Wednesday, February 07, 2007

Life Has Yet to Imitate Art


















For all the talk in the industry about the lack of minorites in positions of importance, at least stock photography has long attempted to embrace multiculturalism, presenting us with a rosey picture of racial harmony and good will among men and women. (Although I'm not so sure this is an actual picture from the 70s from Getty Images. I refuse to believe even the sleaziset of used car dealers actually went to work dressed like this. Seems a little "too" 70s.)

We see it everywhere, especially in college brochures. So there's obviously an awareness that in order to appeal to all targets, you must represent all targets. Or is it just White Ad Man's Guilt that causes ads to reflect a mini United Nations?

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Sent into orbit at 12:59 PM

5 Comments:

  • the guy in the middle is the mailroom attendant.

    and hey, for black history month, you should superimpose the astronaut character in your banner against something with cultural significance --- mlk march, rosa parks bus scene, etc.

    By Blogger HighJive, at February 7, 2007 at 1:13 PM  

  • HJ: He is not the mailroom attendant, he is the Director of Correspondence Distribution.

    Banner changed for BHM.

    By Blogger RFB, at February 7, 2007 at 1:41 PM  

  • And Rodenberry was always careful to include in the landing party a nondescript white guy who would inevitably bite the dust.

    So the photo services are just trying to be all things to all art directors .

    Microsoft's recent print work has been very careful to almost exclude whites, giving us instead a Jehovah's Witness cartoon version of the world, with Middle Easterners, Africans, Indians, the wheelchair bound, old folks and even....yes...CANADIANS.

    By Blogger RFB, at February 7, 2007 at 2:16 PM  

  • weren't most of the original star trek cast members actually jewish?

    doohan was not really scottish, i think.

    it might be the greatest collection of people passing for other ethnicities.

    (now inspired to do a diversity ad featuring star trek cast...)

    By Blogger HighJive, at February 7, 2007 at 3:44 PM  

  • HJ: Spock (Leonard Nimoy) and Kirk (William Shatner) were Jewish, not sure if anyone else was.

    JP: Microsoft has to run the ads internationally and those damn foreigners hate seeing Americans in their ads. So it's probably cheaper for them to shoot a bunch of non-whites. Though of course the Japanese don't want Chinese in their ads and the Chinese don't want Japanese and...

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at February 8, 2007 at 9:30 PM  

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