Two prominent high profile Asian Americans are making inroads into the ad world.
Actress Mindy Kaling is appearing in a commercial for American Express and fashion designer Jason Wu made a huge impact on the Oscars. He didn’t do it on the red carpet, he did it in an ad for General Motors.
It’s great to see more Asian American penetrating main stream media and being seen in a positive light.
It’s also nice to see a different side of Kaling. Kaling has been heralded for busting down doors in Hollywood, while at the same time she is often dissed for surrounding herself with a white cast and white staff.
In the American Express ad, she plays herself and says “I was told that they don’t put girls who look like me on TV.” The ad ends with Mindy plopping herself down on a director’s chair.
You can read more about the ad in She Knows.
You can see Mindy’s ad below.
Wu’s appearance in a commercial is much more stylized–one that you might expect featuring one of the world’s leading fashion designers.
The spot received quite a lot of airings during the telecast on the Academy Awards. He is not identified in the ad. You can see it below.
You can watch a behind the scenes clip in Style.com.