Advertising can create and reinforce discrimination in society by shaping perceptions, setting unrealistic standards, and marginalizing certain groups. Here’s how this happens:

1. Stereotypes

Gender roles: Ads often portray women as homemakers or beauty-focused, while men are portrayed as leaders, breadwinners, or decision-makers. This reinforces outdated gender norms.

Racial and cultural stereotypes: Certain ethnicities may be portrayed in limited and exaggerated ways (e.g., with accents or clothing) that reinforce prejudices.

Age bias: In ads, young people are often idealized, while older people are portrayed as fragile, dependent, or irrelevant.

2. Exclusion and underrepresentation

Ads may completely ignore certain groups, such as people with disabilities, LGBTQ+ people, or minority communities, making them feel invisible.

Underrepresentation in mainstream campaigns can imply that some groups are less important or desirable.

3. Colorism and Beauty Standards

Many beauty and fashion ads promote lighter skin tones, Eurocentric facial features, and thinner bodies as the “ideal.”

This can lead to internalized discrimination, where people from darker-skinned communities or those with different bodies feel pressured to conform to a narrow standard.

4. Cultural Appropriation

Sometimes, brands use elements of a marginalized group’s culture (clothing, hairstyles, religious symbols) without respecting their meaning or citing the source.

This can trivialize or commodify traditions, reinforcing unequal power dynamics.

5. Economic Discrimination

Premium brands may use aspirational advertising that glorifies wealth, luxurious lifestyles, and exclusivity, subtly devaluing those with lower incomes.

This can create perceptual divisions based on social class: who is “successful” versus who is “inferior.”

6. Reinforcement of Social Hierarchies

Advertisements often place certain groups at the center of stories, while relegating others to background or subservient roles.

These repeated images can normalize an unequal social order.

7. Influence Public Attitudes

Over time, biased portrayals in advertising influence people’s perceptions of others.

When ads consistently portray specific groups in inferior, comical, or villainous roles, viewers can internalize these ideas as reality.

Advertising not only sells products, it also sells ideas about identity, worth, and belonging. When these ideas are biased or exclusionary, they can create or deepen discrimination in society.