It looks like Universal may have “whitewashed” some of it’s trailers of ‘Straight Outta Compton’ in an attempt to appeal to the masses. At a SxSW panel, Doug Neil, Universal’s executive vice president of digital marketing, revealed that different people watched different trailers of the movie on Facebook. According to the website Business Insider, Non-blacks and Non-hispanics saw trailers that did not mention anything about N.W.A., but instead watched cuts that only made mention of Dr. Dre and Ice Cube’s success in their careers.
However, a Spokesperson from Facebook spoke out against Neil’s admission and claim by saying,
“Several news outlets have stated that Facebook allows advertisers to target ads based on race. That is not accurate. Facebook does not have a capability for people to self-identify by race or ethnicity on the platform. As part of its advertising offering, brands can target ads on Facebook to people based on how they might respond to content. The affinity segments are created, in a privacy-safe way, using signals such as different languages, likes, and group membership on the platform.”
What effect do you think the different trailers had on the film’s success and Oscar snubs?