the standards for blacks and whites in commercials

In an article titled "Advertising Whiteness" which explained a study conducted on the representation of whites and blacks in television commercials, Entman and Rojecki found a great disparity in the portrayals of whites and blacks in prime-time t.v. commercials. For example, white characters are more likely to be in commercials for expensive or luxury items, while black characters may not be included at all in this genre. Black characters are more likely to be found in commercials for necessities and less expensive items. Additionally, the study showed that: "White characters in commercials were about three times more likely to appear in contact with each other or with viewers than Blacks" (168).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gUlCXxyVj0# This commercial, for example, shows a white couple who are affectionate. The couple kisses after she receives gold jewelry- hence the tagline: "every kiss begins with Kay." I was unable to find a Kay commercial with a black couple-- it may exist, but the difficulty that I had finding one shows that it is not as common as the commercials with white couples. This may be due to a few things that this article pointed out: White characters are more likely to be shown in close contact with each other, such as kissing, and the study "suggests advertisers' belief that many in the White audience remain troubled by images of contact with Blacks" (172). Also, the company may have chosen not to include black characters in its commercials because they are not typically used in promotions for expensive items like diamonds or gold jewelry and it might seem out of place, like the study stated.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6C7lyLaGvqE&feature=related This compilation of several commercials for Zales jewelry includes one clip of a black couple- the woman reaching over and hugging the man. These two were the only black characters included in the rest of commercial, or any of the other variations of the commercial. This suggests that black characters are an exception to the typical image of couples in the jewelry commercials.