Blog 4: Racial Stereotyping in Advertisement

Racial stereotyping is never right even if it is for advertising purposes. If advertising were allowed to racially stereotype, it would make it okay for everyone to racially stereotype, whether it be for packaging or magazine covers or everyday use. Racism is not a thing of the past. There are still many people who are racist, taking in account of the recent Ferguson case. The amount of hate towards a certain group of people based on their skin color should never be allowed. Yes, we did win the Civil War, but we never truly won. We still battle with multiple racial cases today. For example, a video went viral a couple months back showing an African American tour guide who had a racist rant towards citizens and tourist on the street when the bus tour went through Chinatown in San Francisco. Not only was this woman racist, but the rest of the people on the bus did not say a single word to her rather they applaud her. Advertisers should have ethical responsibilities. They should be responsible for the designs and ads that they produce because the public sees their product and would either judge it or take it in as knowledge. It is the advertiser’s job to make sure that they do not put out anything racist and if they do, they should take the responsibilities of the aftermath if anything does come out. An African American writer, Alex Haley, states, “Racism is taught in our society, it is not automatic. It is learned behavior towards persons with dissimilar physical characteristic.”