Why Are Certain Groups Over-Represented in Ads?

If you were to watch ads in the UK you would think most people in the UK are Black. Nearly every ad you watch contains a black person. Of course, everyone wants to be represented in modern Britain and that's fair enough.

The UK is a place very varied today with different racial groups, nationalities, faith groups, etc. However, how you represent this diversity matters, I think.

Years ago you would never see a black face in ads. Now, it has gone the other way with 70% of ads now containing blacks. Blacks are 4% of the total British population so shouldn't ads be accurate and show that? Other minorities like LGBTQ, and Asians, are also minority communities. So, why do ads over-represent groups as if they are the norm and the majority?

As far as I know, unless I'm living in another dimension, white people and straight people are the majority. Yet ads and even some programmes do not reflect this. They show a world where everyone gets on regardless of what they are. Of course, that is to be celebrated, but the world, in many places ain't like that. It is showing a false image to people brainwashing them into believing this is how the world is.

When whites are shown, this is men, they all have beards and are usually married to a black woman with mixed-race kids. Let's look at this example. For a start, there are men still that shave, most white men do not marry black women or have mixed-race kids. You'll be asking what's wrong with what I've just described. Well, nothing, there are many mixed relationships today with lovely mixed raced kids. All I'm saying is, these ads are not reflecting the reality on the ground. (of what everyone does).

One cliche you see is the usual black man with a white woman, sometimes, with offspring. Again, nothing wrong with that, however, once again they reflect a minority trend. You see many oriental women with white men but hardly ever see the other around. You see Muslims, particularly, women represented in ads but Christians are not. But then with faith, where do you stop? Once you open Pandora's Box on this you will start an avalanche. Every faith will want to be represented then, so where do you go then?

Minorities will want representation in media and that's only to be expected. However, minorities being over-represented shows the media is running scared of being labelled racist, homophobic, etc, hence the over-representation of minorities on our screens. Before the awful killing of George Floyd minorities were beginning to be over-represented. But it seems since then, blacks, for example, are being mega-over-represented. Everyone now is afraid of the woke brigade, cancel culture and other ridiculous shenanigans. So, in response, you have media like GB News and Talk TV springing up that espouse right-wing views on these ads. For every action, there is a reaction, and so it goes. Extremism breeds extremism, whether that be religion, race, nationalism, politics, or whatever. And folks, that does nobody, any favours.

Look at Disney and outlets like Netflix replacing formerly Caucasian characters with blacks. Just to show how representative they are. Race-swapping a character from history or even fiction is incorrect. If that character was a certain race but is played by someone of another that is wrong. That's not to say a black actor couldn't play Cleopatra well (Netflix) or a black actor couldn't play Little Mermaid (Disney). But it's removing and replacing white parts for black actors just to be representative. Same as relacing formerly male roles with a female actor. Like Captain Marvel was formerly a man (now female) and Nick Fury from Marvel was formerly white. If there aren't enough ethnic fictional minority characters then create them. Bring more factual ethnic people to the big screen. Where they can be played by the correct ethnic people. Create more fictional female characters so women can play them like Gal Gadot in Wonder Woman. Bring more female famous characters to the big screen. Where female actors can play them.

Do you ever see a Native American Superhero coming out of Hollywood - no. Even though DC and Marvel have created them. Do you ever see Eastern Europeans represented in British media - no. Unless you count Alexander and Sergei from Compare The Market, two puppet Meercat characters. Who aren't even voiced by Eastern Europeans?

The word equality is banded about a lot these days. However, who is represented and who is not matters. Equality means for all but if you look at the media, social media, etc, only certain types of people are represented. Others are left out, so how is that equality?

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