Racism in H&M's Advertisement
You will write a proposal for your case study paper and presentation. The topic you select should be something that is current or was newsworthy in the past couple of years. It must focus on an approach (context) we have studied in class. An example of a case is Chevrolet in the 1970’s not having any Latinos on its marketing team and deciding to launch the Chevrolet NOVA in Latin America. “No va” in Spanish means, “no go,” so you can image how well a car called “no go” sold in Latin America. Thus, Chevrolet didn’t take into consideration the verbal code.
This proposal should be a minimum of 5-to-6 double-spaced pages (excluding cover sheet and references). For your proposal, you will write the first 3 sections of your case study paper (Introduction, a portion of the Literature/Research Review, and the context section, i.e. what context(s) are you focusing on, such as the cultural context or nonverbal code etc.). Your proposal should include the following:
Proposal Components:
Introduction and Overview: Describes overall purpose of paper including description of case for background and what context you will examine.
Literature Review: Summary of theoretical/scholarly literature reviewed for the context of the case, i.e. literature you have research, outside of the textbook, about the context you are examining for the case. (How the context are you examining relates to the literature you pulled and researched) and (at least 5 sourcescited).
Context Rationalization (what is the context to be associated with your case) and Media to be Examined: Identifies what context (chapter) will be analyzed with the case you are analyzing; provides rationale for why you are selecting this particular context. I.e. how your case relates to a context or theory we are studying. For example, XYZ company didn’t take into consideration the environment or the verbal code etc. For example, "I" (the student) will examine XYZ's company’s advertising or media coverage (print, TV, or web) by pulling at least10 newspaper articles etc. that talked about my case. In the paper, I will state, “The media that I looked at I determined that the coverage was positive, negative or neutral?” You will also answer, “did that coverage exacerbate or frame the case in a positive or negative way?”
Criteria
Introduction and Overview describes overall purpose of paper (describes case, briefly previews type of media content analyzed and area of scholarly literature reviewed; makes argument for why that scholarly literature is best suited to the case).
5
Literature/Research review cites at least 5 scholarly sources that are appropriate for the case. Literature is concisely and effectively summarized.
5
Context and media to be examined. This section identifies the context that will be (you will) explored; provides rationale for why you are exploring this context. As well as the method, i.e, how you will examine the case as it was reported in the media. I.e., I will look at 10 news articles to determine the coverage, was it positive, negative or neutral? Did that coverage exacerbate or frame the case in a positive or negative way?
7
Written quality (organization, clarity, conciseness, grammar, spelling and punctuation)
3
TOTAL
20
Case Study Proposal
Name
Institution
Due Date
Case Study Proposal
Introduction and Overview
One of the biggest issues the world has had to face is racism. African Americans and Africans, in general, have had numerous experiences that happen to remind them of the atrocities that Europeans committed. Adverts, political leaders’ speeches, and even movies have often reminded people of color that they are less than human. The use of certain words, phrases, or slurs has left many wounded because of the constant reminder that one is less. In 2018, the world’s attention was drawn to H&M’s advertisement involving a young boy named Liam Mango. In the advert, H&M was advertising a green hoodie through the young boy, and even though this is standard practice, it is the writing on the young boy’s hoodie that caused a lot of people to call out H&M. The writing on the hoodie said “coolest monkey in the jungle,” and even though this seems like a harmless statement, many people, especially people of color, felt offended by the company’s choice. Famous people, including musicians like The Weekend, issued statements condemning the actions of the fashion brand (Stack, 2018). H&M was quick to counter the backlash and said that it was also in shock because its protocols were not followed and that the garment would be removed from its product lines worldwide (Stack, 2018). Further, H&M added that the fashion brand believes in and values diversity and inclusion and that it had started investigations to ensure there would never be a repeat of the same (Thomas, 2018).
H&M’s case is not isolated because there have been such issues all over the world. However, why was this a major issue, and how does it fit within the larger context of this assignment? First, the writing made use of the word ‘monkey,’ which has been a derogatory term that racist Europeans used to refer to Africans in the past. Secondly, the use of the term ‘monkey’ and having the hoodie be advertised by an African child. Such a combination spells ignorance or neglect on the part of H&M, a company that currently stands at $183.361 billion in market capitalization (Yahoo Finance, 2022). The error made was indeed a case of negligence. Using this case, an examination or investigation of the perceptual context as it relates to the case outlined will be done. The goal here will be to make a distinguishable connection between the case and the context while showcasing how the former fits within the boundaries of the latter.
Literature Review
Different companies in the world have been found guilty of subtle racial discrimination through advertisements or marketing campaigns. As indicated by Petty et al. (2003), racism in the world continues to become more overt. The researchers note that racism is currently less “explicitly verbalized,” but this does not mean that it is not happening. As the world becomes more complex, racism is also morphing with the changing systems. Today, there are numerous ways in which “subconscious levels of racism” are displayed (Petty et al., 2003). These levels mainly lead to what the researchers call ‘naturalized representations,’ and these form people’s perceptions of the world and people around them. Through advertisements, companies can continue to subtly communicate racial stereotypes and racially discriminate against parts of society with little to no action taken by the government. What these companies help to champion are racially biased beliefs that somehow become grounded all the more, regardless of the efforts to try and fight the problem. In the case at hand, H&M’s advert was subtle yet incredibly offensive. Shabbir et al. (2014) refer to this type of racism as subliminal racism, and they indicate that this type often “operates below the threshold of awareness.” For such an advert, it takes one with a keen eye and contextual or perceptual knowledge to discover the message being relayed.
In marketing, the target audience is a key aspect that determines the approach taken when it comes to developing advertisements and marketing campaigns. Today, it has become relatively easier for companies and platforms to discriminate against certain people. With the advent of numerous advertising platforms, it has become increasingly easier for subtle racism to continue unperturbed. For example, Facebook has been accused of allowing users to discriminate against certain audiences on its ad platform. According to Zang (2021), by using Facebook’s algorithms, users can group their target audiences and have their adverts reach a select group of people. In this article, Zang details how users can, for example, limit a job advertisement to people from a particular community or individuals with whom one shares certain attributes. H&M’s advertisement, especially with the abovementioned phrase, is a subtle statement to particular groups of people.
Aside from the above, while it is a welcoming sight for H&M to make use of an African American child in its advertisement, the way in which the child has been used also brings about undertones of inferiority. In the context of race, the term ‘monkey’ has often been used to demean Africans in general. Africans, including African Americans, have a different understanding or take on the term because of past experiences. The use of such a subtle racist element confirms the inferiority sensitivity or view still propagated today (Bristor, Lee, & Hunt, 1995). The propagation of such helps to maintain a status quo that is flawed in attitudes, o...