Vintage Advertising: An A to Z by Julie Anne Lambert presents historical advertisements from the John Johnson Collection of Printed Ephemera at the Bodleian Libraries in the UK.
The showcase may underscore a key difference between UK and US advertising. That is, the book contains no characters like Aunt Jemima, Uncle Ben or Rastus. Additionally, there are no stereotypically racist figures or situations.
However, the ads are exclusively White—besides a tea flyer printed on Japanese paper with Asian art figures, there is not a single person of color depicted from A to Z. So, it could be argued that the book is a blatant display of White privilege.
The underrepresentation of BIPOC in UK advertising and UK advertising agencies is openly acknowledged. And the country is hardly without bias and systemic racism.
The lack of racist critters and campaigns in Vintage Advertising: An A to Z is enough to make you say, “By Golly!”
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