This question gets a little tricky. On one end of the spectrum, no, it's ethically and morally wrong to racially stereotype against anyone in order to get a product/service sold. On the other end of the spectrum, advertisements have to appeal to a target audience in order for that product/service to be sold. However, I think advertisements can appeal to a specific audience without having to racially stereotype.
For example:
The ad below is clearly not okay. This ad for Hershey's chocolate racially stereotypes African American people.
The ad below is much better at appealing towards specific (racial) target audience without being racist.
2. Is racism in ad's a thing of the past?
Unfortunately no, racist advertisements still exist in today's society. For example, the Mountain Dew commercial by Tyler the creator (that was shown in class) was released not too long ago. With that being said, I think viewers are very quick to react to a racially inappropriate ad which results in that ad being pulled quickly. Although their are still racist ad's being released in today's society, our tolerance for them is non-existent unlike back in the day.
3. Do advertisers have ethical responsibilities?
Absolutely! Advertisers that lack ethical responsibilities should not exist. In fact, I believe that if an ad agency continuously produces and releases unethical ad's, no one will buy their product/service and that ad agency will run themselves out of business.
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