The Underdog - Decoding of the Skechers Dog Race

The Underdog: The Decoding of Skechers’ Dog Race

Class and race are two aspects of culture that are closely intertwined. The Sketchers TV commercial revolving around a dog race overtly draws upon both race and class cultural codes, which ultimately brings focus to neoliberal ideology. The advertisement reinforces a cultural code that minorities, specifically African Americans, are underdogs in the Western culture, as they face two interlocking forms of oppression – race and class. In particular, I suggest that popular culture and media representations of blacks work to reproduce an idea of blackness in which they can only excel in pop cultural avenues, such as: sports, fashion, and music. Thus, white Americans can capitalize on the inherent traits of African Americans, representing a form of oppression that must be overcome to better society. Moreover, producers of pop culture have a moral obligation to depict blacks in a manner more comparable to the white population.

Race is a subject that is very controversial, but can never be ignored as it is one of the most prominent physical features used to distinguish a person. With this in mind, the French bulldog in the commercial is immediately seen as the “underdog”, as he is not a greyhound like all the other competitors. This is symbolic of minorities in Western society who are seen in a different light than the socio-normative white individual. The bulldog is the only dog on the track with a black handler, and exhibits personality traits often associated with African American people. To emphasize, Omi and Winant state that people believe temperament and athletic ability are discernible from a person’s race (17). This explains how generalizations about a person’s appearance, specifically their race, can be used to determine how the individual should act. Contrarily, the actions of an individual can also be used to discern their race. The bulldog in the commercial is the fastest, clearly exhibits rhythm through his dance moves, and possesses a slight arrogance, traits that are often correlated with black individuals. Moreover, African American males are also known for their natural athletic prowess, which is a stereotype exploited by capitalists to sell running shoes, as professional black athletes are most often used in these shoe commercials. Sketchers implicitly uses stereotypes of black males thus, reinforcing racial and cultural codes, to advertise their product.

Class, based on economic means and cultural capital (non-financial social assets), is used to further segregate minorities. The Skechers TV commercial indiscreetly demonstrates the class struggle faced by minorities in the Western world. With this intention, the obviously “purebred” greyhounds in the commercial exhibit the grace, conduct, and etiquette associated with the upper class. The use of purebred greyhounds is significant as the concept of race was first introduced in reference to the breeding of superior dogs and horses. Accordingly, the “purebreds” represent the upper-class that is so highly sought after and is dominated by white, male Anglo-Saxons; it is these individuals that possess the most power in the social, political, and economic world. In contrast, the French bulldog exhibits flashy, almost obnoxious traits, illustrated as he moonwalks across the finish line. Thus, the bulldog epitomizes the lower class minorities that gain affluence through pop cultural means, such as professional athletics and popular music, in order to attain a higher class status.