Brand Blunders and Race in Advertising: Issues, Implications, and Potential Actions from a Macromarketing Perspective

This pedagogic commentary introduces the concept of “brand blunders” to the macromarketing literature and considers the interaction between advertising, race, and society from a macromarketing perspective. We first analyze relevant literature on cultural stereotyping in advertising for both gender and race, and evaluate consumer responses to ideologies in advertisements. Three prominent recent racial controversies are selected to examine the nature of the advertising imagery, consumer interpretations of the advertisements in question, and the company responses to the public furor created by these campaigns. We then consider the issues, implications, and potential actions for macromarketing raised by these examples, and some key research questions that arise for future macromarketing scholarship. The commentary is intended to provide macromarketing educators with a summary of the key knowledge base on the relationship between advertising, race, and society, for use in courses in advertising, brand management, consumer research, innovation management, marketing communications, and marketing strategy.