I had firsthand experience of awkward race-based messages a while back when I was the brand manager for a supermarket. We had briefed our advertising agency to create a campaign for the butchery department. They came up with executions that showed characters enduring a stressful day then being soothed by a nourishing meal of tender beef.
One of the scenarios we approved for use on the in-store posters involved mothers dealing with crying babies; another showed a woman on a crowded bus. The idea was to depict everyday situations many people could relate to and position the beef as a well-deserved luxury.
The agency shot the bus scenario at a bus depot in south Auckland. In hindsight I should have attended the session but we had a close relationship with the agency people and trusted them to produce the still shots for us. Our account manager reported that all had gone well. She added that they had even managed to find some people to fill the bus without having to hire them through talent agencies. Still alarm bells were not going off in my head.
I nearly fainted when I saw the completed posters. They showed a Caucasian woman looking miserable in the middle of a bus full of people - which, of course, was what we had signed off on. What I had never anticipated, indeed would have argued vehemently against, was that all the other passengers would be Pacific people.
I was gobsmacked. In what world would it be okay to suggest a Pakeha woman's definition of a bad day was being on public transport while surrounded by Pacific people? I really had no words.
I didn't raise my concerns. I trusted my instincts less in those days. Also, my boss and his boss played golf with the head of the agency. I wasn't in a position of power when it came to questioning the agency's work. The posters were due in stores by Monday. I didn't want to be responsible for under-decorated store interiors. Plus we'd rejected the agency's initial concept (which had weirdly featured cowboys lassoing cows on a ranch) so it seemed churlish to respond with yet more negativity.
And, anyway, none of my colleagues appeared to have picked up on the insensitive subtext of the poster. Perhaps my interpretation was flawed. As it turned out just one customer telephoned to complain that the poster was racist. I suspect there were plenty of people who were offended but chose not to make contact.
No offence had been intended. South Auckland is well-known for having a high percentage of Pacific people so the ethnicity of the extras recruited there is unsurprising. It only took on a sinister bent when they were placed alongside the Caucasian woman who was looking decidedly uncomfortable. It was intended that the source of her discomfort was being on an overcrowded bus at the end of a long day but how was the casual observer supposed to know that? It could just as well have been a recruitment poster for a white supremacist group.
From that day on I consulted Statistics NZ population figures ahead of group shots so I could ensure the mix of people was a fair representation of the ethnic makeup of the country. If I had my time again I would have tried to stop those posters being displayed. I still wonder what reaction shoppers in south Auckland would have had to them. Perhaps some of them are still boycotting the supermarket concerned.
Are you offended by race-based stereotypes in advertising?
