Abstract
Race remains a sensitive topic in South Africa, even 26 years after the formal dissolution of apartheid. This seems ideal to take stock, because inequality is at its worst, and the freedom dividend is not paying off as expected. Indeed, in some respects, the country is experiencing diminishing returns in its democratic experiment. South African industries, for instance, are stuttering through transformation. One of these is the advertising industry. In a country where the black population is over 80%, the advertising industry is still firmly in the hands of a white minority. The configuration of the advertising agencies partly reflects whether the white dominated economy is transformed, and the degree to which it is doing so, and the manner of doing so. The purpose of the study was to understand the creative process that leads to the type of representation of black characters that is seen often on television adverts. Since key creative positions are largely occupied by white creative directors, how do they conceptualize the black consumer market? Using race critical theories as a theoretical lens, the study adopted a qualitative approach, through in-depth interviews with 10 creatives. Through the discussion of five main themes, namely the tough product category, the white boys club, it’s them not us, team diversity, and transformation, the study confirmed that the South African advertising industry is lacking in diversity. But this is not a surprise. What is a surprise is the manner in which the industry seems to deliberately and actively keep itself untransformed. The observation made was that there is a subtle white washing in progress, with a tendency to overstate the progress made to distract from the reality that white creatives care little about changing the status quo. Indeed, they are comfortable with their overrepresentation in the industry, and generally seek to defend this normative state of affairs, or at least to fabricate issues. The study recommends that industries of such great influence require a paradigm shift if they are to be genuinely transformed, and not the same old business-as-usual, “self-regulatory” approach currently preferred. The strategies of the last two and a half decades have by and large failed, and left black creatives frustrated, bitter and suffering in silence, with many choosing to exit mainstream agencies and start their own independent companies. The study identified the need for expansion in this research area to hear more views from black creatives who currently work in the industry, especially those have opened their own black-owned agencies or have left the industry due to the hurdles they experienced. The study concludes that it is from the black creatives that the most authentic solutions will come. The “white boys club” is not going to reform itself.
M.A. (Communication Studies)