An Uneasy Race to Profit

When biologist James Watson suggested that Africans are less intelligent than Europeans, he sparked an international race row that forced him into a hasty retirement. But the idea behind his comments—that genetic differences exist between people of different ethnicities—is the basis of a growing and controversial advertising model that strategists say makes up a $2 trillion market. Much of the money is tied to skin-care supplies, such as Rx for Brown Skin, a line that debuted this fall at Sephora and has abandoned subtlety to market along racial lines. The prescription drug BiDil has emerged as the first FDA approved treatment for heart disease only in African-Americans, and GenSpec is the first "genetically specific" multivitamin for blacks, whites and Hispanics. Nike, meanwhile, has just unveiled the first ethnically focused sneaker, the Air Native, a cross-trainer distributed only on reservations and designed to fit Native Americans, who, the company says, tend to have wider-than-average forefeet. Next up: a shoe designed for Asian feet ahead of the 2008 Olympics.

Scientists, however, say there's more sizzle than science involved—and many worry about the unintended consequences of racing to profit. The Human Genome Project's Francis Collins scoffs at the idea of Nike's new shoe. "I'd like to see their data," he says. ("The data told the story," says Nike.) New York University sociologist Troy Duster, who specializes in the study of race, argues that race is largely a cultural invention. "If you believe these differences are real, why wouldn't you slip into the thinking that performance, in the classroom or on the basketball court, is also explainable by genetic or biological differences?" Whatever the reality, marketers are banking a pretty penny.