You know what really grinds my gears? When someone approaches me and says, “Wow, your English is really good!” I should hope so, because English is my first language.
OK, so most people don’t mean to be patronising, and yes, I look Asian. But it still amazes me that in Australia, one of the most multi-cultural countries in the world, even the most educated and open-minded of people still stereotype each other.
Being stuck in awkward moments like these has made me think how stereotypes affect the way we communicate with each other. And as much as we may hate being judgemental, it seems to be an unfortunate fact of modern life that these preconceptions form the basis of many marketing campaigns that we see every day.
Let’s think about how many stereotypes we see that are used to sell products; beautiful women, busy mums, germ-ridden children… the list goes on. How about the stupid dad, or the idiot boyfriend? One particular stereotype that has been bandied around the traps a lot lately is the Old Spice social media marketing campaign, which plays up on the stereotype of what women want their men to be (and the stereotype of what disappointing creatures men usually are). Masculinity in consumer culture has been always an interesting topic, and just recently, this article online in The Age caught my attention: Welcome to adland where all men are morons.
But is this considered a bad thing? No, absolutely not. These stereotypes help companies’ reach out to their target market, and they work. After all, the first question we all ask ourselves when we compiling marketing material is: “Who do we want to speak to?” This is how businesses communicate with their consumers. These advertisers connect with their audience, fully aware that the way they choose to convey their message plays a huge role in whether it is picked up or not.
Whether or not this benefits society in the long run is up for contention, but in this day and age, can it really be avoided? Businesses make generalisations about their consumers all the time, and whether they then choose to turn them into something funny (i.e. the Old Spice ads) or offensive (i.e. the Windsor Smith ads) is up to them.
So next time you’re putting a new website together or writing a marketing brochure, have a think about the generalisations you make, and how you intend to use them to win customers and work for you.
In saying that, there are some companies that recognise such stereotypes in the media and purposefully steer their marketing tactics to break them. Instead of speaking to one group, they attempt to speak to everyone, and Microsoft’s ‘I am a PC’ commercial is a perfect example.
Nonetheless, either way, none of these advertising campaigns would exist if stereotypes didn’t exist first.
Our Guest contributor Natalie Khoo, is a Freelance Writer and Editor based in Melbourne. Starting her professional career in London at Cosmopolitan Magazine, Natalie has since returned to Australia where she has played the role of editor and contributor to a number of magazines and websites. Natalie also has extensive marketing and advertising skills from being appointed Advertising Manager of Pepper Publishing, which she has combined with her writing skills to become the accomplished business copywriter she is today.
To find out more information, visit www.nataliekhoo.com.au. You can email Natalie at: natalie@nataliekhoo.com.au
