It Is Not Advertisers Duty To Stop Stereotyping

It is not advertisers moral duty to stop stereotyping, unless society changes, advertisers wont change. Stereotypes are preconceptions, often misconceptions, oversimplified versions to describe of a certain groups of people who share a common trait. Advertisers sole purpose is to sell a product thus they are merely putting out what sells and selling towards stereotypes has been known as the most effective way to advertise a product. Catering to specific audiences is what allows for effective advertising.

What most people don’t realize is that everybody stereotypes, positively or negatively.  Even though stereotyping is wrong, it is a part of being human. Walking down the street and looking at a person we automatically put people in boxes based on the way they look. A must so our brains are able to categorise and process information, putting different people in different boxes creates a better understanding of the world we live in. Moreover to make a general statement claiming stereotyping is bad and we should all stop is rather unrealistic. What should change is societies expectations from those stereotypes and the negatives that come along with them. 

Even though advertising has done a great deal to help negative stereotypes grow, people outside of marketing are more to blame. Images portrayed such as the hypermasculine male, the business man, the domestic housewife, the sex object are a broad reflection on society just pushed and generalized through mass media. Advertisers are just taking western societies views on the world and then use smart strategies to sell product. We cant just blame advertisers for the stereotypes created in the media. If society doesn’t change first, neither will advertising.