Why is it so rare to see south Asians and Chinese in advertising?

Why is it so rare to see south Asian and Chinese people in advertising in Britain? You find plenty of black people, mixtures of black and white people, and even a few black and white mixed race people.

Is it because south Asian and Chinese people are too shy and reluctant to come forwards for advertising, or do advertisers have little interest in them?

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Reply 1

BlueIndigoViolet

I think its more their families losing it at the prospect of pursuing advertising as opposed to the regular engineering, maths, economics, medicine, law etc...

Reply 2

Arran90

Original post by BlueIndigoViolet

I think its more their families losing it at the prospect of pursuing advertising as opposed to the regular engineering, maths, economics, medicine, law etc...

Not everybody who appears in advertisements does so as part of a career.

Advertisers even request children to appear in advertisements and they may never pursue advertising or acting as a career. Michael Portillo appeared in a Ribena advertisement as a child but ended up becoming an MP.

Reply 3

BlueIndigoViolet

Original post by Arran90

ah ok - though you meant studying advertising lol.

Not too sure actually - good point 👍

Reply 4

Arran90

I don't just mean TV advertising. I also mean appearing in print media, billboards, signs in shops and banks etc, leaflets and brochures and catalogues.

Reply 5

Bang Outta Order

Why is it so rare to see black and white in advertising in Asia 🤔

Reply 6

Mike172

Original post by Bang Outta Order

Why is it so rare to see black and white in advertising in Asia 🤔

Exactly. Why is this even an issue?

Asians are a minority in the UK. Of course they won't feature in media as much as whites, who make up the vast majority.

For exactly the same reason I'm sure there are very few white people in Nigerian advertising campaigns.

Reply 7

Bang Outta Order

Original post by Mike172

In black countries there are few whites and Asian countries there are few black and whites, for demographic and purpose reason. But the European beauty standard is there. But how are we meant to reflect their beauty standards? Have white people in hijab and sari, and blacks in K-pop makeup? 🤣🤣🤣 perhaps...but not without endless cultural appropriation accusations! Their entertainment industry is very successful. Leave us alone already.

Reply 8

Arran90

Original post by Mike172

Asians are a minority in the UK. Of course they won't feature in media as much as whites, who make up the vast majority.

So are blacks a minority in the UK but they vastly outnumber south Asians in advertising and promotional material.

Reply 9

Arran90

Original post by Bang Outta Order

Why is it so rare to see black and white in advertising in Asia 🤔

This question relates to the scenario in the UK, and not foreign countries. There may be good reasons why black and white people rarely appear in advertising in Asia. Very few black and white people are citizens of these countries for a start, and the availability of such people to stand in front of the camera is very low.

Reply 10

BlueIndigoViolet

Original post by Arran90

So are blacks a minority in the UK but they vastly outnumber south Asians in advertising and promotional material.

Also Asian British vastly outnumber (4.4m) Black British people (1.9m) (e.g from the census) - never thought about it though

Reply 11

Arran90

Original post by BlueIndigoViolet

Also Asian British vastly outnumber (4.4m) Black British people (1.9m) (e.g from the census) - never thought about it though

True, and even more so outside of London.

(edited 4 years ago)

Original post by Mike172

... but that's like saying that paid models don't deserve to be seen in places that are the majority and the town or city gets into trouble for that, so therefore they don't deserve being appeared there. You get Hollywood stars going to Japan who Japan greatly welcomes, so why not the other places?

To answer the question, it's rare because maybe it's meant to add value to the South Asians and Chinese models to make their appearances in the towns and cities competitive. That's what I think.

... and to the original poster/topic creator, why is it even a bad thing? Why are you posting it like it's bad news?! huh?

Reply 14

Arran90

Original post by rcmotorboy

... and to the original poster/topic creator, why is it even a bad thing? Why are you posting it like it's bad news?! huh?

Intrigue.

Why is one racial group liberally used in advertising material but the presence of two other racial groups are rare?

Is it because of factors in the south Asian and Chinese communities or is it because advertisers are not interested in using these people?

I can remember a toy catalogue that featured pictures of white and black children playing with the toys but no south Asian or Chinese children.

Reply 15

Reality Check

Original post by Bang Outta Order

Why is it so rare to see black and white in advertising in Asia 🤔

PRSOM

Reply 16

Bang Outta Order

Original post by BlueIndigoViolet

Also Asian British vastly outnumber (4.4m) Black British people (1.9m) (e.g from the census) - never thought about it though

So?
They're not an influential group for products and fashion and too many of them are too cowardly to try a modelling career because of what their mummy will say, end of.

Reply 17

Bang Outta Order