There's a TV spot for AT&T Wireless that has my attention. Not because it's creative or memorable or effective. But because it's all kinds of racist. However, I do believe it is unintended. But I could be wrong.
The AT&T spot in question has garnered moderate attention for casting Tyler Hansbrough, #13 draft pick for the Indiana Pacers. Never heard of Tyler Hansbrough? Perhaps you don't belong to the target demo. I trust that Mr. Hansbrough - with more than 20k FaceBook fans - enjoys enough recognition for AT&T's purposes, which is carving out a sizable chunk of the endlessly expanding social network universe. That's where AT&T is focusing much of their marketing, and this TV spot seems to be their flagship for that endeavor.
It illustrates a pig tailed li'l black girl who ain't got a friend in the world, 'cept her scrappy white mutt who jus' ran 'way. She's obviously sad that her dog has gone missing. So what's a po black chil' s'posed to do, 'cept nail crumpled li'l signs up 'round town? Not exactly a hopeful method of reuniting with lost pets. But unbeknownst to the po li'l black chil', a very connected and benevolent white guy, played by Hansbrough, has noticed her doomed analog plea and decides he should help. With his AT&T smartphone, he snaps a pic of her sign, and sends it out to his vast social network. We then cut to a series of scenes that shows young white folk getting Twitter and FaceBook updates on their tricked out mobile devices. They spring into action!
Every person holding a mobile device in this spot is white. Each become part of the plan to help tall whitey help po li'l black chil'. Meanwhile, the black folk are relegated to analog ignorance in every scene. Sure, Mr. Hansbrough's character hangs with some brothers, but they appear to be oblivious to his charitable act. One quick scene has a white woman showing her phone display to a black woman, as if to ask if she's seen the dog. The sista cluelessly shakes her head no.
Eventually, the dog surfaces with three young people - two whites, one black. Guess who's transfixed by her mobile device? The white girl, of course. She got the Twitter update and immediately recognizes the dog! What's her black friend doing while the white girl solves the mystery? Petting the escaped dog and smiling her clueless ass off.
Finally, we see the po' li'l black chil' dejectedly walking home after a day of fruitless, primitive search. But who's waiting triumphantly on the stoop of her home? Mr. NBA himself. With whitey the dog. Po li'l black chil' is so happy she doesn't even feel endangered by the ivory stranger parked on the porch steps. And why should she? He's the perfect role model for blacks: Kind, white, and in the NBA.
Post script: I can't decide if it's clever or pedestrian, the way AT&T embedded no less than four of their signature "more bars in more places" into the scenes of this spot. Most viewers will see the architectural arches that overtly imply more bars. But three other instances are much more subtle, if not subconscious. What is this, the fifties? Subconscious advertising cues have never been proven effective and are more myth than real practice. If AT&T is trying to be a leader in 21st century communications, they can start by leaving unintended racism and Madmen-style legend behind in the last century.
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3 comments:
Toooooootally! I noticed that the first time I saw this spot, too. I did NOT, however, notice the subtle "more bars in more places" references. Nice catch.
At first I was willing to put write it off as clueless racism, but after watching it a couple times more, I took it back. How often did this go through editing? How many eyes went over it? Images in commercials are never there by chance, as the "more bars" architecture in the same ad clearly demonstrates, and the image of a bunch of smart white people using their fast, hi-tech network to help a disadvantaged black child is simply too strong and too overt to be anything but on purpose.
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