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Cultural Sensitivity in Advertising

The document discusses issues of cultural insensitivity in advertising. It describes how clothing brand H&M faced backlash for having a black child model a sweatshirt reading "coolest monkey." This was seen as racially insensitive given the historical association of black people with monkeys in a derogatory way. It also compares this to Dove's ad that showed a black woman "shedding her skin" to become white. The document argues that companies need to be more aware of cultural appropriation and sensitive histories of oppression in their marketing. It praises how social media was used to raise awareness and demand change from H&M after this incident.

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11 views4 pages

Cultural Sensitivity in Advertising

The document discusses issues of cultural insensitivity in advertising. It describes how clothing brand H&M faced backlash for having a black child model a sweatshirt reading "coolest monkey." This was seen as racially insensitive given the historical association of black people with monkeys in a derogatory way. It also compares this to Dove's ad that showed a black woman "shedding her skin" to become white. The document argues that companies need to be more aware of cultural appropriation and sensitive histories of oppression in their marketing. It praises how social media was used to raise awareness and demand change from H&M after this incident.

Uploaded by

api-533580064
Copyright
© All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

The World Is Not Just Black and White!

Society has shaped the world to be either or; everything is either black or white, right or
wrong, good or bad. According to society there is no in between. When referring to African
American speaking on the inequality or injustice they are seen as being pro-black and anti-
white. When the black community screams “BLACK LIVES MATTER” society screams “ALL
LIVES MATTER.” The bigger picture is completely ignored. Social media, businesses, and even
clothing companies have become so culturally insensitive that they do not realize the offense of
their actions until it is already published for the world to see. H&M failed to notice how having a
young black boy model their “Monkey Sweatshirt” clothing line would offend the African
American culture. That itself is a problem. There has to be a way to bring awareness to these
companies on how their advertisements affect different cultures. Though it may not be targeting
your culture personally, being aware of the insensitivity of others is essential.
COOLEST MONKEY OR
SLAVE?
What H&M
failed to realize is the history
vs nature aspect. Many were
deeply offended by the ad
because the negative
connotation. Historically,
African Americans were
associated with monkeys in
a derogatory sense. Black

people were belittled and referred to as less than human. Slavery plays a big part
in this as well, monkeys are wild caged animals thus to how slaves were treated
during those times. People took to noting that other sweatshirts from the same
line, including one reading “Survival expert,” were modeled by a young white
boy. Referring back to historical times it deems white people as superior to
blacks. Dove had this same issue of cultural insensitivity when advertising their
soap. The commercial displayed a black woman using their soap and then
shedding her skin becoming a white woman. Yes, the black community speaks
out but when the black community is the only ones seeing the issue we have a
problem. As a society we have to be mindful of things that may not necessarily
affect us personally but still identifying it as wrong.
YOUNG KING!
The Black community used social
media as a platform to raise awareness of
the cultural bigotry. Many celebrities and
consumers of H&M boycotted the
company, demanding them to take the
advertisement off of social media.
Celebrities who were in collaboration
with H&M made it globally known that
they would no longer be working with the
company. NBA star Lebron James, posted
an edited picture of the ad, with a crown
on the model’s head as well as covering
the phrase printed on the sweater.
Lebron’s tweet read “Enough about y’all and more of what I see when I look at this photo. I see
a Young King!” The social backlash brought awareness to what the company was blind to Critics
considered this advertisement to be “tone-deaf” and “filled with racist undertones.” Using social
media as their platform the African American community, celebrities included, brought
awareness to the cultural insensitivity. In the efforts of making this controversy go viral, it
brought awareness and demanded immediate action and change.
CLAP BACK!
Companies and brands have to be more aware of cultural appropriation. Marketing
should have a positive, inspiring image. Being educated and aware of the sensitivity of
possible racial undertones is essential when promoting a brand. We need to use our voice
to clapback, use media to spread the word, and stand with one another to advocate for
each other even if the matter does not affect us directly.

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