Q&A on the News

Q: Some TV ads come off as struggling to achieve diversity while others seem to have a goal of homogenizing races rather than celebrating our differences. Is there an explanation for this? Is there some external influence, such as the Ad Council? —Robert Smith, Bremen

A: The increase in portrayals of diverse family and friend dynamics through advertising is mainly the result of changing U.S. demographics and a growing acceptance of these situations among TV viewers, Americus Reed, a marketing professor at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, told Q&A on the News.

Reed said he’s seen these portrayals increase within the past five to seven years especially as the country has become more diverse and TV viewers have become more willing and accepting of seeing these family dynamics in commercials. Brands and advertising firms are making these decisions as more realize they can appeal to an extended audience by promoting diversity, he said.

“Once marketers get a sense of this tolerance, then there are all of these marketing opportunities that are specific to interracial needs,” he said.

The Ad Council, founded in 1941, is America’s leading producer of public service communications. The organization has run diversity and inclusion advertisements, such as its ongoing “Love Has No Labels” campaign, as an independent producer of PSAs.

Q&A on the News runs Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. Dillon Thompson of Fast Copy News Service wrote this column. Do you have a question? We’ll try to get the answer. Call 404-222-2002 or email q&a@ajc.com (include name, phone and city).