More than an ad Procter & Gamble initiative spotlights black women

AP ^ | November 14, 2007 | Dan Sewell

[ConservativeStatement]

CINCINNATI - There's a little-girl memory that Najoh Tita-Reid recounts, as a way of explaining what's behind a new campaign by the nation's biggest advertiser.

A young child in suburban Pittsburgh, she goes to play dolls with her neighbors, all of them white. Her doll stands out with its black color and features, and one girl says pointedly: "Najoh, our dolls can't play with yours."

Why not? "Because your doll is ugly," comes the reply.

[traditional1]

[ClearCase_guy]

When I see a TV show, everyone has at least 1 black best friend. When I see a commercial, all the white couples are hanging out with their black friends. Sometimes I see a commerical or a TV show in which everyone is black -- but I guess that's OK.

Apparently, our popular culture needs to be more welcoming to blacks, because they are not yet represented to the degree they ought to be. Sigh.

[ItsOurTimeNow]

If a group of white women started a “My White is Beautiful” ad campaign, it would be denounced as racist within .3 seconds. Apologies, reparations, and genuflecting would be demanded. Mass media hysteria, etc.

[DoughtyOne]

"I see an incredible future for her; I see African-American women celebrated for their beauty and diversity and being empowered to challenge the way they are portrayed," she said. "I would have played a small part in that."

Somehow I find it rather disconcerting that a marketing director actually thinks she is paving the way for black women.  Nonsense.  Black women are paving their own way.

And by the way, can an article be printed in the United States these days that doesn't contain the buzz word "diversity"?

[Teacher317]

Oddly, from what I’m seeing in advertising since this summer, it is Asians who are getting far more photos and spots than their percentage of the population.

[ConservativeStatement]

Ads are ridiculous. I saw one for Subway where the father was humiliated by his wife and child and he threw a temper tantrum when he couldn’t get a sandwich. Gadzooks! :-)

[Tired of Taxes]

"Because your doll is ugly," comes the reply.

Could it be her doll really was ugly? :-0

When this woman was young, my mother was designing and making dolls. She invested so much time and effort into each doll, and each one was well-crafted and beautiful. She would take orders from people who wanted the dolls to resemble their own children - hair color, eye color, skin tone, etc. And everyone agreed that the most beautiful dolls she made were a set of dolls - one boy, one girl - for a black family.

[goodnesswins]

Funny....I was thinking just that last night....I read a lot of magazines.....no blondes in ads anymore.....more a mix of afro/spanish look to me.

[massgopguy]

I remember Michael Palin from Monty Python visiting a tribe in Africa. One them said “everyone here is beautiful except for you.” You could tell that Palin knew what they meant. He also knew that arguing with five guys carrying spears is unhealthy.

[Tired of Taxes]

Yes, the standard of beauty is constantly changing. And I never seem to fit it.

[gaijin]

In Trinadad, black kids prefer white baby dolls 2 to 1. I heard that statistic like 12 years ago.

[Badeye]

The last time P & G got ‘really creative’ in an advertising campaign, we all got to know Marilyn Chambers better than you should if you weren’t married to her....(chuckle)

[<1/1,000,000th%]

Bout time.

[JayAr36]

We don’t need any more groups to further the needs of women, White or Black. What is needed is a concentrated effort to stop these, “Stupid Man,” commercials. Every ad run these days must be written by a devout feminist because they all portrait the man as some stupid fool that either can’t fix a leaky faucet or some whiny idiot that can’t get his way.