Don't worry, Be Happy

Above is an ad from Volkswagen.  It portrays a white man going about his job at the office talking with a Jamaican accent.  While everyone is going through their normal routines nonchalantly, he is enjoying each part of his day.  In the first part, his coworkers dressed in bland colors complain about it being Monday, but he says "Don't worry, everything will be all right."  That line is taken directly from Bob Marley's song.  At the end of the commercial, Dave is in his beetle with another coworker, who also seems to pick up the Jamaican accent after taking a ride with Dave.

There are a few things I would claim in this ad as stereotypical.   One of the more obvious racial stereotypes are of language and accents. Jamaican accents evoke a sense of happiness and calmness, which is why one was used in this commercial.  At one point, Dave's coworker points out that he is originally from Minnesota, inferring that he should sound normal and American. The reason why he has a different accent is because driving his car gives him joy as if he were relaxing on the beach or on vacation. The commercial played with race further by adding an Asian who also gets the Jamaican accent from the car.

I don't think that this ad is racist because it uses positive stereotypes with irony.  A white man with a Jamaican accent driving a German car doesn't make sense, which makes the commercial funny.  It does not attack the Jamaican culture but instead uses it in a positive note to infer that Jamaicans are generally happy people.  If they were portrayed in the commercial in a negative way such as doing drugs or being lazy, then it would be more offensive.


I think that portraying different cultures and ethnicities in advertising is necessary to show diversity, but should be done in a fashion that does not offend people.  As a society, we have evolved from being segregated to living in a melting pot, and the media should portray that paradigm shift.  We should promote multiculturalism and embrace the things that make each race unique in a way that is encouraging instead of degrading.