Somehow, brands are still producing unintentionally racist products, but ironically this has been a prominent issue during the perfectly timed, Black History Month.
First, on February 1st, Adidas pulled their white “Ultra Boost Uncaged” sneaker from their collection made to honor Black History Month. The idea of matching “Uncaged” to an all-white sneaker didn’t go over as well as Adidas’ marketing team hoped.
Then on February 6th, Gucci’s black and red Balaclava sweater that’s pulled over the mouth is recalled for its similarity to blackface.
Many gave it likeness to the racist stereotyping cover of early children’s book, “The Story of Little Black Sambo.” The company then quickly took to Twitter to apologize after so much backlash was received, as their marketing team had to act fast is taking the sweater out of both physical and online stores.
Even before Black History month, H&M received backlash in early January over a black child being the model on an advertisement for their hoodie reading, “coolest monkey in the jungle.” If the complaints about the ad’s racist undertones as some people found weren’t a bad enough perception, H&M also received hate for the white child being the model for the hoodie labeled, “survival expert,” of the same line.
Clearly, the problem of unintentionally racist marketing continues to persist in 2019. You might think brands would be more cautious in how they present their products during the month specifically dedicated to celebrating the black achievement.
So, what do these racial controversies have in common above all else?
Poor marketing!
It’s not the products themselves that cause the outrage, but instead how marketing teams advertise them. For Adidas, the white sneakers would have been successful products on the market if it weren’t for the distasteful name given to them. The H&M hoodies had become a big issue when people saw them presented on those specific models.
Marketing teams have already been looking into solving these branding issues that continue to persist today. Ad Age author Adrianne Pasquarelli has found that this is still a problem because,” the people making the decisions lack diversity.” Often people in marketing look to brand from their own point of view and don’t have the true perspective of the consumers of their product. One of the most, if not the most, important aspects of advertising is pandering to consumer’s wants, needs, and feelings, yet it is almost impossible to market for a diverse consumer marketplace if the company itself is lacking diversity.
Brands are already working to prevent insensitive advertising, as Pasquarelli mentions products such as Brandstage and Spotlight, made by Kantar Media, that give brands feedback before they start creating their advertisements. Although brands are trying these products along with giving out surveys to “focus groups,” they continue to miss the appropriate people in their research beforehand.
At this point, doing better might pertain to focusing on the sensitivities of all cultures by directly involving them in the marketing process. It’s more than just reaching out to a diverse group of people to review their marketing as well, the best way to prevent the outrage is by concentrating on diversifying the marketing teams in the first place.
For more information go to Adrianne Pasquarelli’s, “Primer for Burberry and Others on How to Make Sure Your Marketing Isn’t Racist”, Ad Age, (Feb 20, 2019). https://adage.com/article/cmo-strategy/make-marketing-culturally-sensitive/316658/
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