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Description
If a surveyor was to ask, how does advertising make one feel, would the responses depend on the participant’s disposition, race, and gender? All the responses would potentially be different depending on whether a white male, young Indigenous person, or black female answered. Advertising contributes a significant portion of what society is exposed to. The general population takes advertisements for granted but the message is there to sell a product. Consumers do not always realize the fabricated messages that are present in most advertisements. Desensitization has taken place in response to the strategies that the marketers use. Numerous stereotypes are embedded in advertising which people assume as accurate. Briefly reflect on recently published advertisements. If one were to break down the ad into sections; the setting, the topic, the cast, and the product being pushed, a common theme arises. What is displayed as a way of marketing a product, whether that be alcohol, cleaning items, or even clothing comes at the expense of multiple group identities and shows a lack of representation in the advertising market.
Over the centuries, advertising has evolved and methods of distribution have changed. What was once just reading a newspaper or magazine ad went to billboards and television which then led to us having a computer with instant access to all advertisements- twenty-four seven. But, for all the expansion and evolution in the advertising world, one major problem still remains. For many, no second thought is taken to reflect on advertising being shown to society. To the large majority that make up the minority, advertising being pushed out of agencies is controversial.
Advertising has unfairly represented many minorities. This deep- rooted problem bogs the advertising industry. From both a consumer’s point of view and an agency’s point of view, the industry has misrepresented and been palpably exclusive, excluding people of different races, disposition, gender, and even sexual orientation.
This paper aims to educate the public on both sides of production. It takes into consideration which people have been excluded from getting management jobs in the advertising industry and people who are not included in the ads consumers see as a result of the undiversified management. In addition to little diversity, is stereotyping in creation. Women, disabled, Indigenous, LGBTQIA+, African American, Asian American, and Latino communities encompass the minorities covered. Also discussed is a brief background of advertising, as well as progressive approaches and suggestions for advertising.
Publication Date
5-2022
Publisher
South Dakota State University
Disciplines
Communication | Public Relations and Advertising
Recommended Citation
Heesch, Elise, "Multiculturalism in Advertising: A Look at Non-Diversification and Stereotyping in the Advertising Industry." (2022). Honors Capstone Projects. 10.
https://openprairie.sdstate.edu/honors_isp/10