what we learned in class every American should be one sixteenth black but since they don’t look like one, no one will pointed it out, and It is actually hard to tell which background they are from because unless their parents told them so, they won’t have any clue or even if they get mixed up or don’t know one of their parent’s background that makes them not noticeable. So, white is majority race in United State, but, now lots of different race are in United State too. And they do need to live so they will spend money. Lots of different race come and the drop a lot of money. Asians are known to buy advance technology. So, they would be a big spender and if they see the advertisement about they product they are about to buy with only white race in it, it would make them feel like excluded. It would be very nice if they are buying something that includes them and it will make them feel very important. Now days, it’s really visible to see lots of different race people on tv. Still White is a dominance but, there are lots of multi race than before which is pretty important. I’m sure if day passes and being multi races doesn’t matter anymore and people don’t know their whole background then, Penn State University’s brochures will have lots of students that look different so that everyone will feel included too. I always see one asian girl or boy in a commercial. Doesn’t mean that I didn’t feel included before but, the people who might looking to enroll would actually see that there are lots of different race in Penn State and they might see that as a good thing. I know that Penn State think it’s really important to be multicultural. I’m sure the advertisement should look friendly and should make people feel like they are welcome and open. So, I guess that’s one of the reason why advertisement of Penn State has everyone with different background on the commercial.
I have always thought this situation was a good example of Catch-22. On one hand, if you show a brochure or cover of something with all white people, it’s considered racist or wrong. But if a brochure is shown that is full of minorities, it is still wrong to some people’s eyes. There is always going to be something politically wrong with that goes on these days. There is no right answer in my mind. People will always act differently whether they see a brochure full of white people or full of minorities.
But I think it is pretty much wrong to simply put minorities on your magazine or brochure covers. Doing this just to look less racist shouldn’t be an acceptable reason to have minorities on your cover. The whole thing is just stupid to me basically. I never even notice things like this. Adding a black baby to the e-trade commercials didn’t have any affect on me. I did not even notice the color of his skin, all I saw was just a newer, different version of an e-trade commercial.
I do think that if I looked at a Penn State brochure and saw a huge mix of races on the front however, I would find a problem with this. Basically, as we all have witnesses up here, this is a lie to try and say Penn State is a diverse campus. I remember seeing a graph of the diversity of Penn State University Park students, and it was something like 87% white. That is far from being a diverse campus. African American was the next highest percentage, at 6 or 7% I think. Do people think is it ok to try and hide this fact on a Penn State brochure by putting a group of diverse students on the front of it? This is pretty much like lying to potential Penn State students in my mind.
I think the media is partly responsible for all of this. Forcing all this diversity onto people who are not used to it is the wrong way to approach this. Then again, I do not know of any other way to approach it. In my opinion, 20 years from, there won’t even be any debates about this kind of thing. I think the next generation will be growing up with all this multiculturalism and diversity, so they won’t notice a difference on things like this like we do.
Overall, like I said before, there is no short term fix for this problem. But I do think the problem will fix itself over time. I guess we will just have to wait and see whether this is the case or not.
I definitely agree that I am slightly skeptical when I see a Penn State ad and there is one white, black, Hispanic, Asian, and Indian person all in the same picture. It’s like the people who advertise want to create this image of Penn State as being super diverse even though we know that Penn State isn’t very diverse at all. The number of whites compared to minorities is definitely not equal. Not to mention that, even with the diversity we do have, things stay relatively separate. Trying walking into the HUB. Once I made the mistake of thinking I could sit anywhere, but when I sat down the rest of the table of Asians literally made fun of me the whole time until I got up an left. Most of the minority groups stick together. My roommate is black and she always tells me that the students who are here from Africa don’t accept her because she is not a “true” African, even though she is black. And I’m white. I go out with my black roommate every weekend, and we ALWAYS laugh about the looks we get from people who clearly have a hard time dealing with the fact that YES, a white and a black person can really be best friends. True integration between different races is not a reality in the real world, so why would we be able to take an ad seriously when it tries to show this as a reality. Yet, at the same time, I don’t really blame the media for doing what they do. I feel like the media carries some guilt because they played so much into the nation’s racism over the past few years by having predominantly white cast members in nearly every television show, movie, or ad. I’m sure it’s an attempt to kind of undo what has already been done. It’s like affirmative action. The media has been unfair, and so they are doing all they can to make things right again. What we have to do is find a balance between creating diverse ads and being hokey. One good way to do this is with humor. This whole thing reminds me of a really funny scene from “Not Another Teen Movie.” Obviously the movie is a spoof off of all the ridiculous teen movies we grew up watching as youngsters. The one guy in the movie is black, and he is aware of his “token black guy” status. Another black guy tries to come into the party these people are at, and the “token black guy” yells at him because he’s the token black guy, and there can’t be more than one. It’s funny, and it’s a good way to kind of expose the media and encourage people to keep that diversity we’re striving for without, as I said, sounding hokey.
The first thing that popped into my head when I saw the picture of the two babies from the E-Trade commercial on the blog was an experience I had on Superbowl Sunday, which is when I first saw the commercial. I was at my manager’s apartment to watch the game with a bunch of co-workers when this same commercial came on. The first thing out of my manager’s mouth was “Wow, like it is not obvious that they purposefully have a black and white baby together.” At the time I didn’t think anything of it, but having seen this commercial and similar ones since then I can see why it might come across as forced. But there is not much to be done that would alleviate this problem. If they had portrayed two babies, one that is white and the other a minority, then it seems forced. If they portray two white babies, then it is exclusive, and therefore “racist.” There is no way for them to win. And until people can find innocent things such as this commercial for what they are (an E-trade commercial in this case, or an advertisement for Penn State in Sam’s case) and not a racial statement, then racism (or the deliberate lack thereof) will always be a problem.
If what the article says is true, then white people will become the minority in the US by the year 2042. I think that is trying to say that most people will be of mixed ethnic backgrounds, rather than just one race. And while it is advertiser’s job to appeal to the biggest audience, in order to draw in consumers, it feels wrong that they would intentionally try and use minority figures in their commercials just because of this. Use the people in your commercials because they deserve it, or because they work well with the scene, not just because they are a certain race or skin color. I think once advertisers begin doing this, then it will be a step in the right direction. I know that seems like an easy solution, and sort of _____, but it also seems like the best idea to me. If the US population does indeed move from the majority white toward a more diverse one, then this change will also occur in “the business.” And in a much more natural way then they seem to be doing now. Characters such as the “token black guy” won’t be as prevalent in the future; if they are, it will be intentional and probably received less favorably. If television and movies follow US culture as much in the future as it does now, these “deliberately inclusive” commercial will become less obvious, in a natural way.
The beginning of the article “Race becomes more central to TV Advertising” really seemed to stick with me. It states “Ever see an inner-city schoolyard filled with white, Asian and black teens shooting hoops? Or middle-aged white and Latino men swigging beer and watching the Super Bowl on their black neighbor's couch? Or Asians and Latinos dancing the night away in a hip-hop club? All it takes is a television.” I think it mostly stuck with me because I’ve really never experienced the scenarios they are talking about. I mean yea I’ve seen Black, Whites, Latinos, Asians, etc. all together at a bar, but its really only because they all want to be at that bar, not necessarily with each other. I believe strongly that the “media decision-makers” are trying to relay the message that multiculturalism is hip, and I agree with Danny Allen (managing director at SENSIS) when he stated "advertisers are also tapping into that same yearning, particularly among younger Americans, to put racial divisions behind us and move forward in a more unified way." I feel that these advertising techniques can be a positive way for Americans to move forward, and become less frightened to experience different cultures and interact with different races. Showing these products and different races uniting to use them provides a sense of unity and commonality among American citizens. Perhaps the more closed-minded end of society will become more open to different experiences and realize, “hey, that’s interesting that we all have so much in common.” I also do not really see the problem with the brochure Sam mentioned in this blog (the one with the five different people from the five different cultural groups). I think it’s a great thing that Penn State is promoting diversity and inclusion and I think the school would be looked down upon for not doing so.
I always chuckle to myself when I see something like an ad or whatever in which there is someone of every race, or at least almost every race. It just seems like they’re trying so hard to be like, “Hey we are SO diverse! Look, we got one of each!” It’s like they’re going out of their way to find these people of different races. But it is such a Catch 22, because if they have all white kids, you’re thinking, “Damn, where all the black kids at?” I have a black friend who doesn’t watch the TV show Friends because there are no black people in it at all. Ever. Except one black girl Ross dates for a few episodes. But then if they had a main character that was black, he’d be the “token black guy,” who is just thrown in there to be like feel like when these ad people try to show diversity they always make sure they have at least a black person and a white person. Sometimes an Asian. I feel like Latinos are pretty rare in advertisements and such. And Native Americans are simple absent. I mean, I think it’s great that advertisers are trying to push diversity and trying to get us to think we live in a diverse world. Maybe if we keep seeing these ads we’ll start thinking diversity does truly exist and when we walk through the hub we won’t see a black table, an Asian table, etc. But it just seems that they are trying so hard. It’s like that kid who wants so badly to be cool so he goes over the top and then he’s just not cool. The ads feel so artificial. No group of friends consists of every race. Although, I will admit my lunch table in high school used to look like one of these ads. We had a white guy, an Asian girl, a black guy, and then me, who is half Asian and half white, but I guess I kinda look Hispanic, according to some people. But other than that, this almost never happens in real life. I guess these advertisers are put between a rock and a hard place. On one hand, if they show diversity, it comes off as phony and (to me) comical. But if they only show white people it makes it seem like they’re discriminating and being exclusive. I guess they have to make a choice between the two, and of these choices, the first is the better one, in my opinion. Because yeah, it looks like they’re trying too hard, but at least they are trying. The more I think about it, the more I think these diverse ads are a good thing. It shows that we are thinking about diversity and trying to be accepting of all races.
This issue of race in advertising is one that has been on my mind for some time. As I was reading this blog, I was thinking of the exact example Sam give about the Penn State advertisement with the students of different backgrounds. I often times find myself noticing when different races are used in advertisements and wonder is that was done intentionally, if the person chose the models or actors made a conscious decision to gather a white, black, and Asian person, or if it just happened to turn out that way. In a culture where we are making much more of an effort to be politically correct, I would bet money that often times the actors or models are chosen with a distinct plan in mind. And I think I appreciate this. Just as Sam said, I would be very perturbed if I were to see a college flyer with all white people on it or all Asian people. Although I guess those are the things we just need to relax about and if nothing else, find humor from the situation and the fact that people are trying so hard to be politically correct that they have commercials in which whites, blacks, Asians, Hispanics, and Indians all sitting at a small thanksgiving dinner table together which although I am sure occurs is not something that many of us experience.
As mentioned in class today, by 2050 white people are expected to be in the minority (in our education classes we are told that by 2030 white students will be the minority) and the idea that if advertising is not aimed to people of all colors, then what are these people thinking and who are they trying to target? So I suppose we are on the right track.
I found the article of Judaism in Hollywood very interesting. I would never have thought that Jews dominate Hollywood and had never heard an issue made of it. I do not feel as though their morals and ideas are opposed upon us who do not hold those same beliefs and the thought that Jewish people were behind the entire industry was not something that ever crossed my mind. I see where the author of that article is coming from in wanting it to be known that “his people” are responsible for such success. It is something to be proud of and from as far as I’ve seen and from the reported poll, not many people know who the masterminds are behind such a huge corporation. It was interesting though to hear the response that not all Jewish people want the county to think the Hollywood is mostly run by them because of the response to the polls that people think they do not represent the morals and values of most of America. When will all of this stop being an issue and we can just let things be as they are?
After reading the article and thinking about various advertisements found throughout today’s media, I can begin to see exactly why companies are including various ethnicities in their advertisements. Like Sam said, we rarely see groups of different ethnicities together. A great example of this is the HUB. Everyday walking through the HUB, one can see the various ethnicities sitting together in their normal sections where they tend to sit and go about their daily life everyday. With that being said and reading Sam’s views on the different ethnicities found on the cover of the Penn State brochure, I can begin to see exactly why companies are beginning to do this.
I do not find it odd to see commercials with different ethnicities getting along because I usually hangout with friends of different ethnicities. I do not see anything wrong with different ethnicities getting along and I feel that with today’s society, more and more racial groups will be able to get along better. I can see exactly why companies are using various ethnicities in their ads; in order to target the various ethnicities found throughout the world. If that is what companies need to do in order to sell their products and get their product across to more people then I say more power to them. If companies have to worry about getting in trouble for including more then one ethnicity in their ads, then our country is never going to make any gains in race relations.
I feel that the companies who are marketing their products feel that including different races in their ad is a way for all groups to feel included and more interested in buying their product. If they think that works then I guess that is good for them. If there is a commercial with all white people advertising the new Jordan basketball sneakers, that is not going to make black people not want them because only white people are wearing them in commercials. And if there is only black people in a clothes commercial that does not mean that white people or any other races are not going to buy the clothes but they think only black people will wear them.
I think that no matter what race of people or how ever many different races of people in ads are not going to affect the sales of that certain product. If there is something that somebody wants bad, they are still going to buy it even though their race is not involved in the advertisements for it. Advertisements do not portray everyday life; so involving different ethnicities does not mean that all these races hang out on an everyday basis. Companies just see this as a way of getting more people to buy their product.
I completely agree with Sam in this blog posts. I find political correctness to be annoying and at times totally unnecessary; the need to include groups in situations where in reality they wouldn’t exist frustrates me. But counter to that point the exclusion a group or simply presenting an image of singular race can often times be offensive and for very good reason. I don’t think society has come up with a balance to the problem yet, but I do believe that we are headed upon the correct path. In the case of advertising I think that as Sam said it, this is a case of “the horse pulling cart.” Many of the situations of multicultural relationships presented by the media often seem to be forced and out of place, but this does not make it a bad thing. The exposure of multiracial and multiethnic relationship by the media to the masses may help to begin to bridge the gap between races and make the relationships seem more common place and the norm, maybe this does not affect our generation but rather the future generation of television watchers and mass media recipients. Television shows also play on this multicultural relationship often, shows like “King of Queens” where a white man and a black man are best friends and “The Simpsons” where Homer’s two best friends consist of one black and one white (or yellowish?). The media is portraying the idea here that it’s okay for individuals to break outside of their solo-cultural box and mix it up a bit. Positive experiences and numerous benefits can amount from enjoying and sharing in a cultural that’s different than one’s own. But this idea of the media attempting to merge our races and cultures together for the betterment of society may be a naïve notion of optimism. The real reason for this merge could lie solely in the fact that these companies wish to profit from multiple races and cultures and by including all these different groups in their ads, their product begins to ascend racial boundaries. I without a doubt believe this is the reason for so many different races interacting in these advertisements. The real reason for these types of ads isn’t because they are imitating life or that our society will begin to break down racial walls because of these images presented by the mass media, but it is only for profit. I think it would be wrong to believe though that no good could be generated from these ads. In them lie the possibility of a cultural change in our country and the normalization of multiracial relationships. As I said before the benefits from a relationship between people from different races are endless.
Essentially no matter which way you try to play out the situation, neither way will make everybody happy. Although I feel like the issue of race is definitely less of a big deal than it was in earlier years, it is still a problem that we are faced with. There are still racist people out there that do not support equality; however, I do feel like the majority of these types are represented by older generations. Our current generation and those younger than us are much more accepting of race differences for the most part and do not think much of it. In general though it does seem like people tend to stick to their own racial groups but there are many that do not conform to this standard as well. I understand that as a whole minority groups in the United States are at a disadvantage when compared to the majority of white people, but I do also think it is necessary to show different races interacting in the media. Even though some may argue that this is just putting on a false façade that all problems are solved, I think that it actually helps to alleviate the issues. When you think about it so much of our ideas and perceptions about the world come from the media, if we see different races together as friends it will help to change how people view the mixing of a variety of groups psychologically and subconsciously to a certain extent. This is especially important for younger generations who really do not have any preconceived notions about race, except from what they hear from their parents. I feel like people generally flock to those that look most like them, thinking that they will therefore have the most in common with them. If people are accustomed to seeing mixed ethnic and racial groups it will help to break down some of these mental barriers. Another completely unrelated example of how the media shapes the minds and attitudes of people is how much emphasis is put on girls weight and what is “pretty”. Back when Marilyn Monroe first became famous eating disorders were not as prevalent and she was a healthy, fuller woman. However, nowadays models are seen as stick thin and when girls see them everyday on television they desire to look more like them and as a result they begin unhealthy eating habits in order to lost weight. I know that the media may have started incorporating different racial groups in order to help raise their profit, but in the long run I feel that it will be a great benefit. I do not think that we should obsess about making sure each and every piece of the media has every single race represented, but I think we should naturally let everyone come together and gradually things will get better with time.
It is funny that you brought this topic up. I feel the exact same way that you do about this situation. When I think about people being politically correct, I feel that this is a person that is so uncomfortable with race relations that they try so hard to be politically correct but ends up coming off kind of racist. I feel like political correctness puts stress and strain on a person. Political correctness seems forced and makes some people feel awkward. Political correctness takes away from the flow of the conversation. For example, I would feel weird if someone called me African American instead of Black while we were having a conversation. It is like, why not just say Black? I will not get offended. But you’re right; the issue of political correctness is a no win situation. But when it comes to advertisement, I feel a little different. I feel that it is okay to include different racial groups on certain advertisement just to be fair. Minorities already feel left out and discriminated against as it is, so why not include them on an advertisement for something that they actually participate in? I would be upset if I saw only White people on a Penn State brochure when the actual reality of the situation is that White people are not the only race that attends Penn State. I would look at that as being racist, and I, because I am not White and attend Penn State, would be offended by that exclusion. Could that even be considered false advertisement? LOL
Dealing with race and media is not a good combination because the media only reports what they want the public to know, and highlights the stereotypes of races. Perfect example is when Sam made us put our feet in the shoes of Muslims. Muslims know about Americans what their media tells them. Americans were portrayed as “Christian killers,” just as our media portrays them as terrorists. Once this idea of each others races are learned, we tend to attribute those characteristics to the entire race. But, the media seems as if they are trying to shy away from that by being politically correct. See, the American media could care less about the feelings of Muslims, but when it comes to Americans, they becoming touchy. America is trying to cater to the feelings of every American regardless of their race, shape, color, or even sexuality. I am not exactly sure if the media is trying to say that multiculturalism is “hip,” but I do believe that they are trying to progress towards making everyone in America feel comfortable. Media has the biggest impact on American life and perception, and they have the ability to alter the thinking of others. Multiculturalism is good for America, but we definitely need to rethink political correctness.
Race and race relation is a on going tug a war issue in our society. Every thing we do or say someone or a group of people will be offended. It s a shame but it is true. In regards to the whether there is political correctness in the media, I say yes. For example when I look at TV shows I do notice there is always at least one representative of each race, gender or social class in the cast. This is done because groups of people have voiced their opinions about being under represented or over generalized. I also notice the same thing when I look at collegian advertisements for school. There is usually two white students, a Black student , an Asian Student and a Hispanic student standing all together in front of a building like one big happy family. And I always think to myself is this done to show diversity at the school or I this a way to persuade minority students to attend. Quite frankly either way you look at the advertising strategy people will see through the fakeness and discover the true. According to the dictionary political correctness is a term that applies to the ideas, policies and or behaviors seen as seeking to minimize offense to gender, racial, cultural, or other identity group. To me political correctness is a term created by society to cover the wrongs of the past. This country has a enriched history surrounded by hatred and deception. So many people had to deal with discrimination and inequality that no matter what we do to try and cover up the wrongs they will always be there.
What I am about to say may come off as hurtful but call it what you want I think it will be a very long time before people are going to be able to look at others and not see race or color. I do it even when I’m not thinking about it. Usually it is the first thing that comes to mind. Honestly I don’t this is a bad thing because our skins colors represent the differences within our cultures. Differences also represent uniqueness and or a new way of life. I think back to my high school and how diverse it was. There was probably from every culture in the world at that school. Ok maybe I am exaggerating alittle but we did have a wonderful mixture of people . We were like a melting pot of cultures. Not only did this expose students to people of different backgrounds but it made us well rounded. We got a chance to experience things beyond the borders of our neighborhoods. I feel bad for people who did not have the sam opportunities as I had .I see why a lot of students are scared when they come to a place like Penn State. That fist contact could be horrifying and in some people’s case shape the way they look at others for the rest of their life.
“Does the horse pull the cart or does the momentum of the cart motivate the horse to keep moving?” – I never really thought of things that way. But I do know this, with advertising, it is really hard to tell whether the advertisement itself is an effect of reality, or its cause. Well, maybe it depends on its purpose? What exactly is the ad telling us?
Reading through the MSNBC article confirmed one of my thoughts - that possibly, the reason ads are multicultural is to reach the entire market:
“Ads like these are part of a subtle, yet increasingly visible strategy that marketers refer to as "visual diversity" — commercials that enable advertisers to connect with wider audiences while conveying a message that corporate America is not just "in touch," racially speaking, but inclusive.”
…it’s a strategy. And if I were an advertiser, I would probably do the same thing. After all, I want to reach everyone; I want to be able to get my message across a large market. So it kinda
does make sense wherein nearing the end of the article, “Shreffler, the ad industry newsletter editor, says marketers aren't sociologists and in the end green — not black or white or brown — is often the most important color.” More often than we realize, it’s about the money.
Still, money aside, I think it is important to acknowledge how far we have gone when it has come to race and television. Advertising aside, television used to only have white people, and race is not even discussed. Now with a multitude of shows and a lot more people of color and sexuality on television, we definitely can say that we have gone somewhere. Is there a lot more way to go when it comes to race and homosexual diversity? Absolutely. People of color is still a minority on television, and I’m sure the LGBT community is very minutely recognized, but it is still better than none.
I guess the same goes with advertisement. As a society, we have come a long way when it comes to diversity in marketing. For the most part, what we see on the ads is a reflection of reality. People nowadays are very tolerant of other races and I’m sure everyone acknowledges their presence. The United States is recognizably diverse and it would me a smart move for advertisers to target a multicultural audience with multicultural ads. Everyone, of all races, gets to watch them anyway and it would be good to address all audiences. And knowing the influence of the media, advertising and entertain world, it may even be a good push for society to be aware of our own diversity. After all, “these multiculti ads may be evidence of the vitality of assimilation”
I agree with Sam’s views on political correctness. It is a catch-22. I too have seen the Penn State pictures that include people of various races, and I question them. I find it interesting that Penn State is portraying the population that way, because I would say that it is not an even ratio here on campus. Penn State is made up of mostly white students. But then of course if I saw these pictures filled with white college students, I would be annoyed. So it is hard to criticize either depiction of Penn State. (It is certain that someone is going to find offense to one or the other.) Another example that has to do with Penn State is our commercial. Aside from political correctness I have to say this: I find this commercial to be completely corny and last years commercial was extremely better. Back to political correctness though…this commercial in a way falsely advertises the population ratio. In one of blogs before my own, a student explains that almost 35,000 students out of 44,000 are white. That is almost eighty percent. I am not saying it is not okay for Penn State to do this, but it just goes back to the catch-22 bit. I wonder what the producers were thinking when they were planning out the commercial. “Okay, so the white kid and the black kid are going to high-five here, and the Hispanic girl and the Asian girl are going to be eating ice cream here.” And so on. However, I would be shocked to see a commercial by Penn State filled with all white kids. So again, it is a tough idea to judge.
Overall, the media plays a HUGE a role in how our society is portrayed. In the past, minorities were depicted incorrectly. But I agree that in recent years more and more minorities have been in commercials, television shows, movies etc. And they are portrayed more accurately-although the false depictions have not completely been washed away. The stereotypes are still out there.
I was just talking with my boyfriend the other day about political correctness. I enjoy the TV show called “How I Met Your Mother”. My boyfriend pointed out that there are only white people in the show. And I agreed that the main cast is all white. I told him that “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” only has a white cast too, a show that he and I both watch. But he pointed out that there are a few episodes with minorities, particularly one episode with a black male and black female. And I said true, but the episode is called, “The Gang Goes Racist”. Now, the show is not racist but is just uses humor to shed light on some racial issues. The show “Friends” never had any black people on the how until the last season or two. Which does show how political correctness has recently been incorporated into the media.
I completely agree with Sam Richards on this one. On one hand it surprises me when I see a poster/advertisement with a group of people who are all of just one race and that I think to myself, "Wow, shouldn't there be some coloured people in this? But on the other hand, when I see a poster/advertisement and it has a group of people each from a different racial background, I think to myself, "Are they putting coloured people because they are obligated to?" But when I am to pick just one side, I would go with the second one. It is simply OK to have an advertisement of just white people or black people or Latinos.Sometimes people are pressured and I think it also happens in the media as well. For instance, when I am flipping through channels and am forced to watch these CW shows (or formally UPN) shows such as "The Game" or "One on One" (which are predominately black shows) they always have to have this one (sometimes) "crazy" white person. And I'm thinking to myself, "why do you need to have a white person that is the black girl's best friend? Or why do you need that white dude who is being taught act black by the black man?" I do not know anything about race and its links with advertisement but perhaps one of the reasons is that maybe people have been complaining that the show is "too white or too black" or maybe that "it's racism"; which I do not see it that way. Another example is the show called "Girlfriends". That is one of my favourite shows and I one of the reasons why I like it because there is not a white person who is one of the major character. Although one of the girls' husband is white, I do not consider his character to be a large role. Another example, I love the television series Friends. And that is a predominately white show. If they stuck a black person there (and I wouldn't count Charlie as one because she only appeared in 7 episodes). For a TV show to be considered a "let down",the person of colour has to have a major role, meaning all throughout the series. So when I see these advertisements that do not include people of colour, I do not get angry. Although my first instinct is "why isn't a coloured person there?" (and of course people always have first reaction that changes when they have thought about it). People should not think too much into media and how sometimes people are portrayed. Meaning, the media should not be FORCED to put the crazy rich white girl who is Shana's best friend. When I see that, I have a negative image of the media and basically they are forced because people might of complained that there was no coloured person there. But hey, if the show calls for it then go for it. Sometimes you need certain people for images to be out in public but don't stick an Asian, Latino or Black on a poster for a product that is ""universal".
I completely agree with Sam Richards on this one. On one hand it surprises me when I see a poster/advertisement with a group of people who are all of just one race and that I think to myself, "Wow, shouldn't there be some coloured people in this? But on the other hand, when I see a poster/advertisement and it has a group of people each from a different racial background, I think to myself, "Are they putting coloured people because they are obligated to?" But when I am to pick just one side, I would go with the second one. It is simply OK to have an advertisement of just white people or black people or Latinos.Sometimes people are pressured and I think it also happens in the media as well. For instance, when I am flipping through channels and am forced to watch these CW shows (or formally UPN) shows such as "The Game" or "One on One" (which are predominately black shows) they always have to have this one (sometimes) "crazy" white person. And I'm thinking to myself, "why do you need to have a white person that is the black girl's best friend? Or why do you need that white dude who is being taught act black by the black man?" I do not know anything about race and its links with advertisement but perhaps one of the reasons is that maybe people have been complaining that the show is "too white or too black" or maybe that "it's racism"; which I do not see it that way. Another example is the show called "Girlfriends". That is one of my favourite shows and I one of the reasons why I like it because there is not a white person who is one of the major character. Although one of the girls' husband is white, I do not consider his character to be a large role. Another example, I love the television series Friends. And that is a predominately white show. If they stuck a black person there (and I wouldn't count Charlie as one because she only appeared in 7 episodes). For a TV show to be considered a "let down",the person of colour has to have a major role, meaning all throughout the series. So when I see these advertisements that do not include people of colour, I do not get angry. Although my first instinct is "why isn't a coloured person there?" (and of course people always have first reaction that changes when they have thought about it). People should not think too much into media and how sometimes people are portrayed. Meaning, the media should not be FORCED to put the crazy rich white girl who is Shana's best friend. When I see that, I have a negative image of the media and basically they are forced because people might of complained that there was no coloured person there. But hey, if the show calls for it then go for it. Sometimes you need certain people for images to be out in public but don't stick an Asian, Latino or Black on a poster for a product that is ""universal".
This is a difficult issue to think about when trying to think whether to be politically correct or to use a single race of people in advertisements or for anything for that matter. Either way it could draw criticism. If there is a mix of racial backgrounds in the advertisement, then some people may think that the people in the media are “trying” to be politically correct. If only a single race of people is used as was done in history, then some people will think that the people in the media are racist for using only a single race of people in that particular advertisement. Therefore, no matter what the people in the media’s true intentions are, people will still not take the positive for the most part. So no one can or will really be able to tell what their actual intentions are. I think that it is therefore a good thing, whether these media people are doing it to do good for the society or they are just trying to be politically correct, that more multicultural advertising is taking place. It is more positive then having people think that these people are racist, even if they are because we have come so far as a country overall. As people say, “the grass is always greener on the other side,” or “the glass is always half empty and not half full.” I have no idea how the future of advertising is going to change. I do not see it going back to portraying just one race of people. The people in media and advertising will have to be on their toes and keep on coming up with something innovative. The past few years seem like it has been a phase where it seems like we are in a “multicultural phase.” I cannot think of it being any different. It is sad that it is all about the money these days. This means that the whole multicultural advertising that has been going on in recent years is not necessarily to benefit the society to being open minded, but all it is about is the extra revenue being generated by gearing the advertisements towards all ethnic groups. It seems like the only reason that there is an increase in multicultural advertisements is so that the products are appealing to people of all ethnic groups because they can see themselves using it. It is all about marketing strategy and appealing the products to as many people as possible, and if this means increasing the number of multicultural advertisements, so be it. For them it is a win win situation either way. They get a good reputation for making advertisements that are multicultural and geared towards everyone, and their revenue also goes up this way since it makes them look like they are not leaving anyone out and are trying their very best to not come off as racist.
The media has a ton of influence on the views of people. Multiculturalism is now hip, but is this a good thing? I seem to think so. Like Sam said in class, now that hip hop got so popular through shows like MTV and Comedy Central, the black culture is now hip, and it is pretty trendy. One aspect of today’s trendy culture, that I notice, is the ability to be free and do whatever you want to do without caring what other people think. We are becoming a more free society. But I know you would respond, “what is freedom?” or we are never free. I think it is the ability to do whatever YOU want to do without other people influencing your choices.
The black culture is now hot in our society. Now you can see white people wearing “black” clothes, listening to hip-hop, and so on. Sam also said that black people are the trend starters, and I agree. There is just something exotic about the black culture.
These trends can also be seen in advertising. The hip hop culture is near the top of the list for most influential groups in popular culture. The advertising industry is taking advantage of this trend. For example, Chris Brown chews double mint gum, while doubling his pleasure and various female artists promoting weight loss systems and make up.
When Penn State promotes diversity by portraying a diverse group of people on their brochures, they are clearly exhibiting a false reality. We wish we were a diverse university. However, I do not really find this a bad thing. They have no malicious intents. They are simply trying to promote diversity and become a truly mixed and multicultural university.
Sure some of these advertisements might be fake, but what is it hurting? Like you said it could be a catch 22. But isn’t it going to happen sometime? Why should not be try to promote diversity? It is all about money and marketing their products towards the targeted population. I say whatever, nothing is going to change their minds even if it is bad.
Now I keep hearing these statistics about whites becoming a minority in like twenty years or so. And I think that the majority of white people are scared of this prediction. They are just so used to being on top and not having to worry about problems that minorities have to deal with every day of their lives. While most of them will say there are not racist and are all about overcoming discrimination; but, when shit hits the fan (like them becoming the minority) I believe that many people will be resistant to this predicted change.
Media has a huge impact in our lives. Since advertising is part of the media it also affects people’s lives. I believe when you grow up watching TV, it shows you how people “our”. TV usually shows the trends of the time because people are interested in them so growing up you follow TV because it has those styles of today. It is interesting to see how back in the day only white people were really in the movies and as time has gone by and people change there are multiple ethnic backgrounds now. Sure it’s not to the point where it needs to be but it has changed.
People have a lot of power in the media. They can make people see and sometimes agree with the issues that were portrayed. Now with advertisements you have to entertain and interest people in your product and have it focused the right audience. To interest people you need to relate to them and to entertain, the ad needs to be original. Now for the audience it is not as simple as it should be. The audiences, some would think, should be ages. That is not the whole case. Some ads are focused towards people’s race. Others are not trying to be focused on a certain race but in that commercial it is a white male so that’s portrayed to people that it is more towards white people. I think the advertisement company’s are doing better with representing different races. Sure are first people noticed and probably thought you are just trying to make more money or trying to show you aren’t racist. I think now it is not noticed like that as much. Sure I notice it but not in that context at all.
It is interesting to think since “white” people will be the minority soon, advertisements now are trying to be way more diverse then they once were. This is because they want the majority to buy there product so if the majority is changing so must there. I do not understand why it had to take a guess that “white” with become the minority for them to change there views. Maybe since this change is happening it will help other people move along too. Since people tend to follow the media why would this be any different? It is kind of like a new trend like skinny jeans or flats. It is also like how girl want to look like the models or the people on TV. If the people on TV are friend with a different race then they should be too. I am not saying this is how everyone is but when you are little it seems to be.
The catch-22 situation presented by Dr. Richards I find to be so fascinating and yet so true. If I were to see that on the front cover of an ad there were five different people from five different racial and cultural groups, I would definitely think to myself “wow, this company is trying way too hard.” Although on the other hand if I saw five white people on the cover I would think, “why are they all white?” It is so weird to think that there is no correct way to put people on an ad without stirring up some type of controversy. Although in some ways, this can be looked at as a positive for a company because it makes the viewer think and therefore gets them interested in the advertisement. To answer the question of what role mass media and advertising play in the continued alteration of our perceptions about people of different racial and cultural groups, I would have to say that the two play a major role. Mass media and advertising has been known influence viewers. For instance, almost every time I turn on the TV I see a commercial for Proactive acne wash. On it, they claim that there are over a million customers who have purchased the product. Obviously the advertisement influenced people to buy it. Although it may be confusing, after seeing this influence of a product on its viewers, by placing people on the commercial who are of different racial and cultural backgrounds it is expected that a viewers perception of race could then be influenced as well. An example would be lets say if a commercial for a new beer brand were aired, and on it ten Native American men were shown sitting in a circle sipping on this beer. Perceptions on Indians could be altered from this, because some viewers may start thinking to themselves “I guess Native Americans are alcoholics and just love beer,” while in reality, that is not the case at all whatsoever. It is incredibly terrifying to think of how big of an impact the media has on society. For instance, an earlier blog posted about Fox News, explaining how they took a story on firefighters and twisted it really shocked me. It seemed believable, and many viewers who had seen it still to this day probably accept it as true. After receiving the true facts on the issue I found out it was depicted incorrectly; however, for those who did not receive the true facts, the media just influenced their lives and made them believe that racially prejudice firefighting crews exist today. All in all, race in mass media and advertising is an incredibly controversial issue, and I am not sure that there is a way of preventing the problem.
Sherrell Obaji
Sam Richards - Soc 119
Due: 4/17/09
“Race and Adverting—we’re in a New World Now”
The minute Obama Barack was elected; I think that was the day Black (American) history took a turn from black slaves force to build the White House to a high middle class black family moving into the white house! All of this is very interesting to me, it’s funny how life has a way of replaying itself out. Who would have through black and whites will be able to come together at a social event without any animosity; this is truly showing how America is changing.
In 1876, the Jim Crows Laws was invested, the purpose was As a woman of God and a strong believer in spiritual advise, the very thing that white people hated or strongly did not believe in was “black and whites coming together in a union.” to segregate whites from the non-white racial groups; the Jim Crows Laws mandated non-whites and whites from coming together or utilizing public goods or services (transportation, restrooms, restaurants, and school), the U.S. military was also segregated. If a black person (or a person from a non-white culture) they will be prosecuted, maybe even put to death! By 1965, the Jim Crow Law was declared unconstitutional under the U.S. Supreme Court. My point is the rules and regulations that white people set forth so whites and non-whites won’t come together, it’s the same thing that brought diversity to the 21th century. At the same token, referencing back to what Mr. Sam Richard has pointed out, the grand children of white ancestry are now embedded with the feeling of “White Guilt.”
This change in society will be good for everyone included international cultures; but no one should except a change in one, two, three, because race relations is a very complex issue let alone topic to explains to someone else. This should be a progress issues that will first start at every min, hour, day, week, month (6 months), and year( decade, century)!
Personal Opinion:
Black, Whites, Latinos (Hispanics), Asians, coming together behind and in front of the T.V. screen shows tremendously progress in America; fifty years ago this was not even talked about, it was almost as if it was a sin. Progress is always a good thing, the hard part is how do we continue this progress? America is known as a melting pot, so why not promote more Asians, Latinos, and Indians. Starting with hiring people from diverse back-grounds having them play bigger roles on television. People seem to be more accepting of different cultures if they see it in a positive light (as sad as that sound it’s the truth).
I’m not sure if it’s the public reacting to the media, or the media reacting to the public, but I think I may be inclined to say the media has more control than the public. The media only portrays the part of the public they like. They paint a picture of normal that few of us live up in actuality. And on a global context this concept of “normal” seems inaccurate. Most the world is not white middle/upper class with two parents and two kids. This is particularly visible with race. I agree, they’re starting to show minorities now, but they’re only showing the ones that seem acceptable. We’re starting to see Black and Asians in “normal settings” that allow us, when we see them, to connect them with ourselves. But they rarely show anyone of Middle Eastern descent, or Africa. Maybe they don’t want us to connect with these people, because if connecting with them prompted us in any way to take some initiative and learn about people who weren’t in our families or everyday life we might change certain things about our lives; things related to how much we consume. How much TV we watch (their first concern), where we shop, how much we shop, how much we eat, etc… Maybe it all boils down to money. My head spins thinking about it. But I’m not sure it matters. We can talk theology all day long, but the fact is there are inequalities in our society- for whatever reason our society is still someone racially divided. And that is what we need to change. As interesting as it is to think why sexism and racism exist, it doesn’t make any difference. We just need to work on changing. The one factor that is obvious is that Americans, or maybe people everywhere, don’t feel responsible for knowing about people outside their own culture. And this lack of knowledge leads to “us and them” mentality.
I must say that I do turn my head to the side and think when I see advertising like this. I think about would this really have in real life, should I see this happen more often. I know that when I walk down the street I do not see these types of situations on a daily basis. Now whether I feel that I should see this on a daily basis is another question. I would like to go down the street and see a mixed group of people, but I know I do not. As I even walk the streets of Penn state I notice that people tend to stick to their racial groups. I am not saying that I am not comfortable with other race groups; I feel that I try my best to be outgoing with everyone.
I do believe that the way companies are advertising things so that maybe they can start a change in the modern day way we perceive things. With this way of multicultural advertising maybe people will be more willing to accept people for all that they are, because they all are great people. But then again, people will by what they think is interesting. I am wondering if the ad is multiracial, are people more likely to by the product. Do they see sales go up or down or do they stay the same? I know I do not really pay attention to the people in the magazine advertisement I just notice the product and if it is interesting or not. I would say that I notice the product more when it is in print but when I see advertisements on the television I would say that I am more likely to notice the fact that they do stick the multicultural type people into a type of situation that I would usually not see them in.
I think it is kind of wrong with how Penn State likes to sell itself with the brochure with all the different cultural groups. But then again I agree with Sam when he says that we can not just have one racial group represented on the brochure when I would agree that we are a good mix of the groups. I would feel awkward coming here seeing a brochure of all one race. To me it is just a little hypocritical of Penn State to have the brochure and then have a separate campus tour for black people, which shows them different things than what the other people will see when they are on a tour.
Overall I think this is going to be a good thing for all people all over. As long as people are ok with looking into the advertisement and seeing it for what it is, it will change something over time.
When I see an ad that has a variety of different racial groups represented, the first thing that comes to my is whether or not it was intentionally done in order to make the ad more politically correct. I won’t go out on the limb and say I didn’t notice because I did, but I just didn’t care enough to think about whether it was done for any specific reason. Unfortunately, the advertiser will be criticized either way, which is the catch-22 of the situation. When considering whether or not we are learning to accept race more in the media, I think this only somewhat right. When you really think about it, our generation has been rather accepting of racial differences. Today you see more and more interracial couples and interracial mingling than ever before. When you really think about our generation, for the most part, doesn’t really share the same issues on race that our parents or grandparents may have had to deal with. This is probably because we are exposed to it more and in a more accepting nature. My parents are very accepting people, as is the majority of my family, but I still find myself much more comfortable with many things my parents do not. I was so glad to read the point that Sam made about feeling cynical when seeing a brochure for Penn State with five different people from five different cultural groups, yet feeling equally as cynical when viewing a similar scene that was not inclusive of multiple ethnic groups. I honestly think about that virtually every time I encounter a situation that either portrays an array of cultural groups or fails to do so. I’m not sure what the reason for any of this is, but it truly is a “damned if you do, damned if you don’t” type ordeal. So, does our mass media and advertising have a lot to do with the ways in which we perceive people of other cultural groups, view certain situations and pick up and carry on stereotypes in our lives? I might argue that the media, in fact, plays the most key role in all of this. Not everyone has the experience in their own lives to interact with people of other races or cultures to know exactly how they truly act or feel, what they believe in and what they value, or what drives them crazy and makes them angry. So, we rely on what the media presents to us to formulate our opinions and views about issues and people we know next to nothing about, first-hand. The problem with this is that we’re often misguided or misled to believe things that aren’t necessarily the way we perceive them to be.
I can say that I agree that there will be bumps on the way, but that is just how things work in life. I feel that in order to make a change there must be bumps. It seems nearly impossible for anything to change without having issues. I believe this makes those strides to make a change more worth the while. People seem to appreciate things more that they have to fight for. It seems to make thing work so much better. In some instances we just need these bumps in the road to help us make changes. Nothing is perfect, no idea starts off one way and ends the same, and changes have to be made to make it better. It seems almost that America as a whole goes through changes together. During the civil rights movement we had those who were for racial equality and those who were against. I believe that having both sides allows us to see what is wrong. I mean, in that example I do not really agree with the side opposing equality but they seemed to have their reasons, ones they fought for. The opposing side disagreed with the side that wanted equality because they did not believe in the same reasons that they had. The ad this blog points out I have seen before. It is a funny ad for E-Trade and I think that it was overall a good commercial. It is a commercial where you have a white baby and a black baby talking/singing about the economy. It was played during the NFL’s Superbowl. This was not done by accident I am sure. It was done to appeal to two different ethnic groups, but commercial does not have its target audience. For example, In my area of Philadelphia I see many commercials for McDonalds, in all of these commercials they are dominated by Blacks just as here in State College those similar commercials are dominated by Whites. Commercials are all about the product and audience. In those situations race is pivotal. Back to the main focus of this blog, I do think “We’re on the threshold of a new era of race relations…”, but I also think America has no other choice. This country is changing in so many ways when it comes to race. Everyday more and more people are having kids that are bi-racial and these kids will grow and have kids and so one. Now this drastic change I imagine will probably not happen in my time but I believe it is inevitable. I believe that this will help the race issue but will not solve it. People such as me who are bi-racial do not always identify with both sides. I pretty much see myself as one race and not the other, I lack knowledge of the other side and that is probably the reason why I think the way I do. America is changing racially and there is nothing that can stop it and that is a good thing.
Lately, I have become more aware of the fact that different races are being depicted together in television and movie entertainment. I have noticed that there is an Asian girl in the Disney show, a show where black and white people are roommate, and shows where Latinos, whites and black people are all part of a group of friends. Even in school brochures, people of different races are depicted as being friends. I know that I would be angry if only one race represented, but I also view the brochures very cynically. I feel with TV shows though, I do not really think about it as cynically. I feel like I am more optimistic and think that maybe they really did pick those actors and actresses based on their talents or because of the story line, but not because they want to consciously make the show more diverse. I know that in real life, most people stick to being friends with their own race, but I also believe that trend is shifting towards people of different races becoming true friends with each other. I know that at least in high school, people who were minorities were friends with people of other races. For example, our group friends did have three different minorities and it felt perfectly normal. It was not like we ignored the fact there were minorities, we actually made jokes about it, but it does show that people of different races can be friends and it was not forced like the brochures. I think that commercials and entertainment may be showing a more forward thinking by combining different races. I think that they are becoming more aware that different races are becoming friends and it is not just black and white. Even inter racial couples are becoming more prominent. I have noticed that not only are they having different races being friends, but there is also in increase in the amount of interracial couples in entertainment. I feel part of this is probably due to the entertainment trying to be politically correct. I have noticed however that most of these minorities are essentially “white.” They are not exactly your minority that are into their ethnicity, but rather have the same behaviors as the typical white person with a different outer appearance. You do not really see much entertainment where the guy from the ghetto gets with the white girl, unless it is the whole premise of the movie such as Save the Last Dance. Movies also have different minorities to make a point like Crash. I believe that the entertainment industry is becoming progressive by showing different minorities interacting in a personal level, but I do believe that political correctness still plays a factor in decision making.
Today, advertisements have definitely changed from what they used to be. There is a lot more diversity seen in them. It is very common to see a group of people from all different races acting together in a commercial. In reality, it is actually very rare to see an ad that has all white or people from the same race. It is almost like it has become a new requirement. Diversity or multicultural is what is expected. I see this both a positive and negative thing. For one, I think this change in advertising does reflect a good light that this country is moving in the right direction. This country is made up of all different cultures and they should be represented. I think this also shows that minority cultures are gaining more ground or recognition. As the article pointed out, the purchasing power of African-Americans, Asians and Native Americans was $1.4 trillion in 2007 which is a 201 percent increase since 1990. It is very clear that this is a major increase that needed to be capitalized on my advertising firms. In fact, economic or purchasing power of groups of people is a lot of what allows people to be more represented or heard. Regardless of the reasoning, these ads do in most cases better represent the make-up of the United States. This is especially in national commercials where the target audience is many different types of people. It is not appropriated to just have a bunch of white people in a commercial when you are trying to gain the attention and sell too many different Americans.
On another note, I think there are cases when the showing of different races or diversity in advertising is almost fake or over stretched. There are some cases where the item or place being advertised is just not very diverse and limited to one culture or race of people. One specific case of this is Penn State with five people from five different cultures is a bit misrepresented. For, this campus is definitely not nearly as diverse as that photo is portraying. In a way it is misleading to student who are applying or looking at the campus. Yet, I think the reason that is happens is because there is this new pressure that campuses that are more diverse are better. In fact, when I was visiting schools there where many similar photos to the Penn State one for schools that were far less diverse. One little liberal arts school I visited has a photo with people of all different cultures on the brochure. Yet, when I was touring the campus I do not think a single person I saw there was not white. Therefore, in cases like this I feel that it is just not appropriate and sends the wrong message.
First of all, I want to comment something that Sam said about brochure. I don’t normally notice about race on the brochure. But when there are five different races in the picture, it just looks too obvious that they want to send the message about diversity. I think a lot have to do with location. In Pennsylvania especially Penn State, there are not many minorities at all compare to white. I wouldn’t be surprised if I saw a UCLA brochure with a lot of Asians in it. I don’t think you need to try too hard. After reading the article, I began to think about all commercials I’ve been seeing and almost all of them have more than just one race. Personally, when I watch commercial, I think of the message the company trying to say, rather than what kind of people are in commercial. Maybe it’s just because I’m taking marketing class now that make me think of the way the companies try to advertise their products. Actually in that class, we talked about different personality for different races. For example, Blacks tend to be more fashionable and trendy, Asians are tech-savvy, Hispanics make shopping as a family thing etc. So companies tried to get their attention by position themselves in the way that they want to be look at. Their commercials will convey the message that they’re trying to say, doesn’t necessary have to show by race. Before I came to the United States, I don’t ever think about race because where I grew up, I was surrounded by people of my race. When I first came here, I was kind of surprise that race is such a big issue here because the United States is such a diverse country. I began to notice that every movie, they have to include at least one black or minority character. Sometimes it just doesn’t feel right that this black guy just appear out of nowhere. I feel like if they are trying too hard, then it is pretty noticeable that they are just doing it on purpose. People are more open about race these days. I see black and white or asian and latino are friends all the time. Most of the commercial came from real life. Since our generation is more open about race, I am not surprise to see different races on commercial all the time.
I feel like this issue regarding diversity in the media has been occurring for a while in our country. Dr. Richards just brought this point up but I definitely feel like the media has been portraying diversity in a very skewed way where they either show a lot of diversity or no diversity at all. The good points that Dr. Richards brought up was that when there are no diverse people in the media such as magazines or any portrait, it looks like the establishment is not embracing diversity. However, who actually knows if this was done intentionally or if they were actually chosen randomly and that it just happened that they turned out to be all white or of the same color. What is more is that the direct opposite is also true as well when it is clearly obvious that diversity was definitely trying to be initiated into the portrayal given by the media.
I personally do not think that either way can be considered wrong or unethical. What would be considered racist and unethical would be for someone to purposely put a certain race into the media’s picture or what not. Other than that though I think that when the organization purposely and methodologically does things to promote diversity in the media, it is fine. Reasoning for this is that even at this day and age, racism is still present and the only way to solve and combat the issue is by doing things forcefully so that people made to do certain things. However, I think the idea of naturally picking up diversity is also good as well since it shows that everything happening is natural and without cause. This of course if much better than the other way, but the other way is much easier and efficient.
This diversity that is now being seen more and more in the media is definitely a positive. It does not matter how big or little the effects are but any attempt is good. Moreover, these little speed bumps are very big things in my books since they can be easily overcome. Furthermore, they really are not speed bumps since they both are trying to help out the cause of showing more diversity in the media subject. Nevertheless, I do think there needs to be some changes that needs to be implemented where there should not only be diversity between white and black people. There are definitely more people than those two races. The Asians, Indians, Latinos, and all the rest definitely need to be represented by the media, as they are a huge part in our society. Obviously this will take some time, but I truly hope it happens very soon in the near future.
Yea the whole thing with whether or not there is racial equality in certain public advertisements and public affairs is definitely a catch 22, but no what we do we are still going to either say that they only do because of race or that it could hold racist undertones. It doesn’t matter people, who the hell cares if there is black man is or isn’t in a commercial? Does it really matter if there is equal representation in stupid things like commercials that most people don’t even like to watch. Okay I think this whole thing of being politically correct is stupid, yea no one wants to offend people but at the same time don’t you want people to be honest, sometimes it is good to be politically correct. When people are intentionally being politically correct couldn’t they just be doing that because they don’t want you to know what they really think? People complain about people being intolerant and not accepting of other races, but being politically correct only defers the advancement of people learning to accept others.
The media plays a huge part, I think, in disturbing positive images of races. Black and Latinos people are portrayed as weak and poor and gang members and drug dealers and negative influences on society. So many people talk about how the image of blacks is disturbed and unequal to that of whites, look at the media people! Most Americans spend the most time in their homes parked right in front of the television. Some of these misconstrued images are from the way they are brought up and what their friends say about it and how they much it have been involved with diversity in life, but I think that the media has I big part in the way that race is portrayed to our society. The video we watched in class of the black man mugging the one hundred and one year old woman is a somewhat good example of this. Even though that if this had made main stream media it would have been a reinforcement of the black image in our communities. The one guy however made a good point, what if that man was white? It would have been looked on as an act of racism, when it probably wasn’t. I’m just using that example as the way the media would show that white people are racist and beat up old black women because they are racist. I’m showing how the media would misconstrue what happened into something way bigger. What the actual man did was a horrible thing, and it wouldn’t matter if he was black or white, he still did a stupid action. So I think that being politically correct in certain things is acceptable, but does it really matter if people are politically correct or not? I don’t believe so.
I definitely feel that the Civil Rights Movement had a more profound impact on some Americans- namely, the activists, but in regards to Americans as a whole, I think that their opinions changed because they could no longer ignore the impact of the varying cultures that were “moving in” to our country.
The media definitely have the power to change or reinforce an American’s perception of the other races- especially when they have celebrities to back up the message they are trying to portray. When a magazine writes an article regarding some issue of race, the first thing the reader wonders, whether they realize it or not is “Why should I care about this?” But if the article reveals a celebrity who happens to agree with what the article is saying, the article just achieved a higher status in the mind of the reader. Why? Because the celebrity is a person who has achieved some sort of higher status in our society, so anything that they believe is definitely worth considering, if not believing completely and immediately.
On that note, nobody wants to read an article written by someone who doesn’t embrace the basic ideal that intentionally hurting a person or group’s feelings is wrong. This is where political correctness comes in. In the world of race relations, where everyone’s primary concern is to not insult a person of another ethic group or the group itself, people feel the need to throw out disclaimers for their own opinion, or the need to voice their opinions in a way that includes everyone of every background. And as if this attitude wasn’t prevalent enough with the general United States population, safe to say, no celebrity would support an article or any other type of literature or verbal comments.
On the other hand, what would happen if we didn’t at least make an effort to include all the ethnic groups in popular culture? Besides promote the widening gap between race relations, it could also result in culture shock for our younger generations. Personally, I grew up reading, watching, and associating with people who were mostly white, so when I came to Penn State, it was difficult for me to associate with people of other cultures, not out of a general disdain for them, but because I didn’t understand them. I felt I had nothing in common with them.
This was not something I couldn’t overcome, but it makes me wonder how much different had my life been had I been more exposed to other cultures. Would I be a different person? My life probably would have been more enriching had I been exposed to people of different ethnic backgrounds.
The conclusion I can come to because of this is that yes, the road to better relations between the races is bound to have a few bumps in it, but those bumps could help be smoothed out if the media would make more of an effort to include people of different races in their articles and television shows, and if people in positions of power would support this, the general public might take the first step to finding the balance between political correctness and race exclusion.
I feel like no matter what the media or anyone for that matter does they will always be critiqued in one way or another. Everyone is always doing something wrong it is like no matter what in the world today no one can do something right without someone else telling them they are doing something wrong or they are doing the so called right thing for all the wrong reasons. I honestly do not know if the media is starting to do more multicultural things because of the changes that our country is going through with our new president or just so they can make it seem like they are not just going after one specific group of people. I know that there is not just one group of people contributing to the market cause ever group of people no matter what culture contributes in one way or another maybe more so than that of another culture. When it comes to the media it seems to be more about the money than what the people watching what is being put out actually think. With the more multicultural advertisements I feel like it is just because the media wants to reach ever culture and get the money from them instead of just focusing on one specific group or culture of people. I feel that with the more multicultural advertising the media does the more our country feels it is open to other cultures and does not discriminate or judge anyone based solely off their culture or background but that is not necessarily the case. The media has always had a lot of influence on everyone and the way they view things and other people and even themselves so if the media tells people it is ok to be around and with people of other cultures and they put that in their advertisements then people are going to completely ignore the fact that there is still racism in the world and everything is not fine and happy between cultures like the media depicts it to be. No matter how many multicultural advertisements the media puts out it will not get rid of the racism in the world and the way people still judge others just because they are not from the same background or culture. Just because the media makes everyone out to be multicultural that is not how things are in actual reality. There are still plenty of groups trying to get rid of a specific group of people or culture. There is still racism happening in our very country whether the media shows it on television or not it is still there and the media cannot make it seem like it’s not.
Some times I wonder about advertising and whether or not it is specifically trying to target a certain race. I didn’t even think about this until I took a communication class sophomore year titled “women and minority studies in the media” and now I’m always questioning the meaning behind things on TV. There are some companies and some advertisers that I don’t think know how to advertise in a subtle way. I do have one advertisement that I will always think to be the best ad I have yet to see, specifically in women’s magazines and that’s the advertisement of the Dove soap ad where several different women of different size, shape, and race are standing in their bra and underwear – everyone is wearing a white bra and white underwear. This ad didn’t pop to me as targeting multiple races at first, when I looked at it I thought “wow, these advertisers are making it a point that Dove soap is for every type of woman – curvy, tall, short, chubby, slender, etc.” Why am I not immediately looking at race? I have no idea how to answer that question. I do know though that advertisers are specifically trying to target different racial groups by simply making one ad and replicating it with different people in it. Really? Is that necessary? Why can’t advertisers try and find a more classy way to portray all types of races (or at least several of them) like Dove did? I did run into an “advertisement”/ Man on the Street article and I actually flipped past the page and turned back specifically because I was wondering why I saw only Middle Eastern looking women all over the page next to their quotes. So I flipped back to this page and read what the Man on the Street question was, it was specifically what these women liked most about themselves and the Man on the Street was done in Dubai. So I flipped to the next page after reading and found an entire page of women from Switzerland with very fairly looking skin and read the next man on the street… so was this magazine trying to appeal to women from different ethnicities? Most definitely. I don’t know, I think all of this can be done in a different way. I’m so happy I’m going into journalism, may be I can figure something out some day down the line to make all this a little bit more smooth. I really do think though that it’s a combination of both journalism and advertisers – they are both involved with all of this. Just think: journalists are the ones that report, journalists are the ones that are putting together all of the words that you read in magazines and newspapers, so it’s their job to report fairly and to report both sides of everything. I really thought that this was done pretty well until this past semester I took a news ethics course only to discover that both advertisers, photographers, and journalists aren’t always doing their job. I thought this was mostly a problem in countries where the government was in full control. But nope, it’s a problem here in the US and not a whole lot of people know this.
There are some advertisements that are not completely stretching the truth when they show a dynamic group of individuals of all different races and backgrounds enjoying some product or service. An example would be McDonald’s. Everyone eats there so it’s no surprise that their advertisements reflect this, same thing for most drinks like Pepsi and Coke products. I general the basic necessities like food water shelter and clothing. These are universal, and global products that are available to just about everyone because they are easily accessible and affordable. However different cultures and races enjoy different types of food or wear different styles of clothing etc, not just because that is part of their heritage but because they cannot afford the more expensive luxuries because they may have been oppressed.
Then there are other’s such as the brochures for Penn State. While the university does not discriminate it does appeal to a certain demographic more than others. But the pictures always show young men and women from all different races hanging out and being best friends. I’ve been here for two years now and I have not found this perfect group of friends playing games on the hub lawn. And there is nothing wrong with Penn State trying to sell their selves as a diverse campus to appeal to a multicultural group of students, because if they didn’t there would be criticism and questions as to why the school is made up of only white kids from the suburbs of Pennsylvania. Obviously it’s an advertising tactic, and it isn’t wrong because maybe if other groups beside white Pennsylvania natives come here and like it then the school’s advertising won’t be completely off track, because more and more racially diverse people will be coming to school here.
But on the point of racial cliques forming, even though there is no more legal segregation between races, we naturally gravitate towards people like ourselves so it’s not unnatural or racist to be friends with people you have most in common with. The only issue with only meeting people of your own race is that you could be missing out on a whole different perspective, it is totally possible that your soul mate is of a different race or the one person in the world who loves the same hobby as much as you but you’ll never know if you don’t step out of the bubble you have created.
I personally have made a more racially dynamic group of friends since coming to Penn state. At home I only knew white people and had maybe ten black student in my 200 student class, but now I have friends who are Asian, Indian, African American and have Native American ancestry, and I am very glad that I stepped out of my white girl bubble and was able to see that there are so many different and enlightening perspectives out there and I’m glad that they in return have made the conscious choice to accept me as well and be interested in what I have to say.
As a public relations major this has been something I always notice in advertising. The first time I saw the Etrade commercial I thought the same thing about the black baby friend. I don’t even think its about trying to be politically correct. I think it is about appealing to your audience. People relate with others of their race. So when they are putting a black baby in the Etrade commercial they are trying to say “look we aren’t just for white people.” It is all about appealing to your audience and the potential market segment. Penn State is also someone who is attempting to be more diverse. Therefore, they are advertising themselves as a diverse institution to bring in more minority groups. In Pittsburgh, IUP has begun advertising in the inner city parts of the burgh with an advertisement of a black person graduating from college. They are targeting a select group of people. There is a reason for what they are doing. Target marketing based upon race is a huge area of marketing. Is that racist? I don’t think so. It is just smart advertising and marketing.
Sam is right though. When I see commercials that seem more culturally diverse or seem to be forcing the issue I feel upset and angry that its like this fakey, false, ideal. But at the same time companies would be yelled at for not trying to be diverse. So as a company, what do you do? It’s like you are screwed either way. Now as for the kids in the Hintz lawn I struggle that we are assuming they are all white. They are made of copper so how are we positive they are white? Furthermore, I just googled the Olympic Wannabes statue and found that isn’t only at University Park. Mr. Hintz requested the statue that is seen in other places in our nation so it is just a reproduction of that same statue. It resembles a picture taken of some children who were playing outside of the 96 Olympic games. Perhaps it was just a group of white children who were pretending to be gymnasts. That is also why they look like they are doing a cartwheel. So there is where my research has led me. All information was found in an article by The Daily Collegian and also in a google image search.
I think it just shows the need for our society to be sensitive and politically correct. No one really knows what’s better to try to be diverse or not force it. It is a battle faced every day and quite frankly are media just exploits it and confuses us even more.
Multiculti ads have been popping up more frequently in the last couple years and I always thought it was to appeal to wider audiences and embrace groups like multi-racial couples. I remember seeing a Verizon couple that sported a white mother and Hispanic father and their biracial children in a normal nuclear family moment. And now commercials are no longer segregated and racial groups are coming together. I think these commercials are more of a barometer of our racial progress than a reminder of how far we have to go as the NBC article states. Are they more of a pipedream of what we hope to become, or a slight reality? I think maybe there is a little more ‘segregation’ than what is found in these commercials but socially it is not entirely uncommon for people of different races to hang out together. Cynically, I always realized that there was a monetary benefit from appealing to more than just White America. Obviously, if you show Latinos using a product, Latinos will buy the product, it is how marketing works. And since white are soon to be the minority in a couple decades, it makes little sense to market just to them and not include the soon majority of the country. The whole ‘let be friends and create peace and harmony’ aspect of these commercials is a little nauseatingly corny, and I can see why that would be viewed as ideally unrealistic. I can understand the students in The University of Texas professor’s class, when they say they are not ready to show their parents picture of interracial dating. Honestly, my parents are not ready for that either. I have been told (by my father) that I am not to date outside of my race unless, of course, they are white, then it is fine. It is true that commercials do not address the poverty in racial groups, or poverty in general really. But television is seen as an escape from reality, and why would people of poverty want to be reminded of the situation they are in? In the end, I think the whole ‘fake it ‘til you make it’ ideology may be put in place for monetary gain and for most of the wrong reasons, but it may help America. Seeing celebrities of different races uniting for a common cause is always encouraging and nothing short of inspiring. I think if we were to display America as it is on our televisions, it would be a little more depressing than we need our escape from reality to be. Multiculti ads are slightly skewed, but I do not think it is entirely impossible for that America to be achieved, even if it has slightly less of the whole ‘kumbaya’ feel.
In my opinion overall I think that it is a good idea for commercials to depict a group of people who are of different races. I do however think it’s odd when there are three people and each one is of a different race. To be honest that just seems a bit too unrealistic. However, showing two white people and one black person or two black people and one white or Hispanic person just seems more realistic. From an advertising stand point it defiantly makes sense to have people of many different races in a commercial. It grabs people’s attention and makes them relate to the product better if they see someone like them associated with it. I do also think that depicting different races together on a realistic scale could be beneficial to our society. People tend to follow trends on tv or through the media. Although there might not be a lot of people who hangout with different races, if they see that depicted on tv they may feel like that is more of an okay or normal thing to do. It might actually help break down the race barrier. I feel that in advertisements if people are going to depict different races hanging out it should be done in a more subtle way or at least more accurately. For example, there is a bus that I have seen around campus and there is a group of students hanging out together. On the bus the students are all different races. I’ve also seen the same type of thing on Penn State pamphlets. This is just stupid because everyone knows it’s inaccurate which makes it so much worse. Mathematically more white people are at Penn State. That group of students where every student is of a different race just seems ridiculous. I think ads like these almost back track when they try to do things like that. I think it makes people more aware of the race division that does exist. Depicting students hanging out where everyone is a different race is not going to fix the problem or make it any better. People just see that bus and think they’re trying to hard. I think the pamphlets would be more acceptable if they showed the majority of the students being white and then having some people of different races amongst them. It’s not one extreme or the other. In the article it states that the students mentioned the “fake-it-‘til-you-make-it”.” I think this is a good idea. Right now it may be a bit of an illusion. However, I think eventually things will change. By faking it or creating an illusion it may actually help the process. People are influenced everyday by tv and the media and this would be a good influence and one that I think would work.
I am cynical toward racial integration in television advertisements for the exact same reasons Sam is. Until recently, there was only ever the token black or Hispanic person, and yes, often they were the bad guy in a show, too. Because it was never natural before, it seems to be done purposely now; it seems forced. It seems like it is only being done to be politically correct and to please the audiences.
Maybe it is natural now, but to anyone born before 1995, this “making sure” diversity is accounted for seems like an adaptation. It seems like media catching up with reality, not the other way around. Sam mentioned the example of the cover of a Penn State brochure and how it features a diverse group of kids. I honestly wonder how true that is because while all of those races might exist at Penn State, they do not often exist together. Rather, there seem to be a lot of racial cliques. Therefore, I do not think a brochure like that is an accurate representation. That makes me cynical of all advertising, not just TV. What makes a campus diverse? Is a campus truly diverse if the diversity don’t mix with each other? I am white, and most of my friends are; coincidence?
The professor at American University calls the ads “ethnically neutral” models. I think they put up a red flag. I think the companies are either trying to be natural about what they are doing or they are saying “look at us, we support multiculturalism.” Either way, I feel like I ‘caught’ them or something. I don’t know, am I racist for feeling this way? Is it wrong that I think, while diversity exists, more often than not one racial group tends to stick to itself? If I’m right, it might not even be a bad thing. The reason might simply be because they relate to one another better and so it is easier to hang out. If I am wrong, then we are assuming races purposely avoid other races. To some degree, I think both are reasons why “cliques” of races exist, but I do believe that it’s more natural rather than more racist.
I do think it is probably good for the entertainment industry. I think the more diversity in programs and advertisements, the more audiences they will appeal to (and then hopefully higher viewership). It has to be done the right way, though. The Cosby show doesn’t cut it anymore, because except for the color of their skin, they were a white family. Diversity needs to be represented ACCURATELY, and then it will be more appealing, more realistic, and maybe even more educational. Let’s not kid ourselves anymore.
I found myself relating very much to this blog post. I have found myself wondering the same thing about the Penn State brochures with the representation of 5 different races for 5 different people. First of all, I do find myself a little bit cynical about the brochure. If we are really going to representative of Penn Sate, there should be 4 white people and one person of color, max. As a white person, I don’t think I can comment on how someone of color would feel if they saw a brochure that actually looked like that. Maybe it is because I am a sociologist that I would notice that kind of thing, but I also have to wonder whether only people of color and sociologists notice underrepresentation of people of color.
At the same time, I also can’t help but think if it really is underrepresentation at all, in Penn State’s example, if that’s just how things are. If Penn State is, for example, 80% white, does it not make more sense to represent it as so? Where is the line between overcompensating for political correctness and being fair to people of every race?
Another interesting aspect of Sam’s blog post was the idea of race relations and how we are progressing with it. I think it is a step forward that we are seeing efforts to represent people of different races in things such as college brochures, television ads, television shows, and movies. I do agree, however, that we still have some hurdles to overcome.
One of the hurdles that I think we need to work on is getting through the cynicism that comes from seeing brochures such as the one Sam describes. The only way I can foresee doing this is to keep making more of them. Even though it seems counterintuitive, if every brochure or advertisement is designed to represent also sorts of racial groups, then eventually, I believe, we will stop noticing it as much.
Another hurdle that I see is making more shows that are appealing to mixed races rather than shows “geared towards” black or white people. For example, “Grey’s Anatomy” has been lauded for its great diversity in the cast, without being too obvious or over the top with its message. When I think we have made it, however, in race relations is when we stop having to congratulate shows or commercials for having diversity and start just accepting it as the norm. Though I don’t personally believe that we will ever stop noticing race on some levels, particularly physically, I also believe that there are ways to make it increasingly less important and have less of an impact on our thoughts and everyday actions.
I have recognized for a long time how people in all forms of media attempt to include diversity into the groups they portray on the screen or in writing. This happens most often, of course, in the visual media like movies, television shows and commercials. I realized from an early age that any type of commercial that tried to catch its viewers with a message promoting unity (be it a telephone service, restaurant experience, or community service group), I would always notice at least one colored person or couple among the number of white people portrayed. In educational shows for children they kicked it up a notch, throwing in a Hispanic or Chinese character to the main cast in addition to black characters in a way to really show off their diversity. Some shows (like Doug on Nickelodeon) would go absolutely crazy with this idea and just add people of every color; I specifically remember blue, green, pink, purple, and orange people outside of the normal peach color. And this type of diversity that would be shown in the main cast characters just seemed normal.
I mean, the media has been using this tactic for a while and sometimes even makes fun of themselves; has anyone ever heard the term “token black guy”? It’s apparent that they’ve know people have realized the necessity to include at least one colored person to indicate some type of diversity, otherwise sentiment would just seem to narrow-minded.
On the other hand, it’s clear that people like me still can’t see without color; I have already admitted to seeing and noting the “token black guy” that all commercials, shows, or movies have. Obviously, I was searching for such a thing in the first place, and I do believe I would feel slighted if I found this certain element to be missing.
I agree strongly with the words of my recitation peer Katie. She has been able to express a lot of her feelings over this situation, as she is a current advertising major and has encountered this problem multiple times. And it really is true that you are “damned if you do, damned if you don’t”. You can never tell if the people creating such media are thinking to themselves “here are my characters,” not caring what color they are, or if they are secretly trying to fill some quota in order to stave out the people that may eventually become angry by such a misrepresentation.
To completely move this in the other direction, I will mention that in many shows like “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” or “The Bernie Mac Show”, or even “The Boondocks”, I remember the main cast to be completely black, and that non-blacks would appear only as one-show characters or in the background. Should these shows be seen as racist for not including people of other racial backgrounds in their shows? It gets to be a really sticky subject at this point.
Before I came to college I looked into brochures and tours for all the colleges I had been interested in. I have come up with a conclusion of the same things in all the colleges, whether they were in middle of nowhere Pennsylvania or one of the top three cities. One tour at a college had an Indian boy, Black girl and White girl, I never noticed much of it then but I was surprised that they had all three races. I don’t know if I wanted to question it or just let it pass because I did know the tricks played by many schools for the minorities to come there. Penn State has S.M.A.R.T. to do their recruiting for minorities, people who look like you when you visit, so that maybe you also join the school and the cycle keeps going. Its crazy how I knew this all about how schools recruited “us” minorities and I was still was happy to see that one black boy pass when the tour was talking about some historical building. Now that I am here at a University, I don’t see the helpful tour members or those people who reached out my freshman year so I am still compelled to say it was merely a trick to get me here. As I’ve matured I don’t seem to have such a problem with being around others from a different race, even if I was the only minority at a school I think I would be ok. Maybe it has been this class that has taught me or a little bit of reality? The ads on T.V. do seem to have more colored people or a mixture of white and black. There’s something that is very funny with that, why is it that every time there are no couples who are from two different races. It is usually two children, two women, two men but no couple and if it is a Black girl she looks nothing like the women on the BET commercials. The women on the BET commercials have straight hair and all made up in my opinion but the Black women on the other channels have kinky afro hair.
We are most definitely living in a time when race and advertisement go hand in hand. Whether it is television, movies, video games, billboards, or any other form of advertisement, race has never been more apparent. Take for example a college brochure for Penn State and Temple. They both show the basics about the school; Education, price, etc. They have another feature which is common between both of them. They want to show that both of the schools have a diverse environment, but the difference is that only one of them truly does. Temple is one of if not the most diverse schools in the country. Penn State on the other hand is not. I believe the major difference between the two is that Temple is located in a big city in itself which is also diverse. When you walk on to their campus it becomes apparent that you’re in for a new experience. Penn State is different. Their main campus, University Park, is 80 percent Caucasian. On their brochure they want to show that they’re a diverse university so they’ll have five different races on it to draw you in. There is an E-Trade commercial with the talking baby and in this one; he has a black baby friend. Now the commercial in itself is funny as are all the E-Trade commercials. It can be interpreted in any number of ways. I just watched a commercial for the University of Phoenix and that commercial was diverse as well. Now I’ve never been to its campus so I don’t know if they’re diverse. Video Games have changed as well. The Grand Theft Auto series has had a black, white, Russian, and Chinese protagonist as the lead character. Now the games almost always do well for Rockstar, but I believe that by changing the lead in the game, it keeps it fresh. Gears of War, a new series on the block, has a team of individuals that each have different backgrounds. Marcus Fenix, is white, Dom is of Hispanic heritage, and Cole is black. That alone makes the game more interesting and keeps it fresh. The original character in Skate was white but in Skate 2 you are given the option of creating your own character of any race and background. Skateboarding is definitely a sport that is diverse and it has been opened to all audiences. When you walk or drive down the street and see billboards, do you really see diversity? Do you see people of all shapes and sizes? Does it appeal to you? Race in advertisement has changed over time. There used to be a time when a lot of advertisements were completely dominated by whites but I’m happy to see that it has changed.
I perceive these ads to be more of a cheap ploy rather than a uniting tool. I say this because I feel it is purely done for attention, not to try and help bring people together. All these people want to do is make money. How are they going to make money? By making you feel good and making you feel good about their products. So if a company has an ad that makes you feel like you are a part of it, or makes you feel like you can relate, they have hooked you. Even though you may not be a part of whatever it is that is being shown, if the ad makes you feel like you can relate, you’re in. It is all simple marketing. If you go towards a person’s feelings, in a good way, that person can become butter in your hands. They make the person feel like they are “one of the gang” or important, and gullible people, which is most of America, takes the bait. That is why I do not see these ads for anything more than cheap marketing schemes.
Sure we are more accepting of people today than we were before, but these ads are just exploiting that. Companies and establishments want people the think that their place of business is assimilated and very open. When in all actuality, it more than likely isn’t. Let us take the Penn State reference for a spin. Say the brochure or website displays a picture of five kids, all clearly of different ethnic backgrounds. This picture makes people believe that Penn State is a very culturally diverse and accepting place. Where there is no clear majority, but most groups are represented well and equally. Well now we get to the campus and that is clearly not the case. Everyone knows that University Park is at least seventy percent white. While there is quite a bit of cultural diversity here, it is still quite small and not everyone is represented very well. I see lots of Asians and Southern Asians, but I see them together. I see them in their groups. I do not see that people intermingle so well that you basically do not notice diversity. This campus is quite divided, in my honest opinion. Of course everyone gets a long and all; there is very little hate here. But that does not mean that everyone is “together.” It’s a lot of false advertising. That picture was just a ploy, it was designed to draw you in.
I do think we have traveled quite a long way and are closer to racial assimilation than ever before. But these ads mean nothing towards racial assimilation. Are people more tolerable of ads with more than just white people? Yes. But I feel that has nothing to do with the ads themselves. People are becoming like this because of how they were raised. My generation is much more accepting and open than previous generations, but the E-Trade commercial did not help us get there.
“A new era of race relations, that is bound to be positive for everyone.” I have no clue what the future holds, but I just have a feeling that when people minorities out number white people, there might be a few problems. I cannot see this going smoothly in the future. Maybe it is just me, but I don’t feel like there will be “beige” people in the future and race will be a thing of the past. I feel like there are tough times ahead, race wise.
Marlon Chopra
Race in advertising is a Catch 22 for me as well. Sometimes I feel that the commercials are being stereotypical and get upset with them; and then on that same line, I also get mad sometimes when commercials try to get every person and nationality involved to be politically correct. I feel that businesses need to find a healthy medium to this solution, which is extremely hard.
This topic reminds me of something one of my group members brought up during one of our discussion group sessions. She said that there was this commercial, the company name slips my mind, about teenage pregnancies and how to get help if you are a single mother, and all of the actresses were teenage black women. Now I have a serious problem with this. It is one thing to have this commercial with a few black women, white women, Asian women, etc., but to have the commercial of all black women is flat out racism. This type of media really bothers me. However, on that same note, the E-Trade commercial with the white and black babies and how the black baby sings “Broken Wings” by Mr. Mister is awesome. The best part about this is the humor. It has nothing to do with the color of the two babies skins. Of course, when I look at this commercial I see a black baby and a white baby, but it’s the humor of the commercial that stays with me, not the color of their skin, and that is the most important part of a commercial in my mind.
Being politically correct is something that really bothers me. People need to chill out a little. As I stated before, there is a Catch 22 when talking about political correctness in advertising. There will always be the people who will find an ad with all white people or people of color and say that it is discriminatory and vice versa. The most important part of the commercial in my mind is the message that it relays. I do agree that our world has been changing. There is so much more diversity in advertising now, and I feel that it appeals to more viewers. I think that marketers are doing an amazing job at appealing to a wider audience. With the addition of people of color in these commercials, more people can relate to a product or a situation and feel that the company can be trusted. Overall, my take on race in advertising is a positive one. I feel that companies need to be careful when putting people of color in their commercials, i.e. stereotypes, but if they can get by that, and the critics, then all of their commercials will be fine.
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