It’s ridiculous to try to exactly match the demographics — what, we can’t have any Native Americans in ads because they make up 2% of the population?

From a marketing perspective — it makes sense to show whatever demographic will make you the most money. When I lived in New England, everyone seemed to drive a Saab — while in Texas pick-ups are ubiquitous. So it makes sense to show Western scenery for pick-up ads while showing autumn foliage for Saabs. I’m not a marketing person, but I would imagine they want to increase their bottom line. Therefore, for certain products, having mostly white actors makes sense, while for others a more diverse cast gets the most profits.

But the main point _I_ was making — why so many interracial couples vs. having a complete black family? that is what the article was addressing.

BTW, I don’t watch TV these days because I value my brain cells — the days of shows I actually enjoyed like Junkyard Wars seem to be over. But I do remember, at least back when I watched TV regularly, that most of the commercials featured white people. So even though blacks made up 12% or so of the population, black actors in commercials were rare. Did I care? No.

But maybe advertisers have decided they need to appeal to a wider demographic in order to increase revenue. Or maybe they are just trying to be PC — which will hurt their bottom line unless it’s also backed by solid data.