Commercials Geared Toward Minorities Said to be Racially Motivated

St. Louis, MO - Many people are beginning to wonder whether the "urbanized" commercials that are shown on some TV channels are racially motivated. The commercials in question usually play on stations whose audiences are primarily African American and Hispanic.

"This is outrageous!" said St. Louis resident Pablo Rodriguez. "Take a McDonald's commercial on a Spanish station for example, there's a Mexican guy speaking Spanish! What the heck is up with that?"

The anger grows larger when one turns on BET. The commercial slots seemed to be filled with spots about African Americans enjoying hamburgers or Puerto Ricans playing loud music while riding in a vehicle and scarfing down a cheeseburger. One African American we spoke with said that "It makes me feel like they are singling me out for marketing. Plain and simple."

The controversy continues in the white community as well. Many white actors feel that they are being discriminated against by not being cast for commercials featured on ethnic stations. "I wanted to be in a tampon commercial on BET and was told that they were looking for a black woman!" said Laura Davis.

Racism is always a hot topic in our society and it seems that these seemingly racially motivated commercials will only fan the fire.