By society's standards it is not right to racially stereotype for any purpose, however, for advertising sometimes it is "necessary". The only times it would be "necessary" if the advertisement was showing any and all racial groups in a positive light. If the groups are shown poorly, the company which owned the advertisement would suffer in the profit department.
Is racism in advertising a thing of the past?
Definitely not. Even within the past decade, there have been quite a few of advertisements that include or revolve around racial stereotypes. Ad campaigns such as Burger King's fried chicken advertisement starring Mary J. Blige are prime examples.
Mary J. Blige in the commercial
Burger King used the stereotype of the African-American population paired up with fried chicken in an attempt to increase sales of their chicken wraps. Unfortunately for the BK brand, their commercial only insulted the African-American community and made customers as a whole question whether or not to purchase from the fast food chain.
Burger King's commercial for their chicken wrap ft. Mary J. Blige
This is not the first time Burger King has offended a racial group, and it probably won't be its last.
Yes, advertisers have ethical responsibilities. When they insult a certain group (intentionally or unintentionally) their sales take a sharp decline. Advertisers have the ethical responsibility to respect each group equally or they lose profits as a result. For example, over the years, Burger King has insulted several groups, Mexicans, African-Americans, Hindus, and several others.
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