Racism in Advertising

Learning about racial issues that were prevalent in early 1900s ads was horrifying. The ads were so blatantly racist and so offensive. But thinking how there are still racist ads today is disgusting! One would think that we've come too far to be making racist ads. In the early 2000s Sony was getting ready to release the white PSP. They released an ad that featured a white woman fully dressed in white holding a black woman (fully dressed in black) by her face. The black woman is shorter than the white woman, giving the white woman a sense of dominance. Also the white woman has an angry and powerful look on her face, while the black woman looks like she is full of fear. She also blends into the black background which makes the white woman stand out seem better than the black woman. Furthermore, the black woman is very androgynousness which may have been to relate her to animal (since it's harder to differentiate between male and female animals), while the white woman it is very obvious she is a woman. This billboard ad is filled with subliminal messages promoting racism and I think it's sickening. Sony claimed it had no racist intent, but I do not understand how anyone could look at this ad and not see how it is racist and derogatory.