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19th Annual Hollywood Film Awards - Press Room

Source: Steve Granitz / Getty

In a not-so-surprising move by Universal Pictures, Executive Vice President Of Digital Marketing Doug Neil, revealed there were race-specific Facebook versions of the trailer.

Neil and Facebook’s Head Of Entertainment Jim Underwood, discussed the White-washed trailers on a panel at SXSW.  According to reports, non-minorities were shown a trailer without the NWA group that, instead, highlighted Ice Cube and Dr. Dre’s rise to fame.

Neil says the studio knew the film would be a success among African-Americans but feared it wouldn’t resonate with White America.

We’re guessing White America suddenly drew a blank and forget what rap or hip-hop was? How Sway?

Hispanic audiences were shown a shorter version of the trailer using Spanish quotes while African-Americans saw a trailer that focused on N.W.A’s controversial and prolific effect on mainstream media.

“They put Compton on the map,” Neil said.

Touching on the “crossover appeal” of the film, Neil called the success of the film a “surprise” before correcting himself and calling it a “breakout hit.”

Despite it’s questionable approach, the marketing ploy was deemed successful. So now we have to credit White people with the success of “Straight Outta Compton?” Give me a break.

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For 2024’s iteration of MadameNoire and HelloBeautiful’s annual series Women to Know, we knew we wanted to celebrate the people who help make the joys of film and television possible. To create art is to create magic. This year, we spotlight Hollywood Executive’s changing the face of cinema.