Position, position, position...

We're at a point in time were we have our "racially integrated" ads. That is, we have our "token" ethnicity in each one. Hispanics that look white (or vice versa) so you can't really tell and just assume they're in there, the token African American and sometimes, if they wanna be REALLY politically correct, the Asian American thrown in for good measure. The thing that they fail to see however, is the way these minorities are displayed in the ads. Never in control of the situation, hardly ever using the product, they're usually just token figures kept in the background (most often where the fold falls on the magazine).
Robert Peterson wrote a journal called "Consumer Magazine Advertisement Portrayal of Models by Race in the US: An Assessment" in which "the models were classified by "hierarchy position", identifying the status of the models from "superior" to "subordinate"...according the extent to which they manifested authority and power (superior) or were subject to the authority and power of others (subordinate) or did not exhibit wither extreme (neither)." His study found that "Asian American models occupied the highest hierarchy position, followed by African American, Hispanic, and White models".

The ad above for instance, which ran in the July 2009 issue of Elle, features one African American woman who is half-tucked away at the fold.
This next image appeared in the August 2009 issue of Glamour and features the only African American girl in the ad, sitting at the lowest point in the picture by the designer's feet:

This ad for United Colors of Benetton has the African American's face completely hidden in the fold of the magazine, barely visible unless flattened out completely in a scanner:

American Vogue was highly criticized for publishing the cover below in their "Shape" issue. The similarities between the picture and King Kong movie poster are disgustingly undeniable.

This next image is an ad for Playstation that was exhibited on a billboard in Italy. It's violent and clearly shows the white woman standing more powerful over the black woman being attacked.

Another offensive piece was this shot which was part of a photo spread also published in Vogue. It pictures the models in a slave ship, there is only one white model but she is the center of attention in the picture. The black models surrounding her are visible but dismembered, a form of objectification. 

Be it dismembered, in the background, the fold or blatantly attacked, minorities are placed in positions of lesser power. Whether this is strategically done by maniacal minds or if its a subconscious act due to years of stereotypes being force-fed to us, the result is the same: it's damaging and it has to stop.