In this essay I will be analysing prints adverts to see if the ethnic minority included in the advert is represented negatively or positively. To do this I will start by looking at historic adverts ranging from the 1890’s all the way to 1980. Then I will go on to look at three more recent adverts which are Pepto Bismol, United Colours of Benetton, and Green King and decide for myself how they’re represented.
In this section I will be analysing three adverts from the previous century. I will start off by looking at Bonds Soap (1890). The picture is of a little black boy with clowns clothing on. The ethnic minority in this advert is black people. The advert is saying that you ‘can polish everything but manners’ meaning that you can clean a black person but you will never make them polite. This is a negative representation. The next advert is Haven commodities. The picture is a group of native black people carrying the white people’s items. The ethnic minority is black people. This advert is suggesting that black people should be used as slaves and they are happy about it. The ethnic minority in this advert is represented negatively. The supposed first ever multi-racial embrace in an advert was the advert for milk in 1980. The ethnic minority was yet again black people, but unlike the other two adverts the representation in this advert was positive because in the other two adverts the ethnic minority was always lower down than the white or more dominant person.
Representations used to be negative but now I would expect them to be mostly positive, to see if this is true I will analyse three more recent adverts. I will start by looking at the advert for Pepto-Bismol which is a remedy for stomach ailments. In the advert there is a group of five middle aged Indian men. The ethnic minority are Indians. The models included have an age range of 30-50. The models are all wearing black trousers, a white shirt and a black bow-tie. This suggests that this is a uniform of some kind and that they have a job being waiters. This could be seen as a negative representation because it is suggesting that they have to ‘serve’ us. All of the models have different hair styles. This is a positive representation suggesting that they’re individuals and can decide what they want. The models’ facial expressions and body language matches the word underneath them, which insinuates that they have eaten the food that they have cooked in their restaurant and it has made them ill. This is a negative representation for the reason that it is stereotyping Indian food saying that it will make people ill if they eat it. They camera shot is a slightly low-angled shot which brings to mind that the models in the frame are owners of the establishment because it makes them look more superior. This is a positive depiction because it is saying that they can possess their own business. The models are close together in the shot which suggests that they stick together even if they all feel ill. The models are all waiters and appear to be of middle class status; being a waiter is not a very good job for their age rang so this is a negative representation. I believe that the models are meant to look successful; therefore they are doing well in life. The models are dressed in white and black; white connotes a sense of decency; this is a positive depiction for the reason that it connotes that they are good people. The writing in the advert is also white which connotes purity and goodness. The models are top lit to make them seem like they’re nice people. The advert is set in an Indian restaurant. You can tell this because of the traditional Indian archway and the chairs poking out the side of the writing. The text in the advert tells you what the medicine cures and how to use it; the font of the text is a Sans Serif font which makes the text easier for the viewer to read. I think the audience for the advert is people who have a stomach ailment; this advert appeals to the audience because the colour is very inviting and it tells you why you might need it. I believe that the advert is positive to the ethnic minority involved because it makes them out to be good people who like to work. There are some negative in the way that they are made out to be waiters which is not a very good job.
