Racism doesn't make a lot of dollars or sense. Money is green, so why wouldn't you want to market to the widest range of potential customers?
Well, a fledgling hipster ad agency, Rhett & Link, has taken that idea to the next level. In an online ad for a local North Carolina furniture shop, the Red House, the company used race as the focal point of its marketing message.
The ad has gone viral as an awkward Internet marketing sensation. ...
This ad has generated some controversy by linking furniture sales to a discussion of racial reconciliation. Personally, I love the ad. I think it's always good when an ad or any other public event triggers a broad discussion about how our ideas on race play out. Rhett & Link go on to explain:
For those of you who think this video is racist, we'd like you to distinguish between "racist" and "racial." Racism is "hatred or intolerance of another race or other races." Racial is "of, relating to, or based on a race." This video is very obviously racial as opposed to racist. This video doesn't promote or feature hatred or intolerance. Rather, it's the very opposite. This commercial promotes inclusion and reconciliation, if not in a comical way. To point out the obvious, the irony in this video is that it's completely ridiculous for people to relate furniture to their race. People of all colors are welcome at the Red House, which is something that is taken for granted today, but there was a time in the not-so-recent past during which things as simple as a water fountain were NOT for everyone.
What do you think of the commercial?
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