Running Head: STEREOTYPES OF AFRICAN AMERICAN ATHELTES IN ADVERTISING
Stereotypes of African American Athletes in Advertising
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April 21st 2014
JOUR4274W
University of Minnesota
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Advertising utilizes athletes to help promote certain products and strengthen marketing
campaigns in the United States. There are many stereotypes used in these advertisements that
implement the use of a schema, which uses race as cognitive framework to help organize and
interpret information (Morrison, 2014, p. 131). African American athletes are often portrayed to
the public wrongfully and uncharacteristically in advertisements. Along with the glory of being
an African American athlete there can be many consequences as well. These consequences stem
from the use of negative stereotypes in advertising campaigns. With sports being a common
staple in today’s society they have become more than just a hobby to African American athletes;
sports have become a way of life for several of them. Consequently, introducing participation in
sports at much earlier stages in life. Early participation in sports has caused an overemphasized
view of sports, essentially making sports seem like a possible career path for African Americans.
This has created a distorted perception of African American athletes within advertising by
focusing on their lack of education, violence within their communities, and the idea of these
athletes being supernatural by using unapproachable images in advertisements. Research helps to
confirm that racial stereotypes in advertising needs to be self-regulated by advertisers because
our society holds misconceived perception of certain races, like African American athletes, due
to wrongful stereotyping.
The word stereotype refers to “an oversimplified idea about a group based on some
preconceived assumptions” (Morrison, 2014, p. 130). Stereotypes in advertising are used to help
make sense of different aspects of our lives. People argue that stereotypes should be accepted in
advertising because they help to simplify reality and advertisers use them to make an impression
on you. It is true that “stereotypes can be functional when they are accepted as a natural process
to guide expectations” (Morrison, 2014, p. 133). Thirty-second advertisements can make it
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difficult to get the message across to a mass audience, which is where stereotypes come into
play.
On the contrary, stereotypes should not be allowed in advertising because “stereotypes
become dysfunctional when they are used to judge an individual incorrectly” (Morrison, 2014, p.
133). Stereotypes aid in confirming preconceived beliefs even if these beliefs are incorrect.
“They [stereotypes] harm us all by diminishing our ability to see and to be seen as the thinking,
feeling, unique individuals we are” (Marcellus, 2014, p. 129). Advertisements have a strong
presence when it comes to social power giving the creators of these advertisements responsibility
that does not fortify unfair power structures (Marcellus, 2014, p. 129). This is why selfregulation needs to be implemented in advertisements. Most marketers behave themselves in fear
of losing markets and loyal consumers. “The overlap between self-regulation and other forms of
social control is necessary to the extent that a good part of the law reflects generally-accepted
community and market standards” (Boddewyn, 1989). To keep consumers loyal, ethics and
morals show to be important when conducting an advertising campaign, which is why selfregulation would benefit various marketers. The role of self-regulation within advertisements
helps to internalize certain standards that a company should abide by. Brands are visible and
identifiable to society helping to guide what is moral and ethical in advertising campaigns to
keep consumers devoted to the brand.
Undereducated
As an African American athlete, there seems to be a higher set of standards and pressure
from family and community to maintain this image of an athlete. With such a strong influence
from their family, African Americans are raised to view sports as a potential career path for a
way to become successful. Furthermore, it is through these means that the athletes within our
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society have developed their athletic identities and professional sports aspirations to learn the
importance of sports within the African American community (Beamon, 2010). There is more to
life for us, as human beings, than using sports as the only gateway for a successful career path.
Often times African Americans see sports as their only option because while growing up they
looked to African American athletes in advertisements and media as role models.
Advertisements and media platforms tend to show these athletes as an athletic human being with
no substance. “The mass media inundate society with images of African American men who
garner success and fame through sports, lending the stereotype of African American males as
exclusively talented” (Beamon, 2010). Racial stereotypes do not help with this idea ingrained
into young African American’s minds. The wrongful and misguided portrayals of African
American athletes in advertising and mass media can be detrimental and influential to young
children; therefore, making self-regulation in advertising essential to focus on the ethical
behavior of marketers and how these stereotypes in advertisements affect the minds of young
children and society.
Societal views on education for African American athletes are skewed because of how
these athletes are represented in the media. The media displays many of the negative aspects of
an African American athlete, which is shown in a variety of different media platforms. Beamon
explains that for many African Americans and the importance of sports is emphasized at a young
age through the use of advertisements and mass media. Idoing such, these individuals tend to put
more focus on sports and less on education, which leads them to take on the “dumb jock” image.
(2010) There is more substance to an African American athlete than their athletic ability but the
media only shows the athletic side of athletes not the academic side. The “dumb jock” side of
athletes is often shown when an interview takes place. An example of this is when Richard
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Sherman, Stanford graduate and Cornerback of the Seattle Seahawks, expressed his emotions
during a post-game interview after winning the 2014 NFC Championship Game. Many NFL fans
tweeted Richard Sherman’s image as a “stupid monkey” that acts like a “straight thug” and is
known for nothing but trash-talking.1 These fans used these words to represent Richard Sherman
implying that he is uneducated and too dumb to know how to act in public. With advertisements
and media being common in today’s society people have misconceptions of who these athletes
really are. Various people only know Richard Sherman as an NFL athlete but what they do not
know is that he pursued both an undergraduate and graduate degree from Stanford University.
This use of negative connotations towards African American athletes has created a distorted
perception of who they really are. One individual does not define the majority; looking at one’s
stupidity and stereotyping to everyone else in that demographic shows the ignorance of our
society. “Many researchers argue that media portrayals of minorities tend to reflect white’s
attitudes towards minorities and, therefore, reveal more about whites themselves than about the
varied and lived experiences of minorities” (Bristor, et al., 1995). The NCAA is trying to change
the way society perceives these athletes by creating positive advertisements about the education
of NCAA athletes. There is an advertisement presented by the NCAA called “Dumb Jocks” that
states that African American males who are student athletes are 10% more likely to graduate
than the rest of the student population. Most African American athletes receive the same college
education as white athletes do but the media depicts black athletes as dumb and or incompetent,
which is why marketers need to reconsider racial stereotypes in advertising and implement selfregulation in their campaigns.
1
Tweets after Richard Sherman’s interview
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Violent
While society perceives African American athletes as uneducated, they also identify them
as violent and abusive. Through the use of various advertising campaigns and distorted media
portrayals, African American athletes are essentially being classified as threats to society.
Looking at previous knowledge we know that African Americans, in general, have struggled
against oppression and discrimination. African Americans are stereotyped and discriminated
against for crime when in actuality they only make up a small percentage of crimes within our
society. “Research has disclosed that most serious crimes (homicide, rape, robbery, and assault)
in inner cities are committed by a very small proportion of African-American youth, some 8% by
estimates” (Balkaran, 1999). With various assumptions of African American athletes being
involved in crime, using stereotypes in advertising only sways and confirms society’s opinions
and beliefs of African American athletes opposed to who they really are and what they really
do—the schema theory.
Statistically, African Americans have very little contribution to serious crime ratings, but
it is the communities in which they live in that attract negative attention within the media. When
the majority of crimes occur within the neighborhood of densely populated areas, nearly all
African Americans are stereotyped as criminals. As Beamon further continued, “There were
about 36% of Blacks that were portrayed as violent or aggressive [in the media]” (2010). Using
legendary icons like Adrian Peterson in advertisements for videogames can confirm the negative
affect of racial stereotypes. Adrian Peterson is an African American NFL Running Back for the
Minnesota Vikings an advertisement for a video game illustrates him as a predator symbol with a
displayed amount of “1,435 victims” next to his name; when in reality “victims” just means to
break or shed tackles from oncoming defensemen. Word play in advertising campaigns aids in
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creating racial stereotypes and portrays this unapproachable and beastly image causing society to
form or confirm preexisting ideas about African American athletes.
Unapproachable images
Unfortunately, violence has been depicted through many African American athletes
images because the media uses specific sports as a link to attract the consumer’s attention for the
specific product being marketed. African American athletes are often used as an aggressive
symbol in advertising, whereas, white athletes are used as calm, cool, and relaxed symbol in
society. Researchers have looked at the affects different depictions of races in advertisements
have on society. “In-group bias theory (Brewer, 1979) is based on the premise that bias towards
one's own group is related more to favoritism toward in-group members than to hostility toward
out-group members” (Qualls, et al., 1990, p. 138). For example, Brett Favre, former NFL
quarterback, is a white athlete used in Wrangler Jeans advertisements as a comfortable and
relaxed guy who is suitable for America’s most comforting jeans. Advertisements such as this
continue to create even more stereotypes about African American athletes to uphold higher
expectations into a merely impossible and unapproachable image. The media uses advertising to
show this athletic idea differently for African Americans like Adrian Peterson. The Nike Pro
Combat commercial represents Adrian Peterson as an invincible type of athlete as the football
pads are engraved all throughout his skin and body as if he possesses some sort of supernatural
power.2 Due to advertisements and the media, African American athletes are now being viewed
as invincible and supernatural human beings by society. Evidently, supernatural powers are
fictional in our society but the media uses Adrian Peterson as a supernatural human. This
circulates this idea of an unapproachable image that our society often associates with African
Americans athletes, essentially giving them a negative connotation. Advertisements make these
2
Adrian Peterson | Nike Pro Combat Campaign
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African American athletes seem inhumane and beastly. Our society has forgotten that these
African American athletes are, too, human beings with the same physiological, physical, and
psychological states as the rest of us but the media constructs stereotypes about African
American athletes that our society chooses to believe.
In addition to the unapproachable portrayal of African American athletes in
advertisements, an article was released about Lebron James, NBA superstar for the Miami Heat,
about being used on the cover of Vogue magazine as an aggressive African American male
athlete with a viscous appearance.3 With his mouth wide open, the cover of Vogue displays
James’s as an aggressive African American with superb athletic ability by dribbling a basketball
while grasping Gisele Bundchen, a Brazilian model, at the same time. Jemele Hill stated that,
“The image is not unusual – white athletes are generally portrayed smiling or laughing, while
black sports figures are given a beastly sort of vibe” (Jones, 2008). The difference of white’s and
African Americans in advertising is evident. Racial stereotypes in advertising have essentially
ridiculed the African American athlete as dangerous and beastly where white athletes are
portrayed as content and composed.
Conclusion
As you can see, the media creates stereotypes that misrepresent African American
athletes. Not all of these African American athletes are poorly educated or violent, and they are
not as unapproachable as different media platforms make them seem. African American athletes
attend the same academic institutions as white athletes. So how can individuals make invalid
statements about these athletes saying that they lack education? Due to the twisted stereotypes in
advertising in which the media uses to represent African American athletes, our society
automatically assumes that a majority of African American athletes are criminals that come from
3
Vogue Cover of Lebron James and Gisele Bundchen
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violent, no-good, “ghetto” neighborhoods. With these factors playing large roles into the
distorted views on African American athletes, the athletes now deal with higher expectations in
sports to uphold this unapproachable and beastly image. Evidently, the use of media has
generated a misrepresentation in today’s society towards African American athletes by focusing
on their supposed lack of education, their apparent violence within their communities, and the
idea that they are supernatural humans due to unapproachable images in advertisements and
various media platforms. These African American athletes are role models to many kids
everywhere, including myself when I was a child, but the media portrays the athletes in a false
manner causing this snowball effect of continued stereotypes. Self-regulation needs to be
implemented by marketers to decrease racial stereotype in advertisements to help change
society’s beliefs about these African American athletes. Marketers need to internalize selfregulation to make consumers loyal to their brand by using morals in ethics when creating
advertisements.
Notes
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Tweets about Richard Sherman’s Interview
2
Adrian Peterson Nike Pro Combat Campaign
3
Lebron James and Gisele Bundchen on Vogue Cover
10
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