Non-stereotypical advertising - Everyone's included?

Sammanfattning: The study aims to problematize the new marketing trend of non-stereotypical advertising from a postcolonial perspective and to contribute with knowledge on how Western power structures influence non-stereotypical advertising. Much of the research on the topic of advertising has focused on its effectiveness. The study, which combines the research fields of advertising, stereotypes, intersectionality and postcolonialism, should be viewed as a contribution to already existing research. A multimodal semiotic analysis was used to analyse the empirical material and the results show that the intersectional awareness of the sender influences the non-stereotypical representations in the advertising. Moreover, a lack of intersectional awareness implies a higher presence of discrimination in non-stereotypical advertising. The postcolonial perspective criticizes non-stereotypical advertising and the study implies that communication in advertising is tainted by Western worldviews and thereby reproduces existing inequalities in society. The study provides practical implications for how semiotic resources can be used to deemphasize Western power structures in non-stereotypical advertising. This knowledge can be useful for future strategic communicators that will operate on a global and multicultural market, but is also of value for whomever wishes to reflect upon advertising's role in creating inequalities in society.