Racism In Advertising Essay
Throughout the years, racism has been one of the primary issues, which we can still see in today’s society. As we can see racism play out in various advertisements, this can affect individuals and their views on racism. As we take a look back in history, around in the late 1800s, African Americans have made their debut in trade cards (African-Americans: Representations in Advertising, 2003). According to the article itself, images of African Americans were shown poorly in the public eye. As African Americans were seen as inferior in the 20th century, advertisers often depicted the stereotypes of a “typical” black individual. For example, Aunt Jemima’s ad for pancake mix and other various breakfast foods. Quaker Oats had established
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During the 1960s, diversity seemed to emerged as it brought more opportunities for blacks. Some had the chance to appear in commercials as well. However, this eventually caused several disputes along the way. Activists from the Civil Rights Movement still found the ads offensive as it still depicted African Americans in a negative way. For example, the “Dinnertimmin” McDonald’s ad. As the 1960s were trying to make several changes within their ads, this foreshadowed what future advertisements would look like in the 1970s. Big name companies such as Jello, McDonald’s, and Coca-Cola were becoming more diverse in their ads (Cruz, Lenika, 2015). The reason for this was to reach out for potential buyers, thus increasing their profits. Billy Cosby became the first African American to be a spokesperson for Jello in which the company took its first steps in becoming more “diverse.” For the McDonald’s ad, in order to grasp the attention of potential African Americans customers, advertisers had made use of the terms “Dinnertimin” and “Anytimin.” The vernacular of African Americans were stereotyped considering the advertisers believed this is how they could communicate with their customers. This shows how uninformed advertisers were with the black community/intended audience. According to the article, advertisers had a method to their ads, where they believed that African Americans
During the 1960s, diversity seemed to emerged as it brought more opportunities for blacks. Some had the chance to appear in commercials as well. However, this eventually caused several disputes along the way. Activists from the Civil Rights Movement still found the ads offensive as it still depicted African Americans in a negative way. For example, the “Dinnertimmin” McDonald’s ad. As the 1960s were trying to make several changes within their ads, this foreshadowed what future advertisements would look like in the 1970s. Big name companies such as Jello, McDonald’s, and Coca-Cola were becoming more diverse in their ads (Cruz, Lenika, 2015). The reason for this was to reach out for potential buyers, thus increasing their profits. Billy Cosby became the first African American to be a spokesperson for Jello in which the company took its first steps in becoming more “diverse.” For the McDonald’s ad, in order to grasp the attention of potential African Americans customers, advertisers had made use of the terms “Dinnertimin” and “Anytimin.” The vernacular of African Americans were stereotyped considering the advertisers believed this is how they could communicate with their customers. This shows how uninformed advertisers were with the black community/intended audience. According to the article, advertisers had a method to their ads, where they believed that African Americans