Blog #4

Blog #4

It is never right to racially stereotype for advertising purposes.  All people have natural rights.  And, while there is the right of freedom of speech/expression, people more importantly have the right to be treated as humans.  No single person is superior or inferior to one another, just as no single person is perfect.  It is not right to try to profit from or manipulate people through false portrayals that depict wrongfully demeaning imagery.

Advertisers, as all human beings, have ethical responsibilities.  Advertisements can be powerful messages that can have resounding effects on many people.  Because it is such an influential media with a wide range of audiences, advertisement must be used responsibly and with proper care.  According to Jonathan Wallace and Adam Briggle in “Advertising, Marketing, and Public Relations” in Encyclopedia of Science, Technology, and Ethics (2005)

So as advertising becomes a more pronounced element of our cultural environment, the context of a global system of production causes our understanding of the goods being advertised to decline. This in turn means that we rely more heavily on regulatory agencies and advertising codes of ethics to ensure fairness and truth in advertising. (paragraph 2) 

As such, there is major reliance on the advertisers for information.  Because this information can be easily misconstrued or corrupted, advertisers have to be careful in constructing and communicating their goal.  Thus, the audience and viewers rely heavily on the advertisers’ ethics.

In addition, ethical responsibilities belong to all people.  Advertisers should not be excused to make discriminatory creations.  However, there is a difference between racism and satire and/or humor. There should be a critically thought out message when this is done, or at least an understanding.  Still, some might find this to be too much to expect, or that these standards are too idealistically based.  While possibly true, the elimination of unequal, negative messages in advertising is a positive step forward.

Racism in advertising is not a thing of the past.  So long as there are perceived differences or lack of understanding amongst people, there will be unequal, often irrational, assumptions made.  It is also clear from events in modern day that there are still unfortunate examples of racism in advertising, as well as other areas of life.  To focus in on advertising, one such example is the 2013 Mountain Dew commercial that was discussed in class.  While the intent of racism may not have been meant, it still offends viewers and can be seen as negatively regressing progress made in society, similar to the Aunt Jemima portrayals.  Another example of relatively recent advertising, according to Oliver Ryan on CNN Money in 2006 (article here: http://money.cnn.com/blogs/browser/2006/07/sony-psp-ads-spark-cries-of-racism.html), is when Sony released ads for its PSP device that featured billboards with the words “PlayStation Portable White is coming” and a picture of a white women grabbing a black woman by her face.  Also, if one were to Google “Racist Ads,” numerical lists would immediately pop up of racist ads ranging from today to 2013 to early 2000s and so on.  It is clear that racism has not been completely removed.

References

ABC NEWS [Video file]. (2013, May 2). Mountain Dew 'Racist' Commercial: Pepsi

Pulls Goat Ad Dubbed, "Most Racist Commercial Ever'.  Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MdFRWf-CNC8

Ryan, O. (2006, July 5).  Sony PSP ads spark cries of racism.  CNN Money.  Retrieved

from http://money.cnn.com/blogs/browser/2006/07/sony-psp-ads-spark-cries-of-racism.html

Wallace, J., & Briggle, A. (2005). Advertising, Marketing, and Public Relations. In C.

Mitcham (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Science, Technology, and Ethics (Vol. 1, pp. 18-23). Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA. Retrieved from http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/suic/ReferenceDetailsPage/ReferenceDetailsWindow?failOverType=&query=&prodId=SUIC&windowstate=normal&contentModules=&display-query=&mode=view&displayGroupName=Reference&dviSelectedPage=&limiter=&currPage=&disableHighlighting=&displayGroups=&sortBy=&zid=&search_within_results=&p=SUIC&action=e&catId=&activityType=&scanId=&documentId=GALE%7CCX3434900028&source=Bookmark&u=san13255&jsid=de90f804436258eb5f99408330427207