Race and Ethnicity in Advertising

Goldfarb Consultants is a leading Canadian marketing consultant group that specializes in focus groups and other qualitative research methods. Founded in 1966 by pollster and market researcher, Martin Goldfarb, the Toronto-based consulting company was acquired by WPP Group , the J. Walter Thompson Company’s parent organization, in 1988. This collection, which spans the years 1974-1989, consists primarily of market research reports written for Ford automobiles marketing campaigns. These research reports and summaries segment Ford’s marketing strategy by race - African-American and Hispanic in particular - as well as geographic region. Reports target different markets using psychological and sociological data to analyze possible reactions to potential advertising campaigns. The Goldfarb Consultants Ford Research Reports also include marketing concepts for specific Ford automobiles that the consulting group tested on focus groups of varying age and gender.

Of interest are the nine Ford ads targeted to the African-American market, located in box 1 in the “Black Consumer Market Research Folder.” Advertising critique and focus group reactions accompany the ads, along with suggested changes.

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