"utterly moronic racist nonsense" - Strutt & Parker Notting Hill estate agents advertising

[ViolentPanda]

Right, so despite thinking they're scum, you still worked with one.

As for your second sentence, I really don't know what you're getting at. The ad conveyed exactly the same thing to most of us on this thread.

Quite. Most respondents to the thread saw the fairly obvious racism inherent to the ad, a few (most of whom appeared to have pre-existing issues about things being "politically-correct) attempted to claim that there was no racist intent. At most, the "difference" was a simple binary opposition between two poles.

 

[editor]

The International Business Times are also running the story where comments can be left too.
http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/strutt-parker-racist-advert-dancing-black-man-withdrawn-1475952

They could have credited Rocket no.9 for his quote

 

[weltweit]

Thanks for the GCSE-level explanation. here's one for you: Advertising isn't a message in the way that a written text is, it is deliberately designed to have multiple meanings, meanings that often are designed not to be overt, that are designed to signify meanings to particular groups of viewers.

Always have to have a little dig don't you.
The steps are just as valid for imagery in advertising.
Obviously, assuming they did not intend to offend, someone at the company or their ad agency did not realise how this particular ad would be decoded, hence they have been forced to pull it.

 

[Blagsta]

In the case of both sender and receiver, from their life's experiences mainly.

All about the individual? No wider social influences at all?

 

[ddraig]

Always have to have a little dig don't you.
The steps are just as valid for imagery in advertising.
Obviously, assuming they did not intend to offend, someone at the company or their ad agency did not realise how this particular ad would be decoded, hence they have been forced to pull it.

people are very patient with your tedious banal observations tbf

 

[Blagsta]

Always have to have a little dig don't you.
The steps are just as valid for imagery in advertising.
Obviously, assuming they did not intend to offend, someone at the company or their ad agency did not realise how this particular ad would be decoded, hence they have been forced to pull it.

As was said earlier - if anyone working for an ad agency was not aware of the meaning of this image, they have no business working in visual design.

 

[weltweit]

As was said earlier - if anyone working for an ad agency was not aware of the meaning of this image, they have no business working in visual design.

Indeed.

 

[weltweit]

All about the individual? No wider social influences at all?

Just to respond to this, social influences surely work on individuals. Individuals decoded this advert on their own with any conditioning they have, preconceptions, opinions etc at work. That plenty of them came to the same conclusion suggests influences were fairly uniform among the recipients.

It would be interesting to know how many people were involved in the production of the ad who thought it would be ok, in the company themselves we have an all white makeup, wonder if it was the same at the ad agency?

 

[fletcher]

What's this 'please admit'. I've never denied that the adverts are targeted at wealthier people. I don't know whether it'd be the top 1% or whatever but yeah primarily they're going to be targeting the wealthy. Plenty of those houses are still owned by black people though and a lot of people who bought back in the day are at an age to sell up and retire or downsize or whatever and estate agents are just as much advertising for people to sell through them as to buy through them.

I think the advert is trying to make us think the estate agent is the responsible person who will look after the sale honestly etc. I think they've balanced that against a more 'fun/creative' type who might be the person that someone moving to Notting Hill might want to be. I think they're trying to play on the coolness of the area as compared to say Canary Wharf or something like that. I think having someone from an artistic/creative/interesting field to counterbalance the boring but reliable world of the estate agent is the main thing for this advert to work. The advert would still work just fine and have the same message if he was white.

You're having a laugh

 

[fletcher]

I can't believe some of the apologist crap written above. The background to this ad must have run something like this - Strutt and Parker - "let's run an ad showing how upmarket we are" - "OK, Show a chap in a suit representing our office" - Picture of (white) man in suit submitted.Strutt: "What do people think of when you mention the name "Notting Hill?" Answer: Carnival. OK, What is the Carnival about?" Several minutes of thought, Oh Yes, The Notting Hill Riots. Oh dear. Strutt: "Now let's remind everyone how Notting Hill has moved on and up since the Riots - OK. Let's show how a rioter has moved on". "Erm, how can we portray him? After a few seconds of Estate agent limited thought and moving to a racially suggested image - Ah! Got it. He would now be - a performing artist" (also implying NOT by any means an Estate agent).Picture of (black) man dancing appears for comparison. Now that is either Estate agent ignorance of the most incredible magnitude, or stereotyping. In the context of this estate agent operating in Notting Hill as a location, it is a racial stereotype.

 

[editor]

Whining fucktards only made £18m profit last year.
Strutt & Parker suffers after stamp duty hikes rock London market

 

[editor]

Eight years ago!

Nice to see it's feastured here too

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