TOPIC: Racial Stereotypes are Inaccurate and Wrong, So Why are they so Popular in Advertising? (Group 3 for Race and Ethnicity: Used to be Group 2)

Our group will explore this question by delving into methods and reasonings for using racial stereotypes in commercial and print advertisements. As well, we will research what is being done to stop or discourage this type of racially oppressive advertising. In addition, we will look at the affect that race-based advertising has on society's view on the accuracy of stereotypes.

SOURCES:

Brumbaugh, Anne M. Why do I identify with thee? Let me count three ways: How ad context influences race-based character identification. Psychology and Marketing. Vol26. No11. Pg 970-986. 2009. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. College of Charleston. 10.1002/mar.20308. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/mar.20308

Three quasi-experimental studies with nonstudents reveal that one's ability to identify with a character shown in an ad based on shared race depends on the construction of the ad and the context in which characters are depicted. Results show that race-based identification overshadows both gender- and role-based identification for a racially targeted ad for distinctive black subjects but occurs for both black and white subjects for a culturally ambiguous ad. Further, results show that race-based character identification is absent when black and white characters are depicted in a mainstream inclusive ad and that dominant cultural norms predominate. (C) 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.



Scott Coltrane, & Melinda Messineo. (2000). The perpetuation of subtle prejudice: Race and gender imagery in 1990s television advertising. Sex Roles, 42(5/6), 363-389. Retrieved March 5, 2010, from Research Library. (Document ID: 55608512).



Scholars have long argued that popular consumer culture is both producer and product of social inequality, but few detailed empirical studies have explored the way that advertising imagery simultaneously constructs stereotypes of race the way that advertising imagery simultaneously constructs stereotypes of race and gender. This article reports on a content analysis of television commercials (n = 1699) aired on programs with high ratings for specific target audiences from 1992 to 1994


Edwards J. Whitewash?. Adweek Eastern Edition [serial online]. October 6, 2003;44(39):14-16. Available from: Business Source Complete, Ipswich, MA. Accessed March 5, 2010.

Abercrombie & Fitch is being sued by a number of Asian-American and Mexican store employees who say that the company generally refuses to hire Asian-Americans and Latinos and restricts African-Americans to jobs in the stock room so that its sales staff mirror the models in its quarterly catalog, who are overwhelmingly white. Although A&F has the right to market itself to any ethnic audience it chooses, the point of contention is whether A&F's marketing has encouraged a corporate culture that is oblivious to racial discrimination. The potential consequences of the lawsuit are discussed.