Discussion » Questions » Life and Society » It seems that so many TV commercials these days show interracial couples and/or biracial children, and it’s a trend that covers all types of

It seems that so many TV commercials these days show interracial couples and/or biracial children, and it’s a trend that covers all types of

 products or services being advertised.

 

Question: can you think of any advertisement for a product or a service that would not, could not, or should not feature an interracial couple and/or biracial children?

 

DISCLAIMER: I myself am in an interracial marriage and our children are biracial, so I have a biased perspective of this topic. 

~

Posted - July 28, 2020

Responses


  • 9786
    Self-tanner?
      July 29, 2020 11:21 AM MDT
    3

  • 52907

     

      Why, yes I am, as a matter of fact. Thank you for noticing. (I can’t really take all the credit for it; I was born this way.)

     

      


    Now what is your answer to the question?  Stay on topic, stay on topic!
      ~

      July 29, 2020 3:22 PM MDT
    3

  • 44182
    I was darker than that when I came home from Guam.
      July 30, 2020 9:01 AM MDT
    1

  • 52907

     

      And?

      July 30, 2020 11:08 AM MDT
    0

  • 7919
    Hair products for African Americans and those that don't work for certain demographics might be an example. They're usually specially designed for a specific hair type.

    The proper name for one such hair type is "4C" aka the "tight coil." It responds to products differently- everything from how to style through dyes and relaxers is different. A while back, I came across a curling iron/ straightener thingy that was crazy expensive... well into the hundreds... and was supposed to be a godsend for all hair types. The company got some press from a beauty magazine and the mag sent several models to them to have their hair done. The mag sent away the 4C model without a styling, explaining that their product worked on every hair type except 4C. 

    That sent a whole lot of people into an uproar- many contended that the company should have styled the 4C model anyway in order to give fair representation. Others argued that if the product didn't work for 4C hair, they shouldn't be demonstrating its use on 4C. 

    I have no idea what the product was called or what the company was anymore. To a certain extent, I understand why they didn't style the 4C model and use her in the ads, but I also think they could have handled it much better than they did. Furthermore, I think if they used 4C models in their ads and the styling looked good, it would be false advertising. Nobody would get those results at home.

    The inverse is tricky. In my experience, the Black community is usually very supportive of a non-Black parent who's looking for haircare advice for their biracial child. However, sometimes those discussions go very, very badly. I think it would be very difficult for a haircare company to position itself as an expert in Black haircare if the person using the product was not Black for this reason. That doesn't mean they shouldn't include biracial families in their ads, only that they should be sensitive about how they do it. 
      July 29, 2020 5:18 PM MDT
    3

  • 52907

     

      You’ve brought up some good points, and you reminded me of such an incident that occurred way back on in my early 20s.  I will first address your answer.

      Starting back at Emancipation (in the US, at least), mainstream cosmetics and toiletries were rarely been aimed primarily at people who are were not Caucasian, and that continued until certain ethnic minorities started their own products, first of all as a home-based levels, and slowly by starting their own companies. Big Cosmo and Big Toilet originally didn’t even manufacture fir for or advertise to anyone but whites, and followed the mindset that anyone and everyone could use the same product(s).  Large companies in those industries were uninterested in branches or sections being devoted to those ethnically-different demographics, mainly due to the incorrect assumption that the market wasn’t big enough to generate profits that would justify the expense of research, development, advertising, and sales of ethnically-specific products. Fast-forward about 110 years later (1970s), when visions of profits danced in their heads, and they began to compete with and tried to take over the smaller, ethnically-owned companies. That brings us to the crux you brought up; some of the products the big companies made were still less appropriate for all people, but the company executives were the only ones who either didn’t know that, did know it but didn’t care about it, or did know about it and tried to get around it or ignore it. Hence the incident with the 4C model you wrote about.

      I understand the uproar that ensued there, because for years, Black people merely had to or have had to merely ignore products and advertising that touts the “everybody” line. For almost a century, only lily white models were in the advertising anyway, except when stereotypical negative comparisons of before and after were used as examples of how great thou art with our product. Makeup is a great example. Certain makeup for accentuating light-colored skin tones is invisible, or worse, unflattering on darker skin. Many Black women simply could not use particular makeup, but since it wasn’t marketed to them anyway, it barely mattered. The 4C model being sent away is an example of the shunting attitude that Big Cosmo had.

      In recent years, maybe the past 20 to 30, the situation has improved somewhat, as evidenced by more diverse product development and by more diverse models in the advertising of truly widespread choices for more ethnicities. Ok, now I’m just rambling and getting way off topic. 

      While your points are very good, as you stated at the end, none of that prevents an advertiser from using interracial, biracial, or multiracial people in the ad, for instance, the product itself might refer to one of several people shown in the commercial.  An entire family of any number of members could be portrayed, and not all of them would have to be of the same ethnicity.


      On to my story: I was in the Marine Corps, and men’s haircuts are an extremely important part of that life. Beyond or in addition to Marine Corps regulations and grooming standards (yes, there are very specific written regs that define the parameters of a proper Marine Corps haircut), there are men who just want their hair to look good. As such, finding a barber who cuts well and/or cuts it the way you want it is a big deal. Also, the barbers on a Marine base are civilians, they are not active duty Marines. The transient life of a Marine doesn’t guarantee that you’ll always get your preferred barber, but you’re still required to maintain a proper haircut at all times, excuses do not suffice in the Corps.
      I was on temporary duty at a new base, I was only going to be there a short while, but during that time, I needed a haircut. The following that I will recount was not necessary every time or with every new barber, but with some it was. Having learned from the experience of getting some very bad chop-jobs, I had developed a sure-fire tactic to avoid it. I always spoke with the barber before even sitting in the chair, and the answer I received had to have an air of self-confidence or I would respectfully decline and seek another prospect. The question I would ask was along the lines of, “Have you cut black men’s hair before?” or “Are you good at cutting black men’s hair?”  I received a variety of responses, from surprise, shock, humor, disbelief, agreement, humble declines, etc. On this particular occasion, the guy shocked me by saying, “Hair is hair. I’m a barber, I cut all hair the same way.”  I think he was a little offended, not an uncommon reaction to my questions. However, different types of hair have different textures, so I know from experience that some people don’t know how to handle black people‘s hair. One of the best ways to get butchered is allowing someone to find out they don’t know how to cut it by experimenting on your head. Even though he may have assumed that all hair could be cut equally, or even if he would have given me the best haircut of my life, I would never know, because I didn’t want to take a chance and find out the hard way.  I was the one who would have to walk around with a hack-job if he got it wrong. I thanked him and moved on, sought another barber shop somewhere else. Whether straight, curly, wavy, frizzy, thin, coarse, thick, brittle, sturdy, dry, oily,  etc., all hair is different, and much of it must be handled differently as a result.  My hair grows differently than others’ hair, not only its direction of growth, which varies on different parts of my head, but also its method of growth.

    ~

    This post was edited by Randy D at July 30, 2020 9:09 AM MDT
      July 29, 2020 6:32 PM MDT
    3

  • 7919
    I appreciate you taking it in the spirit it was intended and sharing your experiences. 
      July 29, 2020 6:59 PM MDT
    3

  • 52907
      July 29, 2020 7:00 PM MDT
    3

  • 13251
    Are you intentionally making typos and spelling errors and simultaneously correcting them? Why?
      July 30, 2020 9:10 AM MDT
    1

  • 52907

    No, not a one of them is intentional, why would you think they are?  I agonize over writing correctly, and when I don’t do it, the agony intensifies exponentially. I’m surprised at you.

    :| 

      July 30, 2020 11:13 AM MDT
    1

  • 44182
    Any ads that wouldn't involve couples and/or children. Women's feminine products Tractors and other farm supplies.
      July 30, 2020 9:06 AM MDT
    2

  • 52907

     

      Some advertisements are extremely vague in what products or services are being touted, and an often used tactic is to include concepts and images that have nothing to do with the subject matter. As such, even if couples and/or children are not the main focus, some ads use them as backdrop. 

    ~

      July 30, 2020 11:12 AM MDT
    1