To ask if you’ve noticed this? Race-related.

[OffRampHilton]

I grew up (not UK) in an area that was entirely populated by white people but that’s changed since I was a child (I’m 40) and I’ve moved away to live in a big city so my friends and colleagues now are very racially diverse. I know couples of all races/ethnicity from same-race/ethnicity to every mix you can think of.

Over the past couple of years, I’ve been really happy to see more diversity on tv, especially in terms of race. I grew up seeing nothing but white people on tv shows, unless it was a programme specifically about black or Asian families. I remember the fact that Coronation St was introducing their first non-white family was covered in the newspaper. The default was white people unless non-white people had a specific “reason” to be there- and that reason was pretty much always race-related.

I’m noticing lots more diversity, especially on ads. However, I still don’t see a lot of black or Asian families. I see mixed families where one parent (normally the mother, for some reason), is white, then a black parent (usually a dad) and two mixed children (normally a boy and a girl!). Great, it certainly represents a lot of families, but there seems to be a lack of depiction of families that are entirely black or entirely Asian or entirely anything other than white.

From paying attention to a few ad breaks tonight, I saw the following, in order of most common-

White families.
Mixed-race families.

I didn’t see many wholly non-white families.

Has anyone else noticed this?

Also, if I’ve used any clumsy wording in this, please don’t jump on me, but educate me instead.

@LucilleBluth

In the race to be diverse though there’s often a lack of white working class people represented I find. Even the mixed and black/Asian families depicted are nearly always MC.

How do you know what class someone featured in an ad is? If it’s an expensive perfume for instance obviously going to feature glamour and sophistication. If it’s cleaning products it’s going to be a nice big house which has shiny furniture everywhere. Ads are directed towards those who have the purchasing power ...

@mustlovegin

Representation is tricky. Do you represent society as it is, or as you'd like it to be?

What does this mean in an advertising context exactly?

Your money is good enough and I want you to spend it on my product. However, I don't like it very much that you are part of this society, so I will ignore (the whole 60% of) you and won't include someone like you in any of my ads. It's madness!

My comment was about television drama, not adverts.

@Gubanc

I'd assume products were aimed at black/Asian people if only they were portrayed on an advert. Just as certain haircare products etc are advertised.

That makes sense for hair care products but not really for banks or sofas!

Gubanc

I'd assume products were aimed at black/Asian people if only they were portrayed on an advert. Just as certain haircare products etc are advertised

I think this sometimes. I used to see adverts for a job agency and because they only ever used BAME people to advertise the agency I did think it was only for BAME people
There are things that are just for BAME people and as a white person if you start to think they are for everyone then you get called all sorts and you don’t make that mistake again.

So they will have done research and focus groups and testing and found that the demographics they are advertising to respond well to this type of casting

It depends entirely on who is participating in these 'focus groups'. Obviously they don't seem to be getting it right

There is a massively disproportionate number of black people in adverts compared to the population. Should be 1 in 50 or unlikely to see any on a given as break. The problem with the constant demands for diversity is that eventually the tail wags the dog and adverts become about diversity than the product itself.

tallduck: Ehm... is your world always so black and white? Just because I think this way it doesn't make me racist. There's a 'black mumsnetters' part here, I never comment (might read threads) because I assumed it's 'reserved' specifially for black people.

I think this is true of ads but not actual tv/film, there's lots of representations that aren't interracial there.

because Adam and Eve were white

Of course they were! Just like white Jesus, that well-known historical character from the middle east ...

@Gubanc

tallduck: Ehm... is your world always so black and white? Just because I think this way it doesn't make me racist. There's a 'black mumsnetters' part here, I never comment (might read threads) because I assumed it's 'reserved' specifially for black people.

Yes I would assume the same about specific groups with bame etc in the title. Same as at university there was a black girls reading group, which I assume is not for everyone.

But not just people in adverts. Else you'd also assume the products were for pretty young teenagers and not for Middle Aged women (ie perfume clothes make up!)

@ChargingBuck

because Adam and Eve were white

Of course they were! Just like white Jesus, that well-known historical character from the middle east ...

😂

Didn't you know Jews are white

@Gubanc

tallduck: Ehm... is your world always so black and white? Just because I think this way it doesn't make me racist. There's a 'black mumsnetters' part here, I never comment (might read threads) because I assumed it's 'reserved' specifially for black people.

I suspect you’re trying to be goady now.

tallduck... You've gotten personal with me twice but didn't bring anything else into the conversation.

@gubanc So you see a Tesco ad featuring an Asian family and think Tesco is only meant for Asians? Jeez louise.

Casting directors do not travel to Somerset or some other majority white area to cast an advert

What do you mean? They can find all ethnicities easily in London.

Do they use different ads for Somerset areas to be respectful to the local customer base/community?

traditionally a smaller percentage of Asian people entered the acting or modelling professions

So there's absolutely no one they can cast?

tallduckandhandsome

@gubanc So you see a Tesco ad featuring an Asian family and think Tesco is only meant for Asians? Jeez louise

But if you had never used Tesco, never really come across them before and they only ever used Asian families and people to advertise then I would presume it was only for Asian families and people.

As I have said I have been in the position of turning up to something and being told to look at the advertising. Did I see a white face?

Also casting directors don’t really travel. In most cases if you want to be cast in anything you have to go to them.

Another example of how companies can alienate the majority of their customer base by following advertising agencies' advise.

Marsh & Parsons ad reads Merton dressed as Lambeth - incredibly sexist and ageist version of 'mutton dressed as lamb' .

www.facebook.com/pg/marshandparsons/photos/

Why are companies signing off on this rudeness? Don't they realise they are being taken for a ride?

This is all over buses and bus stop billboards BTW, that's why I've noticed it.

I find the interracial adverts really weird. The companies are trying too hard and it's cringy, but I can imagine having the job of making an advert to include black, white, asian, gay, lesbian, non binaries and trans lol. The results are often very strange adverts geared up to the minorities all the time.
I am asian and generally we stick to marring asians. I have many black friends that say the same about their cultures. Some to intermarry but generally not so seems weird to see so many interracial ads. Far too much box ticking to try and appease everyone.

Sorry for typos 🤦‍♀️ ....I meant meant marrying not marring

@Ponoka7

Me and my DD have been commenting on this for months. There was a body of research done and the amount of Black people in adverts is high compared to how many there are in the UK, but there aren't enough all black families. It would be interesting to know why they've gone down the mixed marriage route. Unless it's so no accusations can be cast.

I assumed advertisers had gone down this route purely to cover more bases with less money but I'm very cynical about the advertising profession. (and the ads can be used in both the US and UK just by changing the voiceover as a bonus).

Don't understand why there so many black people in ads and so few Asian people though when there are far more Asian people in the UK than black people.