Whose work? How UK Consumers prefer to see ethnic workers represented in advertising

Advertising that portrays uncontested ethnic stereotypes is problematic; the skewed portrayal of ethnicity in advertising is linked to viewers’ distorted opinions. Since advertising both reflects social values and defines them, advertisers do not merely stimulate patterns of consumption, they influence social conduct. This study offers a newly-inclusive perspective on choices about occupation and ethnicity in advertising, contributing to literature and the use of the projective method in ethnicity, and revealing clear patterns of opinion among 400 young UK consumers. This evidenced racism in the ways that data tended to amplify trends in the observable world, patterns that place White people in high-status work, and Black and West Asian people in lower status occupational roles. The study observed intra-ethnic choices, not only from White subjects to others, but between minority groups. Some minority ethnic groups clearly wanted to see themselves represented more positively, in higher status occupational roles.