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Headline, Industry News
White actors dominate ads on Canada’s TV stations, new survey finds
Wednesday August 28th 2013A new study says whites are overrepresented in Canadian TV ads and more likely than blacks or Asians to be depicted in a positive light. Some experts, however, are divided on whether that’s a bad thing.
In a survey released earlier this month sociology professor Shyon Baumann and PhD student Loretta Ho analyzed 1,063 white, black and East and Southeast Asian characters appearing in 244 prime time TV food-related ads from 2008-2009.
They found that whites, who comprise 80 per cent of the Canadian population, were in 87 per cent of the commercials, that aired on CBC, CTV and Global in Toronto, a city which is 50 per cent non-white.
But there may be sound reasoning behind that domination, according to one marketing expert. “It’s a business proposition,” said Ishan Ghosh, a partner at Toronto agency Barrett and Welsh, which specializes in multicultural marketing.
“None of those (broadcasters) have high penetration among the visible minority audiences. If the study was done on specialty channels — BET, OMNI – you would see a very different skew,” Ghosh said.
“You want to target the audiences you think are the biggest prospects for you. Advertisers could certainly represent those minorities (on mainstream TV ads), but it’s really a waste of money.”
Segregated advertising, however, overlooks how “actually very multicultural” the mainstream audience is, said Bobby Sahni, partner at newly-founded ethnicity Multicultural Marketing Strategists.
Sahni, previously head of multicultural marketing at Rogers Communications Inc., said his agency’s forthcoming campaign for an education sector client will work for both mainstream and multicultural audiences.
“It’s one campaign that is cross cultural and reflective of the diversity of the populations we serve,” he said.
That doesn’t mean there shouldn’t ever be cultural considerations; Ghosh pointed out that some consumers, for example, view black and white imagery differently.
“TD Bank, their visual brand identity communication is usually in black and white, but to the Chinese population black and white is very negative, it’s the symbol of death,” he explained. “And the South Asian is a culture of colour. So for these two markets TD makes an exception and they bring it into colour.”
Sahni’s firm believes marketers need to address ethnic needs while integrating diversity. The company offers a “”Multicultural Walk-a- Mile” outing for clients that “might include anything from visits to ethnic shopping hubs, to meetings with community leaders and influencers at places of worship.”
“It’s not just about doing the right thing, it’s really leading back to ROI and delivering on growth for our clients,” Sahni said. “I believe the use of diversity in communication actually helps you cut through the clutter and get noticed.”
But inclusive ads can still be problematic, according to the U of T survey, which found whites were almost exclusively associated with healthier whole unprocessed foods, high socio-economic status and nuclear families.
Meanwhile, blacks were more often depicted as blue collar workers and less often associated with family and tradition; East and Southeast Asians were negatively shown as “Asian technocrats” – achievement-oriented but unemotional and robotic; and all three groups were overrepresented in fast food ads.
“When people are exposed to a lot of advertising over long periods of time without their being aware of it, these ideas of who people are and their place in society can be reinforced,” Baumann said.
Although the advertising industry purports to conduct extensive market research, ultimately Baumann suggested, “They rely on their own understandings or assumptions about the most effective way to do their work.”
When it comes to racial characterizations, advertising operates like comedy, Ghosh said.
“We’re always looking for symbols,” he explained. “So you do stereotype for the simple reason that you need immediate recognition of those symbols.”
“When you put a black person in a certain costume it’s intentionally done … it’s not negative, but it is stereotypical … South Asians are shown as either tech savvy or doctors. When you see a toothpaste ad, or a toothbrush ad, and they say ‘Recommended by doctors,’ you usually see a South Asian or an Asian doctor.”
Source: The Toronto Star
Headline, Industry News
White actors dominate ads on Canada’s TV stations, new survey finds
Wednesday August 28th 2013A new study says whites are overrepresented in Canadian TV ads and more likely than blacks or Asians to be depicted in a positive light. Some experts, however, are divided on whether that’s a bad thing.
In a survey released earlier this month sociology professor Shyon Baumann and PhD student Loretta Ho analyzed 1,063 white, black and East and Southeast Asian characters appearing in 244 prime time TV food-related ads from 2008-2009.
They found that whites, who comprise 80 per cent of the Canadian population, were in 87 per cent of the commercials, that aired on CBC, CTV and Global in Toronto, a city which is 50 per cent non-white.
But there may be sound reasoning behind that domination, according to one marketing expert. “It’s a business proposition,” said Ishan Ghosh, a partner at Toronto agency Barrett and Welsh, which specializes in multicultural marketing.
“None of those (broadcasters) have high penetration among the visible minority audiences. If the study was done on specialty channels — BET, OMNI – you would see a very different skew,” Ghosh said.
“You want to target the audiences you think are the biggest prospects for you. Advertisers could certainly represent those minorities (on mainstream TV ads), but it’s really a waste of money.”
Segregated advertising, however, overlooks how “actually very multicultural” the mainstream audience is, said Bobby Sahni, partner at newly-founded ethnicity Multicultural Marketing Strategists.
Sahni, previously head of multicultural marketing at Rogers Communications Inc., said his agency’s forthcoming campaign for an education sector client will work for both mainstream and multicultural audiences.
“It’s one campaign that is cross cultural and reflective of the diversity of the populations we serve,” he said.
That doesn’t mean there shouldn’t ever be cultural considerations; Ghosh pointed out that some consumers, for example, view black and white imagery differently.
“TD Bank, their visual brand identity communication is usually in black and white, but to the Chinese population black and white is very negative, it’s the symbol of death,” he explained. “And the South Asian is a culture of colour. So for these two markets TD makes an exception and they bring it into colour.”
Sahni’s firm believes marketers need to address ethnic needs while integrating diversity. The company offers a “”Multicultural Walk-a- Mile” outing for clients that “might include anything from visits to ethnic shopping hubs, to meetings with community leaders and influencers at places of worship.”
“It’s not just about doing the right thing, it’s really leading back to ROI and delivering on growth for our clients,” Sahni said. “I believe the use of diversity in communication actually helps you cut through the clutter and get noticed.”
But inclusive ads can still be problematic, according to the U of T survey, which found whites were almost exclusively associated with healthier whole unprocessed foods, high socio-economic status and nuclear families.
Meanwhile, blacks were more often depicted as blue collar workers and less often associated with family and tradition; East and Southeast Asians were negatively shown as “Asian technocrats” – achievement-oriented but unemotional and robotic; and all three groups were overrepresented in fast food ads.
“When people are exposed to a lot of advertising over long periods of time without their being aware of it, these ideas of who people are and their place in society can be reinforced,” Baumann said.
Although the advertising industry purports to conduct extensive market research, ultimately Baumann suggested, “They rely on their own understandings or assumptions about the most effective way to do their work.”
When it comes to racial characterizations, advertising operates like comedy, Ghosh said.
“We’re always looking for symbols,” he explained. “So you do stereotype for the simple reason that you need immediate recognition of those symbols.”
“When you put a black person in a certain costume it’s intentionally done … it’s not negative, but it is stereotypical … South Asians are shown as either tech savvy or doctors. When you see a toothpaste ad, or a toothbrush ad, and they say ‘Recommended by doctors,’ you usually see a South Asian or an Asian doctor.”
Source: The Toronto Star
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Headline, Industry News
White actors dominate ads on Canada’s TV stations, new survey finds
Wednesday August 28th 2013A new study says whites are overrepresented in Canadian TV ads and more likely than blacks or Asians to be depicted in a positive light. Some experts, however, are divided on whether that’s a bad thing.
In a survey released earlier this month sociology professor Shyon Baumann and PhD student Loretta Ho analyzed 1,063 white, black and East and Southeast Asian characters appearing in 244 prime time TV food-related ads from 2008-2009.
They found that whites, who comprise 80 per cent of the Canadian population, were in 87 per cent of the commercials, that aired on CBC, CTV and Global in Toronto, a city which is 50 per cent non-white.
But there may be sound reasoning behind that domination, according to one marketing expert. “It’s a business proposition,” said Ishan Ghosh, a partner at Toronto agency Barrett and Welsh, which specializes in multicultural marketing.
“None of those (broadcasters) have high penetration among the visible minority audiences. If the study was done on specialty channels — BET, OMNI – you would see a very different skew,” Ghosh said.
“You want to target the audiences you think are the biggest prospects for you. Advertisers could certainly represent those minorities (on mainstream TV ads), but it’s really a waste of money.”
Segregated advertising, however, overlooks how “actually very multicultural” the mainstream audience is, said Bobby Sahni, partner at newly-founded ethnicity Multicultural Marketing Strategists.
Sahni, previously head of multicultural marketing at Rogers Communications Inc., said his agency’s forthcoming campaign for an education sector client will work for both mainstream and multicultural audiences.
“It’s one campaign that is cross cultural and reflective of the diversity of the populations we serve,” he said.
That doesn’t mean there shouldn’t ever be cultural considerations; Ghosh pointed out that some consumers, for example, view black and white imagery differently.
“TD Bank, their visual brand identity communication is usually in black and white, but to the Chinese population black and white is very negative, it’s the symbol of death,” he explained. “And the South Asian is a culture of colour. So for these two markets TD makes an exception and they bring it into colour.”
Sahni’s firm believes marketers need to address ethnic needs while integrating diversity. The company offers a “”Multicultural Walk-a- Mile” outing for clients that “might include anything from visits to ethnic shopping hubs, to meetings with community leaders and influencers at places of worship.”
“It’s not just about doing the right thing, it’s really leading back to ROI and delivering on growth for our clients,” Sahni said. “I believe the use of diversity in communication actually helps you cut through the clutter and get noticed.”
But inclusive ads can still be problematic, according to the U of T survey, which found whites were almost exclusively associated with healthier whole unprocessed foods, high socio-economic status and nuclear families.
Meanwhile, blacks were more often depicted as blue collar workers and less often associated with family and tradition; East and Southeast Asians were negatively shown as “Asian technocrats” – achievement-oriented but unemotional and robotic; and all three groups were overrepresented in fast food ads.
“When people are exposed to a lot of advertising over long periods of time without their being aware of it, these ideas of who people are and their place in society can be reinforced,” Baumann said.
Although the advertising industry purports to conduct extensive market research, ultimately Baumann suggested, “They rely on their own understandings or assumptions about the most effective way to do their work.”
When it comes to racial characterizations, advertising operates like comedy, Ghosh said.
“We’re always looking for symbols,” he explained. “So you do stereotype for the simple reason that you need immediate recognition of those symbols.”
“When you put a black person in a certain costume it’s intentionally done … it’s not negative, but it is stereotypical … South Asians are shown as either tech savvy or doctors. When you see a toothpaste ad, or a toothbrush ad, and they say ‘Recommended by doctors,’ you usually see a South Asian or an Asian doctor.”
Source: The Toronto Star
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