Not all
stereotyping is bad. Stereotyping arises out of the need to generalize in order
to make sense out of a very complicated environment. It allows people to easily categorize new things into
comfortable spaces already defined by their experiences. This process was
described in 1922 by Walter Lippmann, who first coined the term
"stereotyping." Lipmann wrote, "the attempt to see all things
freshly and in detail, rather than
as types and generalities, is exhausting,
and ... practically out of the question."
If you think the current era has taught advertisers to create
campaigns that are more sensitive and intelligent, think again. They are still
quite happy to play into fears and stereotypes associated with race. While some
ads are sneakily suggestive, others are almost unbelievably shameless.
The
Australian KFC ad in dispute (below) shows an Australian cricket supporter in a
crowd of West Indian fans. Supposedly to make himself more comfortable amongst
the opposition supporters, he offers up a bucket of "crowd-pleaser"
fried chicken from KFC.
In the U.S., there's an offensive racial stereotype involving
fried chicken and African Americans. No such stereotype seems to exist in
Australia, where the ad was aired and received no negative response, but
it soon made its way to YouTube, where it caused controversy.
No matter what people think about advertising, everybody
thinks about it. How can you not? Nearly everything we see, hear, touch or eat
has a logo on it. Even our thoughts are branded. Advertising has been called an
art form, a parasite, freedom of speech, propaganda, healthy capitalism, a
necessary evil, and what makes the world go round.
I
believe advertisers have the right to do whatever they like so long as it is
within legal rights. Technically, it has about the same moral standards as the public
because it is created, approved and paid for by modern U.S. society. If the
public disapproves of their ads, they can demand that they be taken down.
Advertising
is essentially freedom of speech. Most of the time the interpretation of the ad
is within the eye of the beholder and everyone will have different views (the
KFC ad serving a great example). Advertisers may choose to make fun of
stereotypes as much as they please but they should question whether it lies
within their best interests to do so. Their messages should be culturally
sensitive and if the tone of the message is too strong it may be criticised
badly. This will not only take a hit on the reputation of the advertising firm
but also their clients which in turn is bad for business.
Even
if every advertising firm acted to the highest ethical degree there will be no
end to the depiction of stereotypes and racism. In today’s culture we are
constantly bombarded with prejudicial and discriminatory images and ideas
though all types of media (not just advertising). When turning on the news and
glancing through a local newspaper, ethnic minorities are the central focus of
crime. Racial profiling is an apparent and problematic aspect of local media
today as it serves to further biases and stereotypes in our culture. As such, oversimplified and
inaccurate portrayals have profoundly affected how we perceive one another, how
we relate to one another and how we value ourselves.
"the
attempt to see all things freshly and in detail, rather than as types and
generalities, is exhausting, and ... practically out of the question." -
Lipmann
Thanks for reading!
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