Case Study #3 - Curro schools’ racially insensitive marketing campaign

Question

Curro recently came under scrutiny over the images posted on its social media pages depicting the Curro primary school pupils' career day event. The images showed a black child posing as a cashier, while white children posed as professionals or buyers. The school however claims that they received the consent of the parents before the images were used. Was the Curro marketing team ethical in their creation of this campaign?
Discuss very brief Why did they received e criticism

Answer 1

The Curro marketing team faced criticism for their campaign due to the apparent reinforcement of racial stereotypes and the contextual implications of the imagery. By depicting a black child in a subordinate role as a cashier while white children posed as professionals, the images suggested a hierarchical representation of race and profession, which many viewed as racially insensitive and perpetuating harmful stereotypes. The criticism arose from the perception that the marketing effort failed to acknowledge the broader societal implications of such representations and the need for more equitable and diverse portrayals in marketing materials. Even with parental consent, the ethical considerations of reinforcing negative stereotypes in a public campaign remain significant and problematic.