SURPRISE: ADVERTISERS DO NOT TARGET MINORITIES

i loved this dove ad campaign because it included everyone: young old, slim, chubby, and ofcourse, black, asian, hispanic and white. (source: smh.com.au)

usa--i definitely don't mean to sound bitter or cynical or condescending. instead i'm genuinely baffled, confused and perplexed by yet another researched surveys results: wgsn reported that "African American and Hispanic customers are almost twice as likely to "enjoy looking at or listening to advertising" than their US peers, but most find current messaging is not relevant, according to the 2007/08 Monitor Multicultural Marketing Study from market research specialist Yankelovich, released yesterday." here in lies my consternation: did they really need to research this? any black, hispanic, and even white human being, living in america, between the ages of 6 to 60 could have revealed that bit of information and been every bit as accurate. and while i applaud the firm yankelovich for even caring to formally research this, i for one, am over dissecting and analyzing the problem. it's clear and it's here. how about we devote some time, money and research to discussing the problem? what i never understood about advertising and the fashion world (see yesterday's posts) is that for industries where the bottom line is money they seem to ignore the fact that minorities spend money in almost gross amounts. (wwd reported that black women in the u.s. alone spend up to 20 billion a year - just on apparel). so even if you don't particularly care for the people and cultures as a whole - don't you want some of their money? just asking blaynista's! i'm just asking!