Advertising is a very strategic form of building a name and bettering a growing business. It’s a way of putting your name out there and making a face for your business. Children are used very often in many advertisements as they have very positive features and bring up positive images in your mind. They bring up the image of youth, energy, fun, and so on. However, different children play different roles in advertising based on stereotypes created by our society.
The article of Chapter 23 spoke a lot about how white children were more prevalent in advertising. Blonde haired blue eyes represented bright futures, intelligence, commonality, and adventurous. Whites are seen as being common as having bright futures, center of attention, and outgoing. Blacks are used to represent as being passive and the second to whites. That is the main way the two are seen to be represented in the article. Also the blacks are seen to excel in advertisements regarding athletics and music. This is where they are seen as the stars of commercials as whites take center stage in most others.
I believe that advertisement is a strategic way to reach out to the common audience. Businesses just want to communicate and get their message out to the most people that would be interested in their product as possible. That’s just business. The fact of the matter is that whites are the majority. If businesses want to reach the majority they must specifically go out and send a message that would best communicate to them. To do this they must create a seen that is common and comfortable for them and by putting white children in the advertisements creates this. It’s not about racism or downplaying the minority. It’s about sending a message that will best get their message across to the majority to create the most business for them. If they are targeting whites then white children will be used. If they are targeting blacks then black children will be used. That’s just how business works. People look into everything as being racist and tries look too deep and find hidden meanings in things that don’t have any. It’s simple. Advertise to create the most business. That’s all there is to it.
I disagree with the article. They are trying to create a hidden meaning in something that doesn’t have it. It’s business. They are trying to reach the largest audience possible. That’s how a business works. Whites are the majority so white children will be used to reach the largest audience.
- Is this so called “oppression” toward minority children in advertising actually oppression or is just business by trying to reach the largest audience possible?
- Why is blonde hair blue eyes seen as common and more prevalent on white children in commercials when the majority of white adults do not hold these characteristics?
But is it really just business? What if you think about this in terms of social learning theory - children learn their sense of self/identity through watching & modeling others like parents, friends, and also media representations. Separate the business side of this article and think about what "we" are saying to children on Saturday mornings. Seiter isn't saying business is bad,I think she's just trying to see that we need to be aware as consumers and also members of society.
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