I'm often amazed at the technology used in this world to persuade one group of people to hate, dislike, and even at times demonize other groups or individuals. The term used for this type of technology is called demonization. I understand that some would disagree and not call this a technology, but I do think it is a technology. It is not something we are born to do. Hating people without direct experiance is man made. Therefor, I call it a technology.

I have written an essay for one of my classes regarding one of the more popular uses of this technology title "Demonization of Black People in Advertizing." This is a very real and present practice. Fundamentally, this is a practice that affects us all.

Jason J. Morgan
Professor Midkiff
Marketing Communications P-Comm 3338 and A-Comm 3338
Short Paper #1
30 June 2008

Demonization of Black People in Advertising:

My first visit to the benetton.com website was uneventful. I browsed their advertising campaign archive and to my surprise, I was very pleased with the level of creativity in their work. For example, one of their ad campaigns called “James and Other Apes” is a series of Ape portraits looking directly into their face. Their name printed directly over their faces. Thereby giving them more dignity as mammals and personifying them to humans. I consider it to be very simple, creative, and uniquely brilliant. This changed very quickly when I found myself starring directly at a picture of two semi-nude children around the age of three to five. It was a headshot, one child is white and the other is black. They are hugging each other and both are facing the camera. The complete image is that of an Angelic white child and that of a devilish black child hugging each other. The white child has blond hair, blue eyes and is smiling happily, most importantly this child’s hair is done similarly to that of an angel. The black child is not smiling, and it too is important to note, his hair is made up to give the appearance of devil horns.

The moral and ethical objection I have about this piece is that it perpetuates the demonization of black people in the world through advertising. Unsure of the target audience they are trying to reach. I can’t imagine, in this day and age an audience this imagery would be suitable for. As the saying goes, “A picture speaks a thousand words,” there-by using already established religious doctrines “the devil is evil” and should be feared. This image tells its audience that black people are the devil and they should be feared. Benetton really missed an opportunity to be unique and creative with this ad campaign.

                I am not in favor of demonizing any individual or group. This is a long-standing practice that goes as far back as ancient civilization. For example, the Christians would demonize Pagan gods, by claiming they were not worthy of worship and that they were evil deities and should not be worshiped. According to wikipedia.org, “demonization is the reinterpretation of polytheistic deities as demons by other religions.” It is a technique, I would even call it a technology, used to oppress the people it is aimed at and to persuade others to see the target of this technology as evil, untrustworthy, and/or insignificant. 

Here is a company, with the resources to reach a great number of people through out the world and they are choosing to demonize the black child in the image. This practice simply demonstrates their lack of vision. Instead of perpetuating the demonization of black people in the world, here was an opportunity they had to perpetuate trust, unity, and cooperativeness between cultures. By not adding the angelic or devilish hair and leaving those two beautiful children clothed and in their natural state Benetton missed the real opportunity to be creative and most importantly “Unique.” That would have demonstrated true innovation and creative thought. Instead they took the easy way out, by using an ancient idea and continued to perpetuate it.

Benetton is not the only company in the world to use this type of demonizing technology, there are many companies in the United States of America that have practiced this same type of advertising.  Disney has a banned carton depicting black people as animals called “Scrub Me Mama with a Boogie Beat.” Vogue Magazine often uses demonizing images on its front cover. Memin Pinguin, a comic book depicting black people as ape like characters.

             Therefore, whether it be deities, a group of people, or an individual such as the black child in this particular ad campaign, I find this practice to be horribly unethical, brutally demoralizing, and voraciously indignant. Not only to the targeted group or person, but for the audience it is aimed at. It also demonstrates Benetton’s complete lack of respect toward the public at large but most important the target of this campaign. Furthermore, it demonstrates their complete and utter disregard for the community as a whole and the people that buy their products. Fundamentally, at the core of this issue, the bottom line is, this technology called “demonization” can be used against anyone at anytime and anywhere in the world. The demonization of black men in the world is not just their problem it is every ones problem.

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