MSNBC has launched a new advertising campaign to promote its rebranding as “MSNOW.” The ad features black actors alongside the network’s white anchors in what is described as a civil rights-themed video. The promotional spot includes narration by Rachel Maddow, who reads from the Constitution, and incorporates archival protest footage and video of Martin Luther King Jr.
According to reporting by the Washington Free Beacon, the ad uses paid black actors portraying ordinary Americans. The actors identified are Alex Mason, Shekaya Sky McCarthy, and Marcel Noel. Mason appears alone in one scene, McCarthy is shown with a black child, and Noel plays a diner patron. These performers are not identified as paid actors within the advertisement.
The New York Times reports that this effort is part of a $20 million marketing campaign aimed at increasing brand awareness for MSNOW. The campaign seeks to position the network as committed to racial and social justice.
The Washington Free Beacon notes: “A slick new civil rights-themed video promoting MSNBC’s forced name change to ‘MS NOW’ features paid black actors playing ordinary Americans, intercut with pensive shots of MSNBC’s white primetime stars. The promotional spot, narrated by Rachel Maddow reading the Constitution, appears to be a ham-handed effort by MSNBC’s new parent company, Versant, to cater to MSNBC’s large black audience—the largest in cable news—when its primetime and morning anchor lineup is overwhelmingly white.”
The ad has drawn attention on social media after being shared by outlets including the Washington Free Beacon.
