Stereotypes In Advertising - Where Is The Line?

A little while back PepsiCo came under some fire in regards to an advert they released for Mountain Dew. This didn't make the rounds on social media as I expected it to. I only found out about it through my mother as evidently it did make some waves in Bermuda. 

This petition only needed 196 signatures to claim victory and just 100 signatures to get the advert removed. 

The reason this advert was so controversial is because it represents two things: sexism and racism. 

It contains a line-up featuring all Afro-Caribbean men and a goat. The line-up is what could be classed as ignorant. It is displaying and playing into the frankly untrue notion that "all criminals are black males" and more disgustingly "all common woman beaters are black males". I'm not going to venture into the statistics of crime because to be honest, if you're a criminal, you're a criminal and that's it. 

This advert is perpetuating the stereotype based around black crime figures. In addition to this, the issue of sexism is bought forward in a negative light. It is showing that the female victim is too scared to come forward regarding her attacker. Not only does this depict women to be weak but it also has a more sinister side - a real-life victim may become too scared to identify her attacker because of this advert. 



If the writer of the petition is correct in his statement "PepsiCo benefits from sales in the black and brown community yet it perpetuates racial sterotypes that are egregious and offensive" (sic) then the marketing team ought to re-think their moves. I cannot vouch for the accuracy of the true demographic of Mountain Dew drinkers as it is mostly ages listed rather than ethnicity.

Moreover, they never seem to explain WHY a goat is present at all. Had it been something bizarre like a lineup of animals or even something humorous like a lineup of Mountain Dew mascots it would have made slightly more sense. 

Below is the text found on the petition which outlines what this member of public thought of the advert:

To:
Pepsico, Office of Marketing 

In what has been called the "most racist commercial in history", Pepsico and Mountain Dew depict black males in the most demeaning manner insinuating they endorse violence against women. Is it the perpetuation of the ugly image of black and brown people who are already criminalized at such high rates the reason that many academicians no longer call us a "free nation." Is there some humor to be found in the fact that this nation incarcerates the most people out of any nation in the world?... FOR PROFIT!

The video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtsGrZgu388) depicts the black males in a lineup in the most racially offensive stereotypes as a goat, announcing in a black man's voice a warning to the white woman attempting to identify the attacker. The goat taunts the battered  woman and warns her not to "snitch".

How any company would want to brand its product with such venomous stereotypes is a case study for public relations. This is outrageous.

Sign this petition if you believe Pepsico should make a public apology and institute a training program to counteract racial stereotypying in advertising.

It is said the idea behind this advert is music artist Tyler The Creator who is known for his controversial antics and claims PepsiCo loved his pitch. The issue here is that this advert fits in with Tyler The Creator's branding but not PepsiCo.

This certainly put Mountain Dew in the spotlight however the bad humour caused many a tomato to be thrown.

Let us not forget the backlash Asda received this past Christmas when they released what was widely classed as a sexist advert featuring a mother running around preparing everything for the Christmas festivities.

The advert above had women all over the country screaming out against the unfair stereotype that women are picky, trouser-wearing and running the show in terms of chores and errands all with a smile on her face. I see what Asda were trying to achieve with this however a true representation of relationships would include the partnership involved.

Writer Rowan Davies at the Guardian wrote an article correctly questioning the element of same-sex couples. In addition to this, feminists everywhere became concerned about the chance children watching this would assume it is all down to the woman and thought it was a joke that they displayed a stay-at-home mother rather than what is more likely - a woman rushing around in her lunch break trying to make sure all the presents were bought while hubby goes out to gather the food supplies.

Due to the backlash both these adverts received, I think we can determine they overstepped the line.

Stereotypes by definition are created from a grain of truth (this should not be used to justify the PepsiCo advert as the idea of that particular issue is outdated). Sometimes using stereotypes can have a positive effect and build a brand into something recognised simply by a catchphrase. Think Italian sauce - think Dolmio. Why? Because of the successful and cheerful "When'sa your Dolmio day?".

The above advert uses physical and culinary stereotypes surrounding Italians but is by no means a negative representation of the nationality or culture. This has helped Dolmio develop an identity as well as a series of adverts. Both of which aid brand identification. 

Smith (1990)* indicates that when using stereotypes in advertising it could be concluded that advertisers are behaving in a socially irresponsible manner and not in society's best interest. This is particularly prevalent when considering how much media is consumed by young people who are susceptible to such things. A ten year old viewing the Mountain Dew commercial may believe it is okay to racially stereotype criminals and victims. 



So where is the line? It's simple. It's the separation between a negative and positive representation. Italians aren't rejecting Dolmio as it is seen as a gentle stereotype and therefore non-offensive. Whereas the Mountain Dew and Asda adverts represent a gender and ethnic stereotype in a way seen as widely negative. 

Personally? I'm not overly sensitive to a lot of things but that is because groups of people have different values and perceptions. The way John may look at the Mountain Dew advert is not necessarily the same way Sam views it which is why it becomes difficult. The only way around this is to do extensive research into how the advert and brand could be perceived should a stereotype advocating advert be released. 

*Smith, N C (1990). Morality and The Market. New York: Routledge.