Racism In Advertising

'You can tell the ideals of a nation by it 's advertisements ' ' (unknown) Statistics have shown that an average person sees between 400-600 advertisements a day. Do we give each one of those 400-600 advertisements our full attention, perhaps even a laugh or allow a feeling of excitement to spur within us? No. Why? Because what captivates us is specific to us only. What appeals to us is singular. Our taste cannot be too broadly generalised. The STIHL Bedouin chainsaw, advertisement above is a solid representation of the listed points above. A person might look upon it and laugh at how bizarre looking it is, some question and attempt to understand why it is situated in the middle of the dessert but the majority will not go beyond that, except

The biggest impact of the advertisement comes from the projected stereotypes of Arab, or Muslim culture that are displayed. The striking symbols could even be a form of racism. First, we focus on the details of the advertisement which show a clear link to Arabic or Muslim culture: the man 's isolation, the scarf wrapped around his head, the cloth/material used on his tent and rug, the camel as a way of transport, and the only piece of modern day technology being the out of place chainsaw. Based on the collected details it is assumed that the man lives in poverty, however a type of poverty that fuels the typical romantic desert settings in our imaginations. The humour once again comes across in the fact that the chainsaw, something seemingly inaccessible and unnecessary to the man is being portrayed in an environment where it is completely useless

Another cultural stereotype seen in the advertisement would be the image. Although it comes across as unsurprising, exactly that unsurprising aspect of it could be racist, degrading and even gender/culture bias. First, the advertisement features a male, not a female which creates a correlation between the consumer in the image and the real life consumer. In the advertisement, the man is sporting a plaid shirt and seen smiling. This could be the rough preview of the intended audience of the ad, or the type of consumer the advertisement would correspond with. In these ways the gender stereotype is clear as it’s assumed that the men would work with chainsaws, proving them to be the tougher sex, hence showcasing the true toughness of the consumer which is the glamour cast by the product itself. The same correlation could also be made with the portrayal of culture once again. The male in the picture states that the Arab society is male oriented, and if the advertisement were a real life scenario, the woman would be found inside the tent. Another hint which leads to a connection with culture stereotyping would be the rug which the man is kneeling upon. It is recognised as a prayer rug as is the man’s posture. When looking at the shadows cast by the sun it is clear that the man is facing East or the Mecca which is the direction faced when praying. The chainsaw in the man 's hands alongside his positioning may be offensive as it may look like the man is splitting his