Unplugging the Myth
The ad industry’s problematic take on Asian Americans as a “wired” model minority
(Note: This piece was originally written as a final research paper for “Asian American Studies 120: Introduction to Asian American Pop Culture” at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in the Spring of 2014.)
Introduction
Throughout the course, we have discussed many different ways in which mainstream American culture has spoken for, belittled and retained power over Asian Americans. Each pocket of popular culture has its own variety of methods for such marginalization and corporate America is no different. Some companies have chosen to commoditize historically Asian imagery and language while others have made blatantly racist images a part of their product line.
This paper will examine the ways and means by which modern advertising perpetuates the mythical “model minority” stereotype that has been cast upon Asian Americans since the mid-20th century. This paper will first examine the modern iteration of this stereotype as the wired minority in what has largely become technology and business advertisements. Then we will further explore the frequency of representation in advertising and the consistent lack of importance Asian American models play in advertising across television and print media. Lastly, we will discuss how these seemingly positive portrayals of a “wired” model minority can be both harmful and limiting to the hopes of broader representation for Asian Americans in major, mass-market American advertising.
While advertising is commercial in nature, its effects on society’s expectations and ideologies are undeniable. As such, the problematic trends in representation of Asian Americans across the industry should be examined further. This topic is of particular importance to me as both a scholar and brand strategist seeking to craft diverse, meaningful messages that bring consistent, positive representation of all people to the eyes, hearts and minds of consumers.
Literature Review
In Lee’s (1999) Introduction to Orientalism, the author began by discussing the ways in which “yellowface” is used to negatively racialize images in American popular culture. After, the piece discussed the six faces of the oriental popularized at different times throughout modern American history. By the late 1960s and early 1970s, the oriental face had transformed into a “model minority.” According to Lee (1999), “…an image of ‘successful’ Asian American assimilation could be held up to African Americans and Latinos as a model for nonmilitant, nonpolitical upward mobility” (p. 10). Lee went on to note that, “the…Asian American family is promoted as a model of productivity, savings and mobility…” (p. 11). Understanding Lee’s discussion of the model minority myth’s origins is important in understanding the contemporary ways in which seemingly positive traits can harmfully impact the social standing of Asian Americans.
In Nakamura’s (2008) Measuring Race on the Internet, it was noted that popular conceptions of Asian Americans as professional and upper-middle-class is a misrepresentation of the larger AAPI population in the United States. The population, which is largely comprised of working class immigrants and refugees are particularly misrepresented in widely-read and influential surveys about many things — especially Internet usage. While Nakamura largely focuses on the difference between producers and consumers of online content, a major takeaway comes as she discusses the fact that these influential surveys ignore those who do not speak fluent English — pushing them further to the margins (Nakamura 2008). As such, “…dubbing Asian Americans as ‘the most wired group in America’ deceptively represents them…” (Nakamura p. 179). Nakamura’s discussion paints a picture of the 21st century manifestation of the model minority, emphasizing its continued mythology through new, technology-centric imagery. While such representations would be considered positive by many, the effects can be damaging.
Pham and Ono (2008) discuss the effects of stereotype, mimicry and satire of Asian Americans. “Repeated insances of…(mis)re-representation function together to imprint on the psyches of Asian Americans and others an indelible caricature: a powerful marker that serves as a social stigma and effective arbiter of power relations, a merging of commodification and capitalism that perpetuates a contemporary kind of racism…where image, text, and performance psychologically attack and scar” (Pham and Ono p. 176). The authors went on to discuss how such a “spectacle of racism” simultaneously affects the psyches of racialized communities and the understanding of racialized communities by outside entities. They suggest this “…spectacle is not a collection of images, but a social relationship between people mediated by images” (Pham and Ono p. 176). The major focus of Pham and Ono’s argument centers around blatant mimicry of Asian Americans, the message of symbolic domination through the use of popular imagery is extremely relevant as it pertains to maintaining and spreading the model minority myth in the 21st century.
Taylor et al.’s (2005) study examines portrayals of the “model minority” in magazine advertising — a topic Taylor has studied extensively. While first acknowledging the fact that marketers have started to recognize the growing importance of Asian American populations in the United States, the study examines how the representation of Asian Americans in advertising has changed with it. Taylor et al. (2005) found that Asian Americans are actually over-represented in magazine ads in relation to their representation in the American population. However, the study found that Asian Americans only appear in “major” roles within an ad 64.2 percent of the time compared to 91 percent for Caucasians and 73.2 percent for African Americans (Taylor et al. 2005). The study also found striking evidence of over-representation of Asian Americans in ads for business and technology-related product categories. On top of that, Asian models (6.4 percent) are seen in home settings much less frequently than Caucasians (15.6 percent), African Americans (13 percent) and Latinos (7.8 percent). When it comes to relationship depictions in ads, Asian American models are shown in business relationships 70.4 percent of the time compared to Caucasians (29.6 percent), African Americans (41.6 percent) and Latinos (34.1 percent). Lastly, Asian American models are only shown in family relationships 6.5 percent of the time compared to Caucasians (35 percent), African Americans (18.9 percent) and Latinos (21.9 percent) (Taylor et al. 2005). That vast array of data is extremely important in understanding the problematic representation of Asian Americans in modern American advertising — almost exclusively as business-oriented, tech-savvy individuals relative to other ethnic groups.
Along similar lines, Cohen (1992) examined the ways in which white American consumers react to Asian American advertising models compared to others depending on the product or situation. Cohen (1992) found that for products reliant on up-to-date technology, consumers reacted more positively to an Asian model than a white model. Additionally, for male suits (a social status-based product), white consumers reacted positively to Asian models, but less positively than they reacted to white models (Cohen 1992). Overall Cohen’s findings reflect the reality that limiting Asian Americans to specific categories has perpetuated stereotypes around which products Asian models can and cannot successfully promote. Additionally, it shows the continued use of stereotypes can effectively cement ideologies in the greater American population.
In discussing related issues resulting from misrepresentation in advertising, Paek and Shah (2003) note that Asian Americans who do not fit the model minority ad imagery can feel an identity crisis for not living up to such expectations. Additionally, Paek and Shah (2003) mention that such ideologies of Asian Americans as business-oriented yet submissive can lead to glass ceilings and even exploitation in the workplace (Paek and Shah 2003).
The Wired Minority Takes Center Stage
While data shows that Asian Americans are over-represented in advertising relative to their stake in the larger population of the United States, the nature, prominence and frequency of such representations is not even remotely on par with other racial groups. Before discussing the general prominence and frequency of Asian Americans in advertising, it is important to understand examples of how marketers are utilizing Asian American models to perpetuate the model minority myth in their advertisements.
In Intel’s ‘Rock Star’ ad (2010), Asian Americans are prominently featured, but the context is entirely problematic. The print advertisement is part of a large, multi-channel campaign from Intel under its “Sponsors of Tomorrow” tagline and would have been a full spread in magazines that featured it. On the left (one full page), the ad shows five seemingly Caucasian men dressed in stereotypical “rock star” musician attire surrounded by a stage-like setting. The headline “Your Rock Stars” covers their mid-sections and just to the right is a small circle with the words “aren’t like.” On the right side of the spread (another full page), stand two men of Asian descent, wearing lab coast inside of a laboratory setting. A headline stating “Our Rock Stars” covers their chest area, completing the phrasing from the left side of the spread. In all, the ad reads “Your Rock Stars Aren’t Like Our Rock Stars.”
The imagery is quite striking as the “traditional” rock stars are clearly all Caucasian and the two scientists in lab coats are quite visibly of Asian descent. The entire scenario becomes excessively problematic when considering the small body copy in the lower right corner of the advertisement. It reads, “Our hallways are filled with plenty of high profile thinkers. But only a handful of them can completely stop a room, including men like Dr. Ted Hoff, one of the inventors of Intel’s very first microprocessor” (Intel 2010). The fact that Dr. Ted Hoff was a white man becomes interesting when considering two Asian men are representing Intel’s “rock stars.”
While there are undoubtedly important Asian American employees at Intel that would rightfully deserve a spot in a campaign featuring the company’s best minds, the effort becomes completely negative when the men are racialized through the use of side-by-side comparisons to “cool” rock stars who just so happen to be white. The imagery in combination with the copy has a genuine implication that the “real” rock stars that sell out concerts are white men and that Asian American men would never be able to achieve that type of rock star status and are instead relegated to gaining fame through advances in science and technology. This type of messaging is an example of how marketers are increasingly willing to racialize models.
In the case of Asian Americans, marketers are choosing to use stereotypes that modernize the model minority myth using the more recent concept of Asian Americans as a “wired minority.” Furthermore, the use of the Asian American models is even more blatantly calculated when considering the invention boasted in the body copy was, in reality, created by a white man. Although the ad itself is quite recent, it uses divisive racial politics of the past to draw extreme comparisons. While these stereotypes do obvious damage to the understanding non-Asian American consumers may have of Asian Americans, the in-group damage to Asian Americans may often be much worse. In many ways, it is telling young Asian Americans that they, first and foremost, cannot become traditional rock stars. That said, this type of messaging can also spark an identity crisis for those who may not be able to don a lab coat and become an Intel rock star. While this ad features blatant racism and perpetuation of the model minority myth, the prominence of the Asian American characters is not the “norm” by any means.
“Model Minority,” Supporting Role
While blatantly invoking the model minority myth is outwardly disturbing, marketers more frequently utilize more subtle imagery depicting Asian Americans in business-minded, technology-centric messaging. Such implications are made easier when featuring Asian American actors and models in roles that are not the focal point of the ad. In many instances, Asian Americans play salespeople for technology goods or someone other than the consumer or main focus of the advertisement.
For example, the Verizon ‘Belt of Technology’ commercial (2011) embodies this exact instance by showcasing an in-store interaction between a white male consumer and an Asian American employee at Verizon. The white customer approaches the salesman with a belt filled with gadgets that serve a variety of purposes such as a GPS, camera, game system and more. The instance is hyperbolic in that no person has so many separate gadgets at one time. This gives the Asian American salesman an opportunity to suggest a phone that contains all of the utilities that the white customer’s many gadgets possess. In doing so, Verizon is positioning the salesman as an expert, saving this clueless white man from his technology confusion.
Like many other instances, there could be worse traits associated with Asian Americans or any other body for that matter. However, this example highlights how marketers are able to easily typecast actors and actresses through racialized standards of what role is best. More importantly, unlike the Intel ad described above, this commercial features the Asian American salesman as a secondary and even one-dimensional figure whose sole purpose revolves around suggesting the right technology to customers. When looking at trends across modern advertising, this is extremely common and the result is a problematic landscape of model minority stereotypes worsened by the lack of depth given to the Asian American characters. This also strengthens the belief that consumers prefer to see Asian American characters promoting technology and business-related goods, but not in a consumer-based role. One other result of such consistently flat representation in advertising is a lack of variety in the roles and settings in which Asian American advertisement characters are featured.
The Limitations of Being “Wired” (Like a Robot)
As the Asian American modern minority myth is embodied in advertising with the use of “wired minority” representations and strengthened by a lack of deep, meaningful roles for actors and models, one final issue arises: the overall lack of Asian Americans featured in non-business and technology product advertising. Taylor et al.’s (2005) data made it abundantly clear that Asian Americans are rarely featured in home settings. Additionally, that study highlighted a lack of Asian Americans being showcased with friends or family in advertisements relative to Caucasians, African Americans and Latinos. This lack of variety is the result of over-used model minority roles in technology advertising, but the results are harmful as many consumer groups are not exposed to Asian American faces unless seeing technology and business ads. This can largely be attributed to the fact that the “wired minority” characters that fill our screens and magazines don’t seem to have the human touch marketers apparently believe white characters do have.
Interestingly, one of the most-shared ads of 2011 was Google Chrome’s ‘Dear Sophie’ ad. At the center of the commercial is an Asian American father and his young (but growing) daughter, Sophie. The ad highlights Google’s many software products and utilities through a video montage of Sophie’s dad compiling a Gmail account filled with emails, pictures and other media — archiving Sophie’s childhood. The ad is extremely touching, but one thing is missing — real, live Asian American characters. Instead, this touching human moment is shown entirely through a digital lens and on a computer screen. In this instance, Google took the “wired minority” hyperbole quite literally and assigned a robot-like quality to Sophie’s father.
That said, the ad was touching and effective as it pertains to showcasing Google products. More importantly, another takeaway is that consumers — people — can and would be receptive to increased diversity across the mass media advertising they observe. ‘Dear Sophie’ simultaneously highlights everything that is currently wrong with Asian American representation while providing hope for a better future for Asian Americans and all racialized communities moving forward.
Conclusion + Implications
The long-standing model minority myth has gained new traction in the 21st century as marketers frequently utilize Asian American characters in “wired,” tech-savvy stereotypes. Such imagery comes in varying degrees of character depth and relatively light frequency. The result is a misrepresentation of American Americans in what can almost be considered “non-human” roles. The consequences of such consistent and problematic representations lie both within and outside the Asian community as they can largely shape the internal psyche of the racialized Asian American community as well as the understanding non-Asian American people and groups have of them. Ultimately, marketers will need to reconsider such racialized messaging as it looks to become increasingly damaging as the Asian American population grows within the United States. More importantly, Asian Americans and all groups deserve fair, accurate and positive representations across all media channels — especially advertising.
John Buysse is a brand strategist and recent graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. His work can be found at www.johnbuysse.com and you can connect with him on Twitter @JohnBuysse & LinkedIn.
