Eurocentric influences on the Brazilian Advertising Self-Regulation System: historical research from a decolonial perspective

Abstract

Resumo Este estudo tem por objetivo analisar, com base na perspectiva decolonial, processos históricos imperialistas que possibilitaram a incorporação de um modelo eurocêntrico de autorregulamentação na criação do Sistema Brasileiro de Autorregulamentação Publicitária, o SBAP. Para isso, foi realizada uma pesquisa histórica, calcada na óptica crítica em questão, utilizando dados secundários para analisar esse caso específico. A análise mostra que a incorporação de elementos estrangeiros ao sistema brasileiro ocorreu por meio, sobretudo, de três fatores: criação e internacionalização de modelo de autorregulamentação publicitária por meio de processos etnocêntricos e imperiais, formação do setor publicitário brasileiro de acordo com padrões internacionais, em especial estadunidenses, e influência de modelos e organizações internacionais em relação aos autores do SBAP. Mais do que uma discussão focada no poder de empresas sobre consumidores, espera-se que essa visão crítica gere mais conhecimento sobre as relações entre o Norte e o Sul globais, bem como de que maneira o controle imperial se materializa em consumerismo. Processos históricos coloniais e etnocêntricos limitam formas de pensar distintas à lógica neoliberal de defesa do consumidor por meio de livres mercados, ajudando, assim, a manter o domínio eurocêntrico sobre o conhecimento.

An emic-etic-emic research cycle for understanding context in under-researched countries

“…A recent example is the rebranding of the Aunt Jemima line of breakfast products by parent company PepsiCo in February 2021 after recognizing that the packaging was “based on a racial stereotype,” given the more recent calls for racial equality (Tyko, 2021). Other discussions in the literature that outline colonial issues in organizations include imperial narratives in the internal discourse of the Hudson’s Bay Company (Smith and Simeone, 2017), Eurocentric influences on the Brazilian advertising self-regulation system (Rodrigues and Hemais, 2020), and the corporate history of Pan Am as it relates to American imperialism (Kivijärvi et al, 2019; Paludi et al, 2019).…”

The 40 years of discourse on racism in the Brazilian advertising self-regulation system

“…However, changes in Brazilian advertising might not be as speedy as necessary, considering that, in addition to the historical, cultural and colonial issues in Latin America (Quijano, 2005), the local industry is still influenced by the US advertising sector (Rodrigues and Hemais, 2020). One of the possible consequences of such adoption (or imposition) of the “American Way of Advertising” is the lack of (or inadequate) representation of non-White peoples in ads (Marcondes, 2001).…”

“…Despite the existence of studies that highlight racial issues found in advertising, few critically analyze advertising or communication regulation (Rotfeld, 2011; Feenstra and González Esteban, 2019). While there is research that focuses on efficacy problems in ASRS (Théodore et al , 2017) and colonial elements in the origins of ASRS (Rodrigues and Hemais, 2020), discussions that focus on how racial elements in advertising are treated by a regulatory agency are scarce, despite this being a problem in many parts of the world, as the three following examples show.…”

Decolonial Reflections in Marketing: The Colonialities of Power, Knowledge and Being

“…The coloniality of power can be adopted by researchers from Marketing (and from other areas in the Management field) who intend to critically analyze several themes, such as: the historicization of certain Marketing themes based on a colonial logic, which serves the interests of certain privileged groups (see Faria & Hemais, 2018;; how international organizations and corporations legitimize their regulatory models to protecting their businesses, under the "market freedom" narrative (see Rodrigues & Hemais, 2020); or how economic policies from US institutions, under a Latin American development discourse, established Eurocentric principles in management education in Brazil (Wanderley & Barros, 2019 ).…”

“…Anibal Quijano's theory (1991) has been adopted in Brazilian management papers recently. For instance, Rodrigues and Hemais (2020), adopting a decolonial framework based on the three colonialities theory, analyzed the Eurocentric elements and paradigms found in the origins of the Brazilian advertising self-regulation system, while Da , identified in the works of Josué de Castro elements that met the perspectives of the three colonialities.…”