Overview

The concept of race has been an ongoing issue for centuries. Despite numerous arguments, studies, and factual evidence arguing against its validity as a biological construct, the reification of race still exists. The reification of race in advertising is one way that race has been perpetuated and reinforced over time. Reification is the practice of treating abstract notions or ideas as if they were concrete, tangible objects or things. In the context of race and advertising, this can take the form of treating race as a fixed, immutable characteristic that defines individuals or groups of people. Advertising both reflects and reinforces societal norms, and it has historically played a significant role in shaping public perceptions of race and racial identity. Through its use of images, language, and symbolism, advertising has been used to construct and perpetuate racial stereotypes, reinforce racial hierarchies, and promote products and services to specific racial groups.

This project is about how the reification of race has been perpetuated in advertisements throughout history, and how it is still in ads seen today. The stereotypes that are often promoted surround the ideals created throughout history. Some of the stereotypes seen today can be connected back to Social Darwinism, anthropologist ideologies, and race scientists.

Advertisements reflect the values and beliefs of a society, and the way that race is portrayed in these ads indicates how entrenched the concept of race is in the collective consciousness of humanity. The concept of race began with anthropologists and “race scientists,” who determined race as a device to separate White as the “superior” race for their own gain. In Chapter 1 of “From Savage to Negro”, Lee D. Baker explores the role of anthropology in the construction of race during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Baker argues that anthropology played a key role in creating and perpetuating racial hierarchies, as well as in defining what it meant to be "civilized" or "primitive" (Baker, page 13). These ideologies promoted strict stereotypes to separate African Americans from White people - giving them traits as if they were less civilized in any way, by measuring their cranial capacity to determine their level of knowledge, and deeming them incapable of equal opportunity.

Historically Racist Ads

On the first page of this exhibit, I have provided historical advertisements to give background information about how far back this stereotyping dates. Aunt Jemima is one of the largest and most widely known racist ads that existed in history. I included this image to provide a timeline of the history of these ads and their relation to current-day ads. The next ad on this page is a Dove commercial, which shows a promotion of using soap to lighten one’s skin tone. This ad was used to show that the historic stereotype promoting White being ‘better’ has been promoted in advertisements as well. The last item on this page is about a dishwasher commercial. This advertisement portrays the stereotype of a Black woman, unable to properly spell or speak, which contributes to the racial separation promoted against African Americans during Social Darwinism.

Promoting Racial Stereotypes

The second page of this exhibit is a continuation of explanations of racism seen in advertisements that contribute to the reification of race. The first advertisement shows an ad of two White men doing blackface to promote their TV, accompanied by tobacco brands. I used this ad because it promoted an entire television dedicated to promoting racial stereotypes by the use of blackface. Pick and Pat would portray stereotypical and exaggerated movements to promote the idea of the reification of race, creating standards that wrongly defined the mannerisms of Black people. The next item on the page is a clip from an article that breaks down race in ads to a more scientific level. I chose a section that specifically talks about the emergence of subtle racist imagery in ads that have emerged following backlash from past ads, but that it does not mean it is less present. The third excerpt is from another scholarly journal, describing a commercial that’s racism was both blatant and hidden. I included this page to show there are multiple forms of subtle racism incorporated in ads that are not always obvious, but embedded in social history.

Statistical Evidence

Another part of this exhibit was to show the research behind the claims. The first piece of evidence shows an audience of TV advertisement viewers who claim to have seen a stereotype of their ethnicity being promoted on TV. It also shows how many people stopped using the product being advertised, and how many people reported the incident or talked about it. The next item on the page is highly important. It goes into the technicalities of racially targeted ads. There are multiple aspects to advertising; they can promote racial stereotypes, but also be promoted to minorities and target audiences more so than other audiences. The graph on the second item represents Facebook’s algorithm that targets Black people through ads based on their voter registration information and shows that White people are vastly unaffected by the targeting. The third item also relates to Facebook's targeted algorithm. Over the course of one year, the algorithm decreased its targetted ads meant for minorities for White people by 78%, while at the same time, practically flatlining the amount targetted towards Black people. This provides both context and evidence that advertisements are racially motivated at times.

Modern Day Ads

The next page transitions to modern-day advertisements to show that it is still a problem and that the reification of race is present in modern-day society. The first ad is from Intel, and I included this advertisement to show that it stereotypes Black people into the role of not only a position of bowing but also promotes that all Black people are athletic/want to be athletes. The next item on the page is a Nivea lotion ad, which reads, “Re-civilize yourself” as a Black man holds the head of a figure that has long, natural hair and facial hair as well. I included this to show that there are still advertisements that represent an incredibly dated ideology from anthropologists that were specifically implemented to create a hierarchical system that put White men at the top. The last item on this page is a children’s ad from H&M in which a young Black boy is wearing a hoodie that says “Coolest Monkey in the Jungle.” I included this to also connect to dated systems, and tie it to the 1893 Columbian Exposition where African Americans were promoted as exotic and primitive, and portrayed as “monkey-like.” (Baker, 57).

Modern Day Ads Cont.

On this page, I attempted to find more recent ads that have received a lot of backlash from the public. A lot of these major ads have gained a lot of attention and have since been taken down, but this has been paired with a lack of accountability. For the first item on the page, I wanted to show a reaction from someone in public to represent the backlash this specific image faced. On top of that, I wanted to show the depiction of the image as a mimic of blackface, which was spoken about before, as a means used in history to mock and stereotype Black people. The next image on the page is an advertisement that Ashton Kutcher took part in, which created a lot of backlash as well. He visibly has makeup on to appear to have a darker skin tone, and imitates someone of a different race than his own while perpetuating stereotypes about that race.

Overall, the reification of race in advertising has had significant social and cultural implications. It has reinforced harmful racial stereotypes and perpetuated racial inequality and discrimination.