Communication for Diversity and Inclusion: A South African Perspective

Preeya Daya and Mlenga Jere

Chapter 11 in Beyond the Dark Arts:Advancing Marketing and Communication Theory and Practice, 2023, pp 209-226 from World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd.

Abstract: In this chapter, we discuss diversity and inclusivity in advertising. Based on theories of socialisation, social influence and attitude formation, we explain how advertising messages impact on the target and broader audiences using the case of a 2020 TRESemmé advertising campaign for haircare products in South Africa. The advertising campaign posted by a major pharmaceutical retail chain (Clicks) on their website described black people’s hair as “frizzy & dull hair” and “dry & damaged hair”, in comparison to white people’s hair, which was labelled as “normal hair” and “fine & flat hair”. The campaign resulted in public outrage and protests because many perceived it to be racist, offensive and distasteful. We deconstruct the advertisement and analyse the ensuing fallout using publicly available resources. The advertisement had an unintended message emanating from the use of the textual content and the race of the models used. Given that incidents like this are not uncommon, we conclude that diversity and inclusivity interventions need to be taken more seriously in advertising.

Keywords: Advertising; Behaviour Change; Communication; Data-driven Advertising; Data-Driven Marketing; Digital Advertising; Digital Marketing; Digital Media Studies; Macromarketing; Marketing; Marketing Communications; Social Change; Social Impact; Social Marketing; Social Media; Social Media Marketing; Social Responsibility; Socially-Responsible Communication; Socially-Responsible Marketing; Sustainability; Sustainable Development Goals; SDG; Social Advertising; AI; Artificial Intelligence; Behavioural Ecological Model; Big Data; Communication Ethics; Communication Studies; Consumer Data; Corporate Social Responsibility; Culture; Design Thinking; Diversity; Emerging Technologies; Ethical Behaviour; Ethical Marketing; Ethics; Health; Health Communication; Inclusion; Machine Learning; Media Studies; Public Health; Public Policy; Supply Chains; Social Media Influencer; Influencer; Socially Responsible; Advocacy; Brand Activism; Business Ethics; Circular Fashion; Conspiracy Theories; Context; Coronavirus; COVID-19; Crisis Communication; Critical Communication; Critical Marketing; Dark Side; Emerging Adults; Esports; Ethical Fashion; Fake News; Fast Fashion; Gamers; Evaluation; Gaming; Honesty; Inequality; Legal and Regulatory Frameworks; Modern Slavery; Morals; Multidisciplinary; Natural Language Processing; Nutrition; Objectives; Norms; Paradigms; Philosophies; Racism; Retailers; Slow Fashion; Strategic Communication; Sustainable Fashion; Stakeholders; Technological Solutionism; Transparency; Upstream Social Marketing; Vulnerability; Young Adults (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: M1 M3 M30 M31 M37 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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