RACIALIZED ADVERTISING

RACIALIZED ADVERTISING

Introduction

Racial advertising is considered harmful if fits repetition creates stereotypes to naturalize it and seem normal. Most advertisers use existing deep-rooted ideologies in society while making their commercials, which at most times do not depict the right racial picture. However, racial advertising would be used if they have for long been exhibited in society without inflicting pain on specific special groups. In most cases, racial advertising is perceived offensive if it targets to demoralize a certain group as the advertisers push for their selfish interests. As such, marketers should be aware of the negative impact racial advertising has on the different categories of people in society. Thus, the case study examples have been used to support the negative impact of racialized advertisements with methods such as semiotics being used for analysis.  Therefore, racialized advertisements are problematic and occasionally infringe on the rights of specific groups in society.

The concept of racialized advertising is problematic

Chinese Detergent Ad on racism

The concept of using individuals from diverse racial backgrounds exemplifies racism charges, which have been a key issue in modern society (Bromwich, 2016). The case study index involves the action to remove dirt while the symbols are a black man shoved with a detergent in the mouth. Moreover, the icon is the Qiaobi laundry detergent, which is widely used in China. As such, the advertisement has proved problematic since it caused a spurred outrage on social media because it shows high levels of blatant racism (Wilson, 2018). The Asian woman is seen to shove the detergent into the black man’s mouth and later pushed into the washing machine. A quick cycle is performed with a pale Asian man emerging, having a wink, which is to the delight of the woman (Bromwich, 2016). The case study successfully utilizes key concepts such as language, which helps develop semiotics as a substantive approach to learning of racial advertising.

The advertisement, which was aired in China in April 2015, caused great levels of disbelief and anger by people who termed it as racially abusive.  The concept of the other has not been utilized by the Chinese detergent ad because it fails to outline the sense of belonging to people of other races apart from Asians (Zevallos, 2011). The advert shows that in China, everyone must belong to the Asian community. That’s the reason why the black man is bleached to a pale color. As such, the advert evokes key concepts such as signifiers in that the icon must have a physical resemblance to the target customers. As such, racial prejudice against blacks has been exemplified through stereotypic alienation towards people of other colors in China. However, Qiaobi management refuted the criticisms citing that the advert was meant to be provocative through their use of sensational effect (Bromwich, 2016).

Nevertheless, the ad clearly outlines racial concerns towards the black people contrary to global stipulations to end racism. It is interesting to note that the advertisement successfully integrates the signified and signifier concepts to develop a relationship between the concept it evokes and physical existence (Bromwich, 2016). Racial prejudices in Asian countries have, for long, jeopardized their initiatives to achieve the concept of the other. The ad caused an international outcry since its semiotics clearly exemplified racism. The ad was problematic since the icon was painted white hence supporting the white supremacy relative to other races. Based on available semiotics, the ad sought to support racial stereotypes by justifying the actions of the dominant group in regards to oppression (Bromwich, 2016). Hence, key concepts have been justified as increasing stereotypic approaches to racial discrimination in Asian countries.

The Dove’s body soap case study

Dove’s body wash used a Facebook ad with a black woman seen to remove her brown shirt. Surprisingly, the underneath represents a white woman having a light shirt contrary to the black lady’s case. The case study index represents the cleansing and washing action with the symbol evident in words found on the soap bottle (Astor, 2017). Besides, the icon comprises a model that removes her shirt to reveal the next. However, the transition between the black woman to white proved problematic to social media users because the advert evoked racist trope in the soap advert (Astor, 2017). For instance, the advert shows how a dirty black woman is cleansed to become white, which serves as racial ridicule. As such, the advert signifier led to the development of key concepts such as connotation, which provides the secondary meaning in the advert.

The concept is exemplified in the manner in which the black woman was subjected to multiple washing stages before being white (Wilson, 2018). The advert caused an outcry on social media, wondering why such an advert aimed at promoting racial prejudices against black people. However, Dove management wrote on Facebook, stating that Dove represents the beauty of diversity. Thus, the company’s management exemplified the concept of the other to represent a sense of belonging and identity to all people its customers (Astor, 2017). As such, it is evident that the firm is committed to developing social constructs Asian countries despite criticism presented by the Facebook ad. Based on the Dove spokeswoman, Marissa Solan, she articulated that the advert was meant to celebrate diversity, but it ended up offending a huge number of people (Astor, 2017).

Thus, the advert utilizes semiotics to exemplify the media’s role in creating meaning despite being subjected to enormous criticism from society. However, media should use the right form of communication to provide meanings through a socially accepted way that prevents individuals from racial discrimination and prejudices (Astor, 2017). The organization accepted that the advert promoted racial stereotypes against the white people thus needed to re-evaluate their internal processes in future content creating and reviewing. The fact that many of the ad’s critics never acknowledged the apology offered by the company shows that the approach created a problematic approach to racial differences. However, the ad is just a representative of key concepts such as signs and text evident in the long history towards racist soap ads. For instance, in 2007, intel sponsored a soap ad illustrating a white man in the company of six other black sprinters (Astor, 2017).

The brown face advertisement in Singapore

The Brownface ad proved problematic because of its provoked racism queries in the manner it was produced. The ad shows an ethnic Chinese actor who allegedly darkened the color of his skin to portray characteristics of the different races in Singapore (Stambaugh, 2019). The case study’s index shows that an acting action while the symbol can be seen from the ad writings. Moreover, the advert’s icon was a Chinese actor with a darkened skin color. The advert used key concepts in racism to show racial domination ideologies are used to exploit the beliefs of a particular race to deem it inferior compared to other dominant groups. The ad was part of the government initiative to promote the use of electronic payment procedures. As such, the actor Dennis Chew was used and appeared to dress like four different characters.

Surprisingly, one of the photos portrays him as a Malay lady having a headscarf, which sparked controversy in the highly multi-ethnic Singapore (Stambaugh, 2019). Hence, it is evident that the media portrays the whites as having different life experiences compared to the people of other races. In this context, Brownface ad aimed at imitating the color of the people in Singapore but did not augur well with the individuals due to their multi-ethnic nature. The concept of the other was vital to the advert to ensure that the societal differences experienced in Singapore were articulated without inflicting pain on others. As such, the concept was vital in developing a sense of belonging and identity to the Singaporean citizens. Singapore is a multiracial society comprising of 75% ethnic Chinese, 15% Malay, and 7% Indians (Stambaugh, 2019). From a positive aspect, the advert failed to exemplify whitewashing key concepts to portray whites as superior in the government-initiated project (Wilson, 2018).

Nevertheless, the advert seemed problematic since it did not hire Malay actors and opted to model the same actor. Arguments have been articulated on why it was important to hire artists from every race hence promoting the concept of the other. However, the advert sponsors argued that Dennis Chew was solely used to portray the fact that e-payment was meant for everyone despite racial disparities (Stambaugh, 2019). The controversy depicted in the ad semiotics followed a series of blackface incidents that clearly exemplified prejudices against other races. For instance, the Malay people felt offended since the icon played their role despite the availability of many Malay actors (Stambaugh, 2019). As such, the ad created disbelief based on how they articulated racial disparities between the people living in Asian countries.  The criticism negatively impacted the e-pay campaign hence painting a bad image on its products and services.

Dunkin Donuts Blackface ad

The Dunkin Donuts ad proved problematic as it was perceived racist in its attempt to promote the new charcoal donut. The ad featured the daughter of the Thailand chief as the icon of the blackface makeup (Gabbatt, 2013). The index in the advertisement showed an eating activity with the symbol being an already bitten donut. Plans had been put in place to develop a campaign on posters and national televisions in Thailand to franchise the product immediately. The ad utilized key aspects such as the sign of the woman wearing dark makeup having pink lipstick. Also, the sign used depicts that the woman is conservative since she is wearing a 1950s beehive hairstyle. The text used in the ad articulates the need to break every rule governing deliciousness (Gabbatt, 2013). However, the ad caused racial problems in Thailand as it caused a massive howl of outrage relative to the human rights of the black people.

According to human rights activists, the advert created stereotypes that condemned black people globally. The advert failed to articulate the concept of the other since it prospected to deny the blacks their rightful social status and identity. It is a bizarre scenario that Dunkin decided to paint the woman’s picture in black while her lips were having bright pink lipstick (Gabbatt, 2013). As such, the advert was racist and aimed at demoralizing the blacks living together with other races. However, the management pulled down the advert soonest possible and promised that something like that would never happen again (Purnell, 2013). As such, it is clear that the concept of the other was not properly addressed since it is ridiculous to use black while promoting doughnuts due to racial concerns.

Despite Salhani’s refutation on the criticism of the ad, it is clear that the promotional campaign created problematic scenarios spurring disputes regarding race and color. The picture depicted by racialized advertising helps create meaning from signs (Gabbatt, 2013). As such, the ad is a clear indication of how cultural literacies are increasingly used against blacks. Thus, the ad draws insight into how semiotics is used to exemplify the media’s role in promoting equity. Based on the semiotic analysis, the ad explicably uses racial stereotypes by portraying the black race as inferior and incompetent. The fact that Salhani allowed his daughter to play the role of a black person shows how the ad was meant to represent a discourse analysis against the blacks (Gabbatt, 2013). As such, the written language in the ad was meant to relate its meaning to the real racial situation in the country and the large Asian community.

Racist German ad

The advert shows an Asian woman being aroused after she smelled some dirty laundry that had been worn by some white men. The German ad caused an uproar in Seoul, South Korea, as it created a problematic racist relationship with South Koreans demanding an immediate apology (Hornbach, 2019). The index in the racialized advert implicates an arousal theme, as exemplified by the Korean woman. On the other hand, the symbol is represented by the gardener who removes his dirty clothing to later dump them in a box with the icon being the Asian woman. Semiotics is utilized to comprehend why the woman moans in pleasure after smelling the white man’s dirty linen (Hornbach, 2019). The commercial ends with a stipulation of that’s how the spring smells. Based on the commercial, the ad was meant to demean the Asian community, thus supporting the notion that racialized advertising is problematic.

Consequently, the ad supports some of the key concepts like white is purity, which is a clear stipulation of racism. Thus, the ad seems to portrays the whites as the superior race to the Asian people. The concept of the other has been totally downplayed; it demeans the Asian woman as having pleasure from the white man’s dirty clothing (Hornbach, 2019). Based on the ad, the problematic scene provoked anger to South Koreans since they thought the ad was inappropriate and promoted racism in their country. The whites in the ad represent the large group of racist whites who use their beliefs to justify their unjust treatment to people of other races like Asians and blacks. As such, the representation concept is inappropriately used, thus resulting in racial prejudices against Asians in South Korea (Wilson, 2018).

As a result, numerous petitions have been presented before courts seeking an apology from the German-based chain Hornbach on the inappropriate ad. However, the management refuted the criticism and stipulated that the ad was not racist and aimed at developing a discourse required to spur urbanization (Hornbach, 2019). In addition, based on semiotics, the Asian woman seemed to represent a fictional city though the claim does not justify it as not being racist. The ads semiotics show that the ad was inappropriate despite numerous arguments supporting its purported intention. As such, a discourse analysis would be developed since many Asian women have been subjected to sexual abuse relative to their racial slurs.  Thus, the racialized advertisement developed problems related to racial abuse and prejudices subjected to women in contemporary society.

Conclusion

The argumentative essay provides reasons why racialized advertisement ends up being problematic in contemporary society. The case studies provided proof that the promotional campaigns utilize semiotics, which accelerates racism and prejudices against other individuals. As such, several key concepts have been applied to provide their approach to increased racist messages provided by promotional ads. For instance, the concept of the other shows how the ads are supposed to create a sense of belonging regardless of individual racial background. For example, the racist German ad fails to create a sense of identity since it portrays Asian women as inferior thus needs to subject to the white men. Such a notion should be discarded since to promote coexistence among the millennial generation.

References

Astor, M. (2017). Dove Drops an Ad Accused of Racism. Retrieved 23 February 2020, from https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/08/business/dove-ad-racist.html

Bromwich, J. (2016). Chinese Detergent Ad Draws Charges of Racism. Retrieved 23 February 2020, from https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/28/world/asia/chinese-detergent-ad-race-qiaobi.html

Gabbatt, A. (2013). Dunkin’ Donuts apologizes for ‘bizarre and racist’ Thai advert. Retrieved 23 February 2020, from https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/aug/30/dunkin-donuts-racist-thai-advert-blackface

Hornbach. (2019). German DIY chain’s ‘racist’ advert provokes anger in South Korea. Retrieved 23 February 2020, from https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/mar/28/german-diy-chain-hornbach-racist-advert-provokes-anger-south-korea

Purnell, N. (2013). Images Spark Racism Debate in Thailand. Retrieved 23 February 2020, from https://www.newyorker.com/business/currency/images-spark-racism-debate-in-thailand

Stambaugh, A. (2019). Singapore advertisement sparks ‘brownface’ controversy. Retrieved 23 February 2020, from https://edition.cnn.com/2019/07/30/asia/singapore-brownface-ad-sparks-controversy-intl-hnk-trnd/index.html

Wilson, C. (2018). Are adverts deliberately being racist?. Retrieved 23 February 2020, from https://www.bbc.com/news/newsbeat-43554424

Zevallos, Z. (2011). What is Otherness?. Retrieved 23 February 2020, from https://othersociologist.com/otherness-resources/