Once upon a time, Brooke Shields, the Doublemint Twins and the Breck Girl were among the most recognized figures in advertising. In the new millennium, a new era has dawned. Today, advertisements routinely feature blacks, Latinos, and Asians, with African-American actor Isaiah Mustafa's Old Spice commercial emerging as one of the top advertising campaigns in recent memory. Just 20 years ago, such a turn of events would have been inconceivable.
"In the past, people would talk about multicultural as to do with social good. Like it was the right thing to do and it was good for PR," explained Acento ad agency president Roberto Orci to NPR's Michele Norris. "That's not the case anymore now, and the push for multicultural marketing is coming from the very top. It makes sense for business now and it's well-recognized."
Why the shift? Advertising companies began to recognize that the amount of disposable income minority groups have is growing at a rapid pace. Latinos, for example, control $1 trillion in purchasing power, according to Norris.
Advertising companies also feature minorities more prominently in campaigns because it's just common sense. They can only gain from trying to hawk their products to as many groups as possible. "The advertisers...understand that more than just white America is buying their products. So they're trying to reach all cultures and all races, whether it's Latino, black, Asian or, you know, Native American," said Jimmy Smith, creative director of TBWA/Chiat/Day.
One reason advertising companies ignored minority consumers in the past is because they doubted that a market for specific minority groups existed. Advertising execs figured that they could reach everyone with ads designed for the dominant culture.
"Early on, in the '80s and '90s, it was trying to convince marketers that there was a Hispanic market," Orci recalled. "Because everybody believed back then that Hispanics would all assimilate as other immigrants have done. In other words, in 10 years, they'll all be speaking English, there will be no need for Hispanic marketing. That has been thoroughly debunked because of the fact that the language is still very strong, and the culture is very strong."
Today, it's unnecessary to try to sway execs to feature people of color in campaigns, according to Smith. He can include a group of Latinos in a golfing ad without having to explain the decision. He says sports is an area of advertising that's essentially colorblind. Consumers are paying attention to the product at hand rather than the individuals featured in the ad.
It's hard to tell if Orci and Smith are painting too sunny a portrait of the advertising industry. Anecdotally, I agree that when I watch commercials, I see actors from a wide range of ethnic groups. I've even noticed a few interracial couples in advertisements, though they're typically made up of white men and Asian women, which some would argue is the least controversial mix to feature. Still, it's another sign that advertisers are more inclined to be representative of the "real America." If only the TV and film industries would follow suit. Then, Will Smith wouldn't be practically the only actor of color studios bank on to sell movies.
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