Mixed race couples on tv ads Mod Warning in Post #556

DellyBelly · 08-01-2022 8:38pm #1

Currently watching the Munster v Ulster match and at half time I noticed that a number of adds had mixed race couples in them. There was a BOI one followed by a Vodafone one where it was a white Irish guy with a black girl and kids. The only reason I thought it was unusual was that I don't know many mixed race couples... but maybe it's not so unusual these days?

SamStonesArm · 08-01-2022 8:40pm

Plenty of mixed race couples about.

dotsman · 08-01-2022 8:42pm

You don't know any mixed race couples???

You must live a very sheltered life. You should get out more.

Off the top of my head, I can think of 4 married couples (that I know well - i.e. 3 of whose weddings I would have attended) as well as numerous examples of shorter term relationships or people who I would only deem acquaintances.

Radharc na Sleibhte · 08-01-2022 8:46pm

No, not unusual

enricoh · 08-01-2022 8:52pm

It's more or less mandatory for advertisers nowadays!

KaneToad · 08-01-2022 8:52pm

There is definitely an over representation of mixed race families in TV/print ads. But we had the opposite for many years previously. Its no harm if it's swinging this way now.

standardg60 · 08-01-2022 8:55pm

It's a very carefully orchestrated PR exercise OP, every company worth their salt wants to be seen to be racially positive, despite the actual proportion of mixed race relationships in society.

I always chuckled at the Tesco Christmas ads, as there was 'a random black guy' seated at a table full of whites for no reason. This year's was an improvement with mixed raced kids, though i was still struggling to figure out what the relationships of the adults were.

Markus Antonius · 08-01-2022 8:56pm

I was thinking the exact same thing today!

The Charicahuahua Tribe from the south-east could do with more representation tho.

DellyBelly · 08-01-2022 9:14pm

Before anyone thinks this upsets me it certainly doesn't. I just thought it was a little unusual...

Masala · 08-01-2022 9:43pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118441269#Comment_118441269

I have to agree with you..... I Would did say I am a very social person and can’t say I know of any mixed married couples and I am in my 50,s having travelled the country in numerous jobs

.... and the kids definitely seemed to to be more colored than white. Sometimes I think yer man in the Vodafone ad must have married a widowed lady with two kids.

Are these ads trying to say that I got this marriage thing wrong marrying Mary the girl next door ....

dxhound2005 · 08-01-2022 11:19pm

The thing that doesn't come across is that most of the whites are Poles or Lithuanians. It is the black people who are Irish.

freshpopcorn · 08-01-2022 11:23pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118441269#Comment_118441269

I'm surprised the usual suspects weren't on here saying your a middle aged angry man because you made a comment about something.

To answer your question I probably know about two off the top off my head.

08-01-2022 11:25pm

Only one I thought was weird was the was the three ad for Christmas with the black kids but no black adult in sight.

08-01-2022 11:30pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118441972#Comment_118441972

Jesus Mary, and black Joseph

mary 2021 · 08-01-2022 11:31pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118441983#Comment_118441983

amen !

Tell me how · 08-01-2022 11:43pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118441378#Comment_118441378

'On a par with the KKK' for wanting representation of the people who exist in a society.

I imagine you spitting at the screen as you desperately look for the remote to switch back to Fox screaming about who changed the channel in the first place.

CGI_Livia_Soprano · 08-01-2022 11:52pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118442013#Comment_118442013

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118441378#Comment_118441378

Jesus Christ you should be ashamed of yourselves.

Strazdas · 08-01-2022 11:58pm

I'm in favour of such ads. Black people (and other ethnic minorities) were seriously underrepresented in the Irish media and advertising until very recently. About time this was redressed, it's the right thing to do.

nj27 · 09-01-2022 12:05am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118442031#Comment_118442031

You can imagine me spitting at the screen and switching to some American TV station if that gets you off, but I insist you imagine me in a purple gimp suit too. That the least you can do.

jam_mac_jam · 09-01-2022 12:14am

I just feel sorry for the poor Asians, it's like they don't exist.

Tell me how · 09-01-2022 12:22am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118442114#Comment_118442114

It's white. With a hood.

09-01-2022 12:30am

No such thing as mixed race.

Are white people not human?

I've a feeling we've been here before with that question 😁

jam_mac_jam · 09-01-2022 12:32am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118442208#Comment_118442208

I do think it's a bit **** though. We have had a higher population of Asians in particular Chinese for longer and they are seriously under represented in ads and television.

I think the black thing is an overcorrection and while it is a bit silly it's better then no representation.

dxhound2005 · 09-01-2022 12:34am

They have Mixed Race in the UK.

Mixed is an ethnicity category that has been used by the United Kingdom's Office for National Statistics since the 1991 Census. Colloquially it refers to British citizens or residents whose parents are of two or more different races or ethnic backgrounds. Mixed race people are the fastest growing ethnic group in the UK and numbered 1.25 million in the 2011 census.

standardg60 · 09-01-2022 12:34am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118442208#Comment_118442208

That's a fair point actually, representing a different race shouldn't automatically mean you have to be black.

Ninthlife · 09-01-2022 12:35am

The Bord Gais ad at Xmas was the same. The guy, Irish, face times his family who are all gathered together for Xmas dinner while he is at work on call. Suddenly a random black kid pops onto the screen..first thing I thought was tokenism and just plain PR overly PC shyte.

Cienciano · 09-01-2022 12:37am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118441972#Comment_118441972

Sure, Vodafone and BOI for some reason want more mixed race couples in ireland. Makes perfect sense. They definitely don't want to appeal to as many demographics as possible to sell more phones or to get as many different people to open bank accounts. No, they want to "condition" the irish public to somehow fúck up the next generation.

Seriously, the internet has a lot to answer for. The idiot american right wing conspiracy theories that we all laughed at 10 years ago are growing here. In 10 years there'll be far right people blaming jews for the fact that they have shít job in the convention centre on the quays

standardg60 · 09-01-2022 12:44am

Or in other words is utilising solely black people to represent diversity not racist itself?

Filmer Paradise · 09-01-2022 12:50am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118442208#Comment_118442208

Intresting point.

It's really noticeable nowadays, all these black people in Irish ads.

Not so many Asians, Chinese, Polish, Latvians etc.

Are the blacks the darlings of the progressives nowadays.

OMG!. The Travellers will feel neglected.

(There's only so many bell whiffing bleeding heart types to have pity on the 'oppressed ones'.)

Thelonious Monk · 09-01-2022 12:50am

I've noticed this myself, but I don't really care. I have mixed race cousins and nephew. It may be over exaggerated in ads etc but I am happy it's annoying the boards/journal commenters, at least there's that.

72sheep · 09-01-2022 12:56am

DellyBelly, you’re brave but not wrong. Observing that TV ads are not portraying recognisable day-to-day life in Ireland does not make you a bad person :-) Irish demographics are conclusive (94% white, 2% asian and 1.5% black) and so while anecdotal stories from posters are interesting, statistically they are entirely relevant. These simple numbers are why everyone is liking enricoh post.

Pure speculation of course, but the multinationals paying for lots of these ads are the prime beneficiaries of the flow of cheap labour* and so may want to normalise an exaggeratedly blended demographic. (* Often because western powers have been invading their poor countries with democracy.)

Strazdas · 09-01-2022 12:57am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118442179#Comment_118442179

Were there any black people in Irish made TV commercials even ten years ago? That was serious underrepresentation.

Also, black people as a percentage of the under 30s or under 40s in Ireland (the age group most likely to feature in TV commercials) would be much higher than 2% of the population.

jam_mac_jam · 09-01-2022 12:59am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118442316#Comment_118442316

I really don't think it's that deep.

It's a lazy way that companies think they can show how progressive they are.

72sheep · 09-01-2022 1:01am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118442320#Comment_118442320

Could be and I hope you are right. Either way I appreciate your positive spin on this :-)

Fred Astaire · 09-01-2022 1:10am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118442318#Comment_118442318

Was scoring virtue points a thing by drastically overrepresenting a tiny minority of our population a thing 10 years ago?

Again, to put this into really simple perspective - for every 100 people seen on television ads, 2 of them should be black, if we are concerned about fairness. Was that criteria met 10 years ago? Almost certainly it was.

Again, quite odd that we don't see too many Asians, Travellers, Eastern Europeans or Wheelchair users (just under 1 percent, so almost as many wheelchair users as black people).

Black people are the only game in town when it comes to showcasing diversity and representation. No other minority matters in modern society.

Liberty_Bear · 09-01-2022 1:11am

Frankly its a bit of a shocker to see that somehow that race matters when people are being represented on the TV. In between accusations of PC, Virtue signalling, accusations of pre conditioning...can we not accept that there are humans on TV regardless of ethnicity. Society does not function on the basis that we are one homogenous culture. Ireland has a culture comprised of Norman, Viking, Celtic, British and lately American and European influences. These have formed a confluence. Culture does not remain static yet is a constant state of flux. Throwing out the accusations of being PC and oft over simplified concepts of race mirror a population frightened at changes that happen when they dont even normally notice it.

Strazdas · 09-01-2022 1:13am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118442333#Comment_118442333

What are the demographics for the under 30s? Many black people only moved here in the last 15-20 years or so and a large number of black people (either migrants or Irish born) you see in our communities are young people. Guess what....it's this much larger cohort of younger people from ethnic minorities who are showing up in the TV ads.

nullzero · 09-01-2022 1:35am

I really couldn't care less about the skin colour of people in TV advertising however;

The motivation for utilizing non white people in television advertising in predominantly white countries is to appear to be inclusive, in turn the reasoning for appearing to be inclusive is for organizations to be able to point to their inclusive advertising as evidence of their benevolent nature in any number of potential situations that may have the potential to be damaging to their reputation.
The potential damage that can be caused to persons or organizations by accusations of racism in modern western society is immense. By throwing a few token faces of different colours into advertising organizations feel they are immunizing themselves against that eventuality.
The representation of mixed race families in advertising in Ireland isn't representative of reality, but advertising has always been about lying to suit an agenda, these days the agenda is "don't leave yourself open to accusations of racism". Advertising is just as insincere as it has always been, the focus has just changed slightly.
The one thing I do miss in television advertising is genuinely funny or inventive advertisements. There used to be some well thought out and funny TV ad's in days gone by. Now everyone is too afraid of causing offense and or trying to crowbar in enough diversity into their ad's, the genuine creativity seems to have been sacrificed altogether.

Filmer Paradise · 09-01-2022 1:38am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118442335#Comment_118442335

I agree with you whole heartedly.

Everybody should get on with everybody else all of the time.

Life's not like that though, is it?

Not at the best of times at least.

The problem I have with this is the people that are driving it.

They just ram through their opinions and their actions and fcuck anybody who disagrees with them.

If you do, you are a Racist, a Homophobe, woman hater or whatever else label they can throw at you.

Liberals are very tolerant people.............untill you disagree with them.

Liberty_Bear · 09-01-2022 1:41am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118442374#Comment_118442374

Race really thought is a social construct at the end of it , without meaning to sound like a third year sociology student on their high horse. World does not operate on the said aforementioned basis (indeed how wonderful would it be if we did) . Pre conceived notions implied by others drive differences, albeit not as bad as Victorian times.

Filmer Paradise · 09-01-2022 1:45am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118442378#Comment_118442378

How many cans of cider have you had today?

Need a Username · 09-01-2022 1:45am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118441269#Comment_118441269

I don’t know any mixed race couples and I’m not “sheltered” or whatever rubbish dotsman was spouting above.

We just don’t know them because we haven’t crossed paths.

Anyway as others have said above it is standard advertising these days. In catalogues too. Never been influenced to buy anything from these adverts the same as I’ve never been influenced by other adverts.

Except for alcohol. Those are adverts that have tempted me though me know from experience that I don’t like booze because they used to be good and funny.