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

Purpose This paper aims to unveil colonial racist elements related to the cases of racism in advertising judged by the Brazilian Council of Advertising Self-Regulation (Conar), from 1980 until 2020. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative critical and historical research was developed, based on a decolonial perspective, with the use of critical discourse analysis (CDA). Findings By analyzing such phenomenon, the present study can discuss how self-regulatory codes that are based on the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) 1937 Code are not equipped to deal with racist issues. Originality/value Discussions that focus on how racial elements in advertising are treated by a regulatory agency are scarce. Despite the focus being on the Brazilian case, this phenomenon should not be understood as a particularity of this country, since problems related to racism in advertising in countries that also have ICC-type self-regulatory codes are frequent.