Billboard (poster) adverts like the one featuring a naked Sophie Dahl lying in a post coital blissful reverie for perfume makers 'Opium' would be instantly banned in India with a probable fatwa declared on the makers! Blatant sexuality may sell in the West, but it is sensuality and more specifically romanticism that sell best to an Asian audience.

Virgin Mobile's 2002 press advertisements have borrowed from the Bollywood theme, but then gone awry by inserting too much sexuality into the image. Consider for example, their Bollywood temptress lying in a similar reverie to Sophie Dahl (Opium advert). Whilst the Bollywood heroine is clothed she is wearing neither a blouse nor a petticoat under her sari. The opulent red, and gold furnishings combined with the heavy gold jewellery and marigold decorations create the bridal scene, but the model's sari has ridden up a little too far even for the accompanying "seduce with me with your freebies" strap line. The equivalent advert featuring a semi-clothed man exposing a huge expanse of chest and thigh fall into the same trap. Basically the imagery is too sexual.

In David Fletcher's research he states that "the use of strong sexual imagery was also an issue for respondents, although less significant than might have been expected given religious influence. Asian respondents in particular were less offended than they were disengaged - ads that crossed a cultural acceptability barrier were thus placed alongside a number of other elements of rejected mainstream culture".

THE CORNERSHOP MENTALITY

The worst stereotyping can be seen when advertisers assume misleading facts like "all corner shops are owned by Asians". Both 'The Sun' 2001 advert and the National Lottery Instants scratch cards adverts launched in 2000 feature the ubiquitous Asian corner shopkeeper. In 'The Sun' advert the newsagent who is surrounded by children in his shop announces the 'free books for schools' promotions with tokens in 'The Sun' newspaper.

In the National Lottery advert an Asian newsagent talks about a woman winning £50,000 on a lottery ticket purchased in his shop. Although these adverts are not insulting, they do reinforce the Asian corner shop stereotype which is quite contrary to changes in high street retailing which show a decline in corner shops in favour of supermarkets and out-of-town shopping malls.

The fact that advertising can help reinforce rising sales, stop falling sales, and generally add to the fortunes of a brand or organisation is undisputed. What is being disputed is whether the current use of Asians in adverting is working. The TV Study commissioned by the Commission for Racial Equality shows that ethnic minorities (particularly Asians) are under represented on mainstream Television. The more recent Broadcasting Standards Commission report (March 2002) shows that ironically Asians are badly portrayed in advertising too. David Fletcher, head of MediaLab (Mediaedge:cia UK), the agency which conducted the research says in the report "marketers are typically unaware of whether or how their own behaviour needs to change to meet the challenge of diversity. This is in marked contrast to media employers and policy-makers, all of whom are keenly aware of the issues arising from ethnic diversity".

SUMMARY

British Advertisers fail to reach UK Asian audiences because they feature stereotypes in their adverts, denigrate ethnic personality traits, reinforce widely held racial prejudices among non-Asians, use ethnic imagery in a "tokenistic" manner, get the facts wrong, convey conflicting messages or insert too much sexual imagery into their adverts. Marketers have to improve their understanding of the UK Asian market to make best use of marketing tools like product development, placement and media buying. Brands wishing to seize the cultural diversity imperative should also be aware of the growing maturity and sophistication of the Asian consumer market and should consider the benefits of absorbing Asian culture into their mainstream advertising strategies.

REFERENCES

1. 'Play it right - Asian Creative Industries in London' (February 2003). Published by the Greater London Authority.

2. Reaching the Ethnic Consumer: A Challenge for Marketers by David Fletcher, head of Medialab, Mediaedge:cia UK (March 2003).

3. 'Multicultural Broadcasting: Concept & Reality (November 2002) by Andrea Millwood Hargreave. Published by the Broadcasting Standards Commission and the Independent Television Commission.

4. Race for Opportunity Benchmarking Report (July 2002).

5. Household Survey of Entrepreneurship (2002).

6. Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (2002)

7. Census 2001. (http://www.statistics.gov.uk).

8. IPA (Institute of Practitioners in Advertising) report (January 2003)

9. Advertising Standards Authority.

10. Commission for Racial Equality.

11. Internet Advertising Bureau UK

11. Top10TV: ethnic minority group representation on popular television (2001). Published by the CRE.

12. 'Jewels in the Crown' Report by the University Swansea (March 2001).

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