At More About Advertising, Stephen Foster looks at The Look—Procter & Gamble’s latest divertisement—and doesn’t seem too impressed by what he sees.
Is P&G’s new purpose ad ‘The Look’ really a cop out?
By Stephen Foster
Here’s another much-trumpeted dollop of purpose from P&G, ‘The Look’ from the Saturday Morning collective.
Showing a black man and his child being given the cold shoulder (or look) by white folks. P&G is trying to appeal to black consumers as well as do good — by the way.
So what’s not to like? Apart from the intention, it’s a well-made film too – maybe too glossy.
But, and I’m not American, do people in these places in the US really behave like this towards black people? In a posh clothes shop? They’d be all over a serial killer to get a sale surely.
And isn’t it a cop out to reveal the black guy as a pillar of the (mostly) white establishment? If he was a bus driver it would surely be more powerful.
Is this adland’s glossy version of discrimination?
MAA creative scale: 3.
If you look at the credits, all the ultimate creative control and money stayed in the hands of white people. White director, white owned production company, white owned company that paid the cinematographer, white owned editorial company, white owned finishers, etc.
ReplyDeleteWhite owned, white owned, white owned.
White earned, white earned, white earned.
"They tapped Anthony Mandler of Stink, a white director who has shot music videos for a range of artists, including Rihanna, Jay-Z, Drake and Lana Del Rey; and a black cinematographer, Maleek Sayeed of Little Minx, whose credits include films from Spike Lee, Stanley Kubrick's “Eyes Wide Shut” and Beyonce’s “Lemonade.”
https://adage.com/article/advertising/tense-moment-between-agency-creative-and-pg-exec-led-look/2181166