Why Does This Bother Me?

[Joe Guy]

TV commercial (creators) that seem to go out of their way to represent all ethnicities and sexual preferences they can squeeze into their allotted time? Interracial marriages seem to be a fad now. I'm waiting to see a commercial for something like Ancestry DNA in which they show a family reunion with Asians, Hispanic, Europeans, Pacific Islanders and orangutans all dancing and kissing each other.

Why do I cringe when I see two men or two women kissing or even, to a lessor extent, a man and woman kissing each other? It's all so phony. Is this because I'm not woke?

I realize that children growing up seeing these things on TV (between their Mortal Combat games) are probably going to become more understanding than if they were to watch what I grew up viewing on the idiot box.

Have I reached the grumpy old fogetry level of the game of life?

[Methuselah]

I've been watching this diversity in advertising casts for several months. This is the first time I've seen it commented on. The effect on me is not a disdain for diversity, but acknowledgement that the advertisers have caught my attention. I used to
watch TV with the remote in one hand, quickly changing channels when ad ad comes on. They are so boring. I do stop and watch the ads with diversity now, to see how daring they will become. I wonder how many of the buying public say they'll never buy that product again. If the advertisers are trying to catch my eye they've succeeded. It must be working, the practice keeps growing in size. Enough of this speculating, has anyone seen a report on surveys on the topic?

[TPFKA@W]

It doesn’t bother me. You must only eat Wonder bread.

[Gob]

It doesn't "bother" me so much as I find it patronising and annoying. Advertisers trying to portray a world in which everyone is a mix of balanced age/ethnicity/gender choice/ability/sexuality. It's bland, boring and unrealistic, it presents a world in which we do not live.

Here in the UK we have an advert in which a muslim kid in a hajib, learns to do a skateboard tick, trained by her black male friend, and is then cheered on by all her multi ethic peers, getting a card telling her she was great for not giving up.

It's so "sweet" it's puke inducing. We're not Americans for fuck's sake.

[Guinevere]

It isn’t “woke “or “patronizing” it’s representative of the fact that we live in diverse cultures, and the all white heterosexual world portrayed in TV, movies, and ads, since the beginning of time, was nothing more than an inaccurate fantasy world.

If you’re uncomfortable, imagine all of the BIPOC people who have never been able to watch TV and see themselves or people like them portrayed in any meaningful way.

[MajGenl.Meade]

Bone In Pile Of Chuckles? Born In Pittsburgh On Carpets?

The MBs

[Gob]

It isn’t “woke “or “patronizing” it’s representative of the fact that we live in diverse cultures, and the all white heterosexual world portrayed in TV, movies, and ads, since the beginning of time, was nothing more than an inaccurate fantasy world.

If you’re uncomfortable, imagine all of the BIPOC people who have never been able to watch TV and see themselves or people like them portrayed in any meaningful way.

Ok, so in the UK 8 million people are from an ethnic minority backgrounds out of a total population of 67 million, or in other words one in 8 people are black/Asian/Indian etc. So why do adverts have to portray the country as if every other person is black, and that there are few, if any, white couples?

Again, it's not that I am uncomfortable, it's just that I find it unrealistic, and probably counter productive.

[Big RR]

If you’re uncomfortable, imagine all of the BIPOC people who have never been able to watch TV and see themselves or people like them portrayed in any meaningful way.

FWIW, I'm white and as middle class as they come, but I cannot every recall having seen people "like me" portrayed even in a meaningless way. Especially in ads, I think people on TV are cultural stereotypes; it's a consequence of the "steak into hamburger" nature of TV. movies can be a little better, but not very often. I accept it and put up with it, but there is absolutely no sense of reality in any way.

[Methuselah]

MajGenl: From Google: "BIPOC stands for Black, Indigenous, and people of color. Pronounced “bye-pock,” this is a term specific to the United States, intended to center the experiences of Black and Indigenous groups and demonstrate solidarity between communities of color.Jan 15, 2021"

[ex-khobar Andy]

As Guin said:

It isn’t “woke “or “patronizing” it’s representative of the fact that we live in diverse cultures, and the all white heterosexual world portrayed in TV, movies, and ads, since the beginning of time, was nothing more than an inaccurate fantasy world.

Absolutely true. However:

By its nature, a pendulum swings. It's what they do. We now have the situation in which almost every judge (say; just to pick on the legal profession because that's what they're for) on TV is a Black woman. I have nothing against Black women judges and I am hugely in favor of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson making it onto the Supreme Court, but it is not a realistic portrayal and it is possibly harmful.

I long for the day when we will see an ad where a Black woman buys Brand X and a White man tells her she should have bought Brand Y AND NO-ONE TURNS A HAIR. Then we will have arrived at a post-racial society.

[Joe Guy]

I just want to add that I can't think of any TV commercial that is any good (appeals to me) and makes me want to buy a product.

And it's really funny how some drug ads include disclaimers that seem to go on forever and say things like: "May cause death, pain or severe allergic reaction or many other possibly extremely serious conditions that will make you wonder why you ever decided to take this drug".

[Methuselah]

I too marvel at those drug ads that end with a phrase like "it may cause your ass to fall off." I can only imagine the office fights between the legal and sales managers of these products. I don't think there are any office fights on the issues what casting practices will alarm the racist, evangelical, and homophobic portions of their intended customer base, though. They've made a calculation of how far they can go to encourage everyone to follow those ads with diverse castings out of curiosity, and get the sales message they need to get over. Speaking personally, I don't care about what is realistic, but I would like to know what the motivation regarding use of diversity by the people who prepare these ads.

[Joe Guy]

It doesn’t bother me. You must only eat Wonder bread.

Yes! And black people people of color do too!!!...... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=re4ddTC6sT8

[Big RR]

I just want to add that I can't think of any TV commercial that is any good (appeals to me) and makes me want to buy a product.

As I recall, there is a type of advertising that is intentionally annoying in order to get the consumer to recall the product or brand name . Things like "Where's the beef?" or any number of other commercials use this to their advantage. The purpose of a commercial is to evoke a response that will lead to increased sales, not to entertain or even be something the consumer likes. Advertising people understand this and use it to their advantage (or at least believe they do).

[MGMcAnick]

As I recall, there is a type of advertising that is intentionally annoying in order to get the consumer to recall the product or brand name . Things like "Where's the beef?" or any number of other commercials use this to their advantage. The purpose of a commercial is to evoke a response that will lead to increased sales, not to entertain or even be something the consumer likes. Advertising people understand this and use it to their advantage (or at least believe they do).

That is absolutely correct, and was one of the important points of an advertising class I took in college. I don't know how many times I've discussed an ad with someone, and realized that I couldn't recall what the ad was for. In short, they failed.

Some ads are designed to make a consumer jump up and head for the fridge. Whether or not the right brand of beer is there, at least the viewer is having a beer. Maybe they will buy the advertised brand next time, although that is highly unlikely.

A new sitcom, American Auto, recently had an episode that involved shooting a new TV ad. They shuffled the couples and families in the cars in the ad to keep all the demographics happy. It was funny to watch, however the show is not all that great. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11717610/

[Methuselah]

Is this new trend primarily from one ad agency, or one producer, or is it an industry-wide trend? Has anyone found a research article published on this topic?

[Sue U]

Interracial marriages seem to be a fad now. I'm waiting to see a commercial for something like Ancestry DNA in which they show a family reunion with Asians, Hispanic, Europeans, Pacific Islanders and orangutans all dancing and kissing each other.

And if Ancestry did such a commercial, it would be quite literally depicting my family -- but would need to add in some Black and Middle Eastern people and lose the orangutans. "Interracial" (and, while we're at it, same-sex) marriage is hardly a "fad," and the only reason it seems that way to you is that for the first 70+ years of television you never saw it on the screen. This is precisely why representation in media matters: The fact that you think these people and their relationships are somehow unusual or contrived. And when I see these representations, it catches my attention for exactly the opposite reason: "Oh hey, it's people who look like us! We're not invisible/unacceptable! The dominant culture is acknowledging our existence as legitimate and normal members of society!" Whether it's a movie, a TV show or just a stupid ad, it is an affirmation that minorities may and do participate in the life of the nation, and that's important for everyone to see.

ETA:

By its nature, a pendulum swings. It's what they do. We now have the situation in which almost every judge (say; just to pick on the legal profession because that's what they're for) on TV is a Black woman. I have nothing against Black women judges and I am hugely in favor of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson making it onto the Supreme Court, but it is not a realistic portrayal and it is possibly harmful.

I see no problem with some over-representation of minorities in mass media, particularly in "non-traditional" roles. Think of Grey's Anatomy, in which Black and female doctors are clearly over-represented compared to their actual numbers in the profession. Most people have little real-life contact with thoracic surgeons, so their perceptions of what's "normal" is shaped by what they see on TV. The more people see of them in the media, the less minorities seem unusual in any role.

[TPFKA@W]

My veterinarian is a POC as is my dentist and my podiatrist. Probably would blast Joe’s socks off.

The vet did take me by surprise as I have never seen a black female in that role nor seen one on TV.

[BoSoxGal]

My current GP is a black woman. She’s one of the best doctors I’ve had in my life, and I am grateful for her. I am benefiting from the ‘twice as good’ work ethic that is apparently the mantra among black professional women.

[Big RR]

My last GP was a hispanic woman (from Spain) who was in a practice with a white male. Even though she could be difficult to understand at times (due to her accent), I preferred her to the guy; they both retired recently and I don't like either of the two who took over; I have a couple of specialists I see regularly, but I am now looking for a GP. All I really need is a doctor who I can get along with and who does not talk down to me and gives me the information I need and his/her recommendation (and that she did very well); even if he were the best doctor in the world, I could ever go to an asshole like House (and I have known doctors like him.