(this post originally ran 5/4/10, but I always thought the re-imaged photo at the end was under-appreciated.  Hope you enjoy it)
So from this ad am I to understand that if I chew Trident Wite I’m 35% more likely to get out of a speeding ticket?
Is that only true for beautiful white women?  What if I’m [...]

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I teach a cardio-kickboxing class on Tuesdays, and there’s one member who often wears a t-shirt that says “# 1 Grandma!”  I’ve joked with her, asking if she’s coming to learn new discipline tactics (always adding, “seriously, folks, don’t try this at home!”)
So it’s not like the image in the Simply Potatoes ad above is [...]

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I’m always quick to jump on images OF women in media, but here is a great series on breaking down ads targeted to women.  In this critique of yogurt ads, feminist and comedian Sarah Haskins highlights every stereotype of women’s desires/habits possible, from dieting to shopping to shoes. 
If you already knew Sarah Haskins…why didn’t you share!  [...]

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Smart Asian Girl…check!
Black Basketball Player…check!
Hispanic slut in mini-skirt and heels…check!
White/blonde cheerleader…check!
I was talking to someone earlier this week about the intersection of anthropology and marketing…how to market to people of different backgrounds without perpetuating stereotypes.
“How do you do that?” he asked. 
While marketing should always start with your objective in mind (rather than a cookie cutter [...]

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In evaluating multicultural marketing, it’s good to look at who’s doing what (is the black kid the basketball player?  The older adult technologically illiterate?  The Latina dancing?), or to keep an eye on ‘agency’ (who has the power–is one group making fun of another, is the group represented the way it would represent itself?) 
But sometimes [...]

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 Talking about racial identity and multiculturalism is trendy, and what good marketer doesn’t immediately exploit a trend to make a buck?  Take a look at these three ads that incorporate interracial themes in the creative development of the ad for their client:
Starburst-Multiculturalism is the “punch-line” (by TBWA\Chiat\Day New York)

This ad builds an analogy of multiculturalism [...]

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Sometimes I think the best way to avoid perpetuating racial or cultural stereotypes in advertising is to purposely mix it up, which is why I liked the new “Let a Stranger Take You Home” ad for Heineken by Wieden + Kennedy, Portland.  The spot opens with an Asian looking young man singing along to a [...]

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Diversity, Inc., yesterday reported that Burger King “does it right” by pulling its Texican WHOPPER ad following outcry from the Mexican Ambassador in Spain at the ad’s offense.  More than a “misstep” as Diversity, Inc. called it, Burger King seems to base much of its advertising on objectifying or setting up power imbalances between cultures. 
The [...]

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