The quote above by American rapper Chuck D represents the soul of this page and the direction that contemporary advertising is taking. Each of the videos below are too long to air on television. They were made with the intent of going viral on social media and traversing the globe. Below are commercials from The Netherlands, Thailand, The United States of America, Poland, Norway, and Russia. They embrace cultural diversity and unite us with that diversity. They show us that everyone deserves to be loved and that everyone deserves to be happy. None of these commercials are sexist, racist, ageist, or deceptive. As we will see on the next page, the medium of choice in advertising presently is social media, followed by email marketing (S.,2021), making these commercials an ideal example of contemporary advertising.
As of 2015, there were 1.8 billion Muslims in the world, making Islam second only to Christianity in popularity (Lipka, 2020). Although Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world, it is still tragically misunderstood by many westerners (Lipka, 2020). This commercial by Coca Cola beautifully teaches its audience about The Holy Month of Ramadan and, more importantly, the value of human kindness.
Since this advertisement for Polish e-commerce company Allegro went viral on November 28, 2016, it has had 19,397,558 views (English for Beginners, 2016). Not only is this commercial comical and heartwarming, but it also embraces diversity at the end by introducing us to a multiracial family.
Launched in 2004, Dove's Real Beauty campaign has been one of the most successful marketing campaigns in the history of advertising (Live Oak Management, 2021). This advertisement, from 2013, shows us why.
In contrast to the vintage commercials offered as an example of sexism in advertising earlier on this website, this advertisement for a Thai life insurance company tells us that a woman does not need a romantic partner to be happy. It's ok to be single. It also tells us that it's ok to have a romantic partner. Live and let live.
Homosexuality is a crime in seventy countries and is punishable by death in thirteen of those countries (Byrne, 2019). In contrast to the extreme prejudice against homosexuals seen in parts of the world, this commercial from Norway's postal service celebrates fifty years of marriage equality in Norway. It embraces tolerance, acceptance, and, most importantly, love.
This commercial from Thailand tearjerkingly espouses the benefits of selfless kindness and encourages us to practice it.
In 2020, forty percent of America's LGBTQ youth contemplated taking their lives (Fitzsimons, 2020). This commercial by Oreo addresses the impact a loving home can have on LGBTQ children, regardless of their age, ending with the tagline A Loving World Starts with a Loving Home.
This Russian commercial for Pantene shows us that there is very little we cannot accomplish when we have the support and encouragement of those who love us.
