Question

In January 2014, the Japanese airline All Nippon Airways (ANA) was forced to pull a TV advertisement after being accused of racist stereotyping by viewers. The TV commercial featured two Japanese men in ANA uniforms. They were discussing, in English with Japanese subtitles, how they could boost the image of ANA as an international airline. The punch line of the commercial saw one of them suggesting that they change the image of Japanese people. The camera then cut back to the other man, who was now wearing a blonde wig and a long rubber nose. These are stereotypical Japanese images of what Westerners look like. This is by no means the first and probably not the last time potentially racist stereotyping of Westerners has been employed in Japanese advertisements. In 2013, Toshiba featured a Japanese girl with a blonde wig and a fake nose in an advertisement for a bread maker. In 2010, Nagasaki Prefecture promoted its foreign-designed buildings with Japanese tourists wearing blonde wigs and big noses. At other times, Westerners have been portrayed as hapless visitors, a role that has not been met with viewers’ approval.

a) Westerners are comparatively rare in countries such as Japan. Is it right to portray them in this way? Explain why or why not.

b) Find other examples of marketing strategies that have employed racial stereotypes which could be considered inappropriate by viewers outside of a specific culture.

Answer 1

Answer 1:

Portraying anyone in any way is wrong and against the norms. No one has the privilege to make one feel bad or abuse.

Constitution of all the countries strongly prohibits such acts of discrimination. One cannot discriminate based on race, color, caste, religion, etc.

Equity and human rights commission around the world bans racial discrimination and is prohibited. This is considered as an offense at most of the places. Gender, caste, creed, color-based discrimination is strictly prohibited under Advertisement rules and regulations. Also, there is an ethical code of conduct that is followed.

Because these hurt sentiments of people and cause many emotional as well as physical problems to the targeted person.

Answer 2:

The examples of such marketing strategies are as follows:

1. Cosmetic products advertisements and marketing strategies over dark skin people.

2. Automobile advertisements have been banned due to gender-based discrimination.

3. Food and beverage advertisements were banned due to racial discrimination among different races and religions.

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