I will speak from a white American perspective from the limited amount of consciousness I have about this issue(not being able to fully overstand as I have never been faced with this kind of issue in my own life).

When I watch T.V. I know that marketers, etc. are good gauges of the sensibilities of the target markets of Americans. It is a fact that marketers have to be on the pulse of the mindstate of the public in order for advertising to be successful. With this in mind, I will say that it is very very rare to see a dark skinned African person represented. It is usually the lighter skin(or bleached), more Caucasian looking black folk who are used. I feel this definitely says a lot in regards to the kind of acceptability that darker skinned ones have in the American society at large. With this in mind, I really can see why such is an issue - there are subconscious factors that come into play and indeed I could see how lighter skinned ones could in fact, in certain situations, have an advantage.