I recently blogged about Apple’s “Hello” commercial for the iPhone. The ad featured 24 white men, 6 white women, and 1 African American man.
So I guess it is safe to assume then that Apple is marketing the iPhone to white folks + Sam Jackson aficionados.
Right?
The advertisement does not feature any Latinos, Native Americans, or Asian Americans. Samuel L. Jackson as the token African American in the commercial does not imply to me that African American folks are in Apple’s target marketing demographic.
I perused the mac-blogosphere to see if anyone else took umbrage with the iPhone “Hello” ad. I left a few comments on a couple mac blogs. The response from other commenters was that Apple was using “recognizable characters” and that Hollywood was to blame.
Alright, I have a background in marketing/pr, let’s make a new ad for the iPhone.
This time the commercial will feature 24 African American men, 6 African American women, and Harrison Ford. Or 24 Latinos, 6 Latinas, and Will Smith. Or 24 Asian American women, 6 Asian American men,…you get the idea.
Now, is this ad selling the iPhone to white people? Yes, if you agree with the premise that the original “Hello” ad is selling the iPhone to people of color. Do you agree? (I don’t)
Apple’s marketers have succumbed to the white supremacy that is in most television commercials. White folks in ad spots are seen as “normal” or “everybody,” whereas an ad that featured an overwhelming majority of people of color would be seen as marketing towards a specific demographic.
I sent an email to several of Apple’s press contacts to see if they were aware that their iPhone ad was contributing to white supremacy. I am still waiting for a response…
Tags: discrimination, Race, racism, Social Justice, white privilege
You should return your MBP to those bastard contributors of white supremacy. You know, in protest and all.
That’s a great point Vic. It seems to me that there are 2 options when dealing with a company that is promoting white supremacy: boycott or educate. Since I can’t afford to return my macbook (it’s how I’m paying the bills…) i.e. boycott, I guess I can attempt to educate Apple’s marketing folks through my blog posts.
I’ve actually been thinking about this a lot lately. Since I don’t own a TV, I hadn’t seen the commercial until I read your blog, but I did notice the other day that it was one of the most watched things on YouTube. Weird. Anyway, I thought about what their marketing people said, “It’s Hollywood’s fault.” And yes, of course, Hollywood has done a pretty bad job as far as racial and gender equality goes, but that response is a total cop-out. Although there are not the same number, there still are many, many examples of recognizable characters from film and television, yup, even from several decades back that do not fall into the category of white man or even white woman. I think it’s kind of ridiculous, much like the Vitamin Water thing, that no one in PR/marketing seems to “catch” these things, like how offensive or thoughtless their ads may be…
On a side note, Eric, it’s too bad the PR/marketing field lost us, but maybe that’s an unwritten rule to be in the biz (be totally unaware of unearned privilege, racial and gender inequality, etc.). Sad.
Eric
We’re friends and all but I think you are a bit excessive. I will admit that I do not thoroughly search the entire blog but I look at the posts that appear in my email. It is rare (if ever) that you give credit to someone for doing the right thing. Try not to be predictable by showing us the few posts where you did. I just think there is something to be said for positive reinforcement. Yes, education is key. But, we don’t need to condemn people for behavior you very recently became aware of yourself.
Hi Tanya,
I’ll attempt to be not predictable
Here are the latest blog posts on my site that deal with oppression. (I’ve excluded my soup recipe posts, backpack evangelism, and a few other posts.)
The Apple ad, Glaceau’s Voicemail, and UIUC’s Chief Illiniwek have provided me with a lot of anti-racist blogging fodder. I feel that it’s okay to condemn racism in its overt (Chief Illiniwek, Glaceau Voicemail) and covert (Apple iPhone “Hello” ad) forms. I’m also very concerned with the sexism which is prevalent in many of the well-known web conferences.
I try not to call individuals out for being racist/sexist/homophobic/ableist/etc. but sometimes, like in the case of the UIUC Alumni administrator, I feel that it’s necessary in order to possibly affect some positive change. Sometimes my posts cause policies to change and I feel really good if that happens.
In most of my posts on racism, sexism, etc. I try to bring to light/expose the institutions which are promoting oppressions.
People did condemn me for my racist statements… If people had not told me that what I was saying was racist, how would I have ever known? I feel that it’s pretty common for heterosexual white men to go through their lives oblivious of their privilege and discriminatory language. I was fortunate in that I had friends (you included) who would call me out on my bullshit.
Your friend in both agreements and disagreements.
PS: I’ll always be a bit excessive. It’s part of my make up.
[…] Apple’s new iPhone commercial Blog: Eric Stoller’s blog I recently blogged about Apple’s “Hello” commercial for the iPhone. The ad featured 24 white men, 6 white women, and 1 African American man. So I guess it is safe to assume then that Apple is marketing the iPhone to white folks + Sam Jackson aficionados. Right? […]
I found your take on the IPod commercial interesting, for the simple fact that I am doing research on the opposite. Today’s commercials have a much greater share of Blacks compared to both their overall representation in our population and spending power. On the other hand, Latinos and Asians are grossly underrepresented for the reason that they are on the sidelines of “black-white” issues; therefore, politically-correct marketing companies do not feel the need to include them for fear of being unsympathetic, although their collective population and spending-power is greater than blacks.
I’m curious, Eric, what is your take on commercials that portray white men as baboons and feeble minded idiots compared with their female and minority counterparts? Does it bother you that we live in a society that the only person it is acceptable to mock and denigrate is a white male? Does it bother you that there is the constant public demand for open and honest discourse on race in this country, while if you, as a white man, do not take a progressive moderate to far-left stance on social issues during public conversation you risk being branded a “racist?” The day we truly have made progress in this country is when we do not approach everything through the paradigm of race and when we don’t feel the need to showcase our “white guilt” in commercials and personal blogs.
Interesting. Not sure I agree.
Why not take the initiative and cut together clips from films with minority characters, set it to the same soundtrack, snag the iPhone product shot and then post the results for everyone to see? It would make for a far more compelling argument.
[…] Original comment from Adam on my post on Apple’s iPhone Commercial: […]
Ryan - I would love to “take the initiative” and create an Apple iPhone commercial with a cast made up of folks of color. However, I seem to lack Apple’s marketing budget, access to Hollywood film clips, and video editing software…
I feel that my argument is fairly compelling given the content on the Apple iPhone “Hello” commercial. It seemed compelling enough to get Adam’s attention…
Thanks for reading.
ahhh c’mon, it has nothing to do with race, don’t do like the whole white-black psp commercial conflict. Well the phone is actually black isn’t it?
I think you may be over-reacting, IMHO. Certainly it would be nice if there were more racial diversity represented in the ad, but I don’t believe that the lack of it was intentional or intended as any type of slur against any one minority. I believe that it is probably reasonably difficult to come up with over 30 suitable clips of recognizable people answering a phone and saying “hello” on (probably) short notice. That the clips they chose were mostly white is unfortunate and most likely an oversight, but hardly the stuff of conspiracty theories.
Personally, I would welcome a version featuring all minority actors. I think its a great idea, and watching that as opposed to the current version would not affect my view on the product or the company what-so-ever. Seeing such an ad certainly would not lead me to believe that they are in anyway prejudice against white people. I would hope you could grant them the same latitude.
I can’t believe that you spend time micro-adjudicating what the intent of apple is in their advertising. It seems that many problems today stem from individuals seeking ways to capitalize on discrimination or cry the blues because they didn’t get their fair share of handouts or air time. I am a gay woman in the United States and we get discriminated against on a daily basis, but what I have found over the years is that rising above the uneducated sect that feel the need to discriminate rather than wallowing in self-pity and whining the blues ultimately wins. The fact that I am an individual with integrity, I put back into my community, I work hard, I have raised 5 children that are all upstanding individuals and I do not “suffer” from discrimination anymore. Have we all forgotten that respect is earned, not assigned at birth?
@Maverick - Thanks for commenting. I agree with you that the lack of racial diversity in the Apple iPhone Hello commercial was probably not an intentional act by the Apple marketers. However, in my opinion, that is where the problem resides. A commercial that feature a single person of color for a product that is supposedly for anyone, regardless of race, is troublesome to me. I think it is a glaring example of the racist history and institutional bias that exists in the movie industry if the only available recognizable people in a movie-based commercial are 99% white. The invisibility of whiteness as a defined norm is blatant in this commercial.
Apple would never create a “mainstream” commercial for their products which featured people of color + a token white person.
Would everyone say that Apple was advertising their product to white people if the majority in the commercial were actors of color?
How come I get such a reaction from white folks when I point out that a commercial is racist? Racism can be unintentional and does not have to reside in conspiracy theories.
@Mary - Thanks for commenting… Believe it or not, I’m still going to write about the iPhone commercial. Respect is essentially handed out to white people in the form of white privilege. It’s the same as the gender privilege that I receive as a man. I’m automatically given unearned respect simply because of my identities.
I think that Apple’s intent in their iPhone Hello commercial was to produce a commercial that would be extremely palatable to white people. The fact that I have “called” Apple out on overt message of their commercial has generated a lot of static from a lot of white folks.
I’m not wallowing in self-pity or capitalizing on discrimination. I feel that I’m pointing out that Apple’s commercial was covertly racist and that it normalizes whiteness.
[…] I’ve written about white privilege and the meritocracy myth before but I feel that I need to add a few more bits of content. […]
I get your point, but please tell me which stars do you remember picking up a phone and saying hello that are bigger or better remembered than these.
This is idiotic.
thehard - Thanks for commenting. There are a lot of famous actors of color.
The point of my post was that Apple was targeting white people with their “Hello” commercial for the iPhone. Would Apple Marketing issue an ad for the iPhone that featured clips from actors of color and then feature that ad, as advertising for people of color and white people, on the major broadcast channels? I don’t think so.
Chris - Thanks for contributing such an insightful comment
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