Tired of Racial Stereotypes in Advertising? The U.K. Has a Cure for That.
It's been a banner year for racial controversy in advertising, and that's because it's always a banner year for racial controversies in advertising -- they're a permanent feature of the marketing landscape, like talking dogs and wives who just can't get the laundry clean.
Denny's, MetroPCS, Pine Sol and KFC have all been accused of relying on racist or belittling portrayals to get their messages across in recent months.
The British, however, have a solution for all this:An institution that makes official decisions about whether ads are racist or not. Advertisers in the U.K. agree to abide by the standards of the Advertising Standards Authority, a non-governmental body that addresses complaints from consumers about ads. The ASA will render a decision after receiving as few as two complaints from consumers. If the ASA agrees with a complaint, the ad is removed from the airwaves or billboards.
It's not a perfect process, of course. One person's offensive racial stereotype is another's well-intentioned satire, as evidenced in the Pine Sol and MetroPCS flaps. And the ASA has made some odd decisions. This ad for Cadbury's chocolate, featuring Ghanaian villagers dancing in the street while a giant tribal head zooms around in the background, was deemed not racist, for instance. (Air that one in America at your peril, Cadbury!) Another ad that was cleared was this one for Twinings tea, which suggested that white women have a thing for black cafe workers.
Ads banned for racism include one for Trident gum featuring a black beat poet with a pronounced Caribbean accent (pictured above), and one for the Tombola bingo website featuring a black man in a Hawaiian shirt playing a ukelele (video below).
The other problem with the ASA's racism bans is that the ads don't actually get banned. They end up on YouTube where people debate whether they're racist or not, which is why I'm able to link to them all.
Nonetheless, it's arguably better than nothing, and there's something satisfying about the idea of getting an "official" decision on whether something is racist or not, particularly for consumers who want to pressure companies to think harder about these issues.
Hat tip to KissMyBlackAds. Related:
- Denny's "Irish Famine" Ad Raises Ghost of Past Racial Scandal
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- Is MetroPCS's New Commercial Racist? Many Say "Ranjit and Chad" Are Indian Tech-Help Stereotypes
- Is the New Pine Sol Ad Racist?
- KFC's "Racist" Ad Reveals American Consumers' Ignorance
- Microsoft Edits Black Person Out of Ad; Everyone Offended
- Universal Edits Black Actors Out of "Couples Retreat" Ad in Europe
- GSD&M Leak Accuses Popeyes Client of Racism; Places Agency in Lose-Lose Situation