Did you know that I am also a handbag designer and I run a bespoke boutique bag shop called Vanguard Design? Yeah, I know, where does Talia find the time to do all this stuff!
Well, let me get you up to speed. I can make a variety of crochet, structured fabric, and leather bags and accessories. While most of my creations are custom made, I do show up occasionally at craft markets in the Boston area selling my bags.
I will be selling my bags at the following events:
Holiday Craft Table – Saturday, November 24, 2-5 pm, Roslindale Community Center, 6 Cummins Hwy, Roslindale
Winter Market – Saturday, December 1, 10 am – 2 pm, Theodore Parker Church, 1859 Centre St, West Roxbury
And all of my bags are very giftable items for the holiday season! If you want a custom-made bag, I am making a small selection that can be delivered by mail by 20 December. Shop at taliawhyte.com/vanguard.
Continuing with the same theme from my article a couple of weeks ago about diversity in the media, this week I wanted to touch on the advertising industry. Like television shows, TV commercials during the breaks, as well as ads in print and online media are starting to reflect the changing, diverse American landscape. Just yesterday, I walked by my local Old Navy store, which featured a black woman and white man in an embrace and a biracial child standing in front of them, implying this was an interracial family enjoying the brand’s new winter clothing line. Then I went to a bus stop and saw an ad from the Chicago Tourism Bureau featuring what could be implied as two gay men also embracing at a festive occasion. Yes, this is the new normal.
However, in the last few months, there has been a slew of problematic ads getting media attention. Even when ad agencies have good intentions in their attempt to be more inclusive, they can fail miserably.
Take this above Dove ad.
If you haven’t heard about it already, it featured a black woman morphing into a white woman who morphs into an Asian woman. The main problem here is that it implies that somehow the soap cleans so well that it changes black skin to white skin. While Dove claims it didn’t intend to be racist in the ad, the company has a history of using the same racial tropes in their ads. Just six years ago, Dove was accused of doing the same black to white/dirty to clean ad.
Not to mention that there are still product advertising using racial overtones in use today – Aunt Jemima Pancakes, Uncle Ben Rice and Chef Frank White (Rastus) on the Cream of Wheat box just to name a few.
Racist soap ads have a long, unfortunate history in America. From 1875 to 1921, soap manufacturer N.K. Fairbank used this ad featuring a white child asking a black child, “Why don’t you ask your mamma to wash you with fairy soap. There were other ads with black children getting washed in the tub and come out with white skin.
Unfortunately, I am not surprised that these subtle racial overtones are still used in advertising. While it is true that the advertising industry is using more diverse imagery in their ad placement, there is still a severe lack of diverse people working in ad agencies.
According to the 2014 Bureau of Labor Statistics, of the 582,000 Americans employed in advertising, less than half are women, seven percent are black, six percent are Asian, and 10 percent are Hispanic. Comparatively by 2044 when it becomes a minority-majority country, the United States will be 49.7 percent white (63 percent today), 25 percent Hispanic (17 percent today), 12.7 percent black, 7.9 percent Asian and 3.7 percent multiracial. Essentially, the ad world is lagging behind the real world! Most of the major ad agencies in America are still run by older, privileged white men who attended elite schools and only interacted with people who look like them, often reflecting the TV show Mad Men, but taking place in 2017, not the 1950s.
Also, if there were not only more people of color in decision-making positions but even more people in general with different perspectives with an understanding of how cultural sensitivity and awareness combine with trends and branding, this problem would significantly improve. And when I mean being in a decision-making position, I don’t mean the “Chief of Diversity” or some other BS token minority position with no real power and never disagree with their white peers within today’s corporate environment. I mean black, Asian, Hispanic and women executives with knowledge and awareness of history and culture who can say, “We can’t run this ad because it’s racist/sexist/homophobic, etc.” and is willing to speak up when needed.
I have done work with some larger ad agencies as a subcontracting web graphics developer, and I have encountered these racial dynamics in their workplaces, where their token black employee just goes along to get along and agrees with all the dumb ideas from their white co-workers.
So basically until workforce diversity improves, there will be more similar Dove commercials in the future.
About a month ago, I had a meeting with my staff about our upcoming Teen ContentCamp. We are planning on including a brief historical discussion of communication with our group of 25 tech-savvy teenagers.
“What if I showed them a typewriter,” my business partner Philip said sarcastically. “I bet they wouldn’t even know what it was.”
So much has changed since I was a teen when I had to type out book reports on typewriters. I still have my old typewriter somewhere in my basement. But sometimes I feel like I want to go back to the analog world with the typewriter because looking at smartphones and computers can be mentally draining.
It seems like other people have the same idea and yearning for the days of old communication. I hope I can convey to the kids that typewriters are still cool.
I went to a seminar last week on how to market products and services to Millennials and Baby Boomers. I know it is trendy to cater to these large demographics; however, I find it amazing how most marketers totally forget about a smaller demo sandwiched that is just as important – Generation X.
Gen Xers are considered to be those born between 1965 and 1980. I fall near the tail-end of the demo. I don’t have much in common culturally and economically with Millennials, but marketers seem to think I fall into the younger demographic.
Let me give you some reasons more attention should be given to Generation X:
Spending Power: Gen Xers actually have more spending power than Baby Boomers and Millennials. As a matter of fact, while we currently make up more than 25 percent of the American population – 65 million people, we have higher incomes than the other two demos. We also have the highest rate of brand loyalty. This will become more evident as Boomers start to retire and, well, many Millennials continue to live at home with their parents.
Financial stability: Statistically, Gen Xers are more responsible with their money. We save more money or invest it into buying homes, leaving more money for our family and starting businesses. In my opinion, I think this need for financial security is caused by the fact that we are the first generation to come into the working world without pensions offered by employers.
With all this said, why is Generation X always overlooked? Many marketers literally don’t know how to communicate with us. We came of age at the dawn of the current technological revolution, with one foot in the analog world (Boomers) and the other in the social media/Netflix/iPhone world (Millennials). The best and most useful tool for Gen Xers is email communication that is tailored to our personal needs. Email, not Twitter, is my thing and that is how I mainly talk to my cohorts.
Also, marketing should be geared to our financial and life responsibilities. As we grew up as latchkey kids, we are very independent-minded and make safe life decisions. I am always looking for the best and financially sound ways to run my business, pay my bills and take care of my family. I tend to research most products or services online and finding deals before deciding to purchase. So a coupon or a nice discount, preferably in an email marketing campaign detailing said product or service, would be great.
Gen Xers are more nostalgic. At least once a week I say “things were so much better in the 90s.” Really, everything was more interesting in the 90s – MTV actually showed music videos, hip-hop was real music (as was Pearl Jam and Nirvana), The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and Living Single were awesome shows, the OJ Simpson trial was the greatest reality TV show, Rodney King’s black life mattered, everyone wore ‘X’ caps and Bill Clinton was president. So we tend to spend money on things that support our nostalgia. It is no wonder there are so many TV shows and movies from the 80s and 90s making a comeback and Salt-n-Pepa would be used in a Geico commercial.
My main point here is that Generation X matters. Don’t forget about us in your next marketing campaign!
Did you know that I am also a handbag designer and I run a bespoke boutique bag shop called Vanguard Design? Yeah, I know, where does Talia find the time to do all this stuff!
