More TV Ads Project Images Of Racial Harmony In U.S. - Is This A Good Thing Or Bad?

Recently, the Associated Press take a look at the new trend in TV advertising. Here's a summary of what was discussed in the article published on March 2, 2009:
Ever see an inner-city schoolyard filled with white, Asian and black teens shooting hoops? Or middle-aged white and Latino men swigging beer and watching the Super Bowl on their black neighbour's couch? Or Asians and Latinos dancing the night away in a hip-hop club?
Ads like these are part of a subtle yet increasingly visible strategy that marketers refer to as "visual diversity" - commercials that enable advertisers to connect with wider audiences while conveying a message that corporate America is not just "in touch," racially speaking, but inclusive.
To advertisers, these "multiculti" ads are simply smart business - a recognition of a new cultural mainstream that prizes diversity, a recognition that we are fast approaching a day when the predominant hue in America will no longer be white.
And yet, some critics wonder if depicting America as a racial nirvana today may have an unintended downside - that of airbrushing out of the public consciousness the economic and social chasms that still separate whites, blacks and Latinos.
Are multiculti ads, then, an accurate barometer of Americans' racial progress, a showcase of hopes in that direction - or a reminder of how far there still is to go?
"If you were to come down from another planet and watch TV, you'd think that all of these human beings share a lot of intimacy, regardless of the way they look. But the reality is, people of different races don't share social space like that." said Charles Gallagher, chair and professor of the sociology department at La Salle University.
Sonya Grier, the marketing professor at American University: "I often have former classmates and MBA students who are in brand-marketing or advertising-related functions call me and say, "My company showed an ad, I thought it was stereotypical, but I was the only one in the room and did not know how to bring it up."'
So, is this kind of "multiculti" ad just a fake-it-till-you-make-it kind of thing for marketers to save money thinking that they will be able to catch all fishes in one shot and for general market advertising agencies to extinguish competition from multicultural agencies finally?
I would like to echo what Charles Gallagher said: "The problem with that, is that distortions and false impressions never do anyone any good."