Sony's racist Advertisement?

[dreamer20]

The issue to me is that the ads are deliberately designed to play upon people's feelings regarding race, racism, and race relations, and therefore fall into the category of what I call a "cheap shot" kind of advertising ploy.

I don't find it offensive per se, just OTT, and savvy? without doubt. I agree with dreamer20 that it seeks to incite such feelings and that is where any offense should lie; the cynical manipulation of ingrained predjuduce.

Savvy marketing? With regard to the ads being noticed, Yes. But they could have been done with positive interracial images and be successful IMO.
This was an example of interracial harmony which worked brilliantly in an advertisement (See the link below).


http://inventors.about.com/od/cstartinventions/a/coca_cola_2.htm

An excerpt from About.com Re: I'd Like To Buy The World a Coke
A Commercial Success

The television ad "I'd Like to Buy the World a Coke" was released first in Europe, where it garnered only a tepid response. It was then released in the U.S. in July, 1971, and the response was immediate and dramatic. By November of that year, Coca-Cola and its bottlers had received more than a hundred thousand letters about the ad. At that time the demand for the song was so great that many people were calling radio stations and asking them to play the commercial. "I'd Like to Buy the World a Coke" has had a lasting connection with the viewing public. Advertising surveys consistently identify it as one of the best commercials of all time, and the sheet music continues to sell more than thirty years after the song was written.


I don't see how images of hatred will help to sell Sony's new product.

lol dreamer20

 

[MischievousOne]

I don't see how images of hatred will help to sell Sony's new product.

I don't see how people see images of hatred in this ad. The ad agency's job is to tell you that the new white casing is coming. It is in no way inferior to the old black casing (hence the struggle with no clear victor), it is just new.

If this ad were racist, I'd expect to see the "white" character somehow successfully subjugating the "black" character, not simply having a power struggle.

As for comparing it to the amazing Coke ad, Coke wasn't introducing a new product line, they were just trying to sell the same old product. It just happened to have a great catchy jingle and an inclusive ad. Coke will always be the same color, and will never have to deal with selling a color choice.

If they were going to play positively on having a new color to buy, I suppose they could've had the "white" woman joining the "black" woman for a spot of tea and said something about the white joining the black, or saying something about how you now have options, but wouldn't that be percieved as racist too?

Just my two cents as a white male, so maybe I'm just wrong. *shrug*

 

[dreamer20]

I don't see how people see images of hatred in this ad.

Just my two cents as a white male, so maybe I'm just wrong. *shrug*

Mr. Mischief if you clicked on the link and looked at the Sony billboard ad you will see it is an individual image of hatred and NOT a series of images. And even as a series they aren't exactly making love to one another are they.

 

[dong20]

Mr. Mischief if you clicked on the link and looked at the Sony billboard ad you will see it is an individual image of hatred and NOT a series of images. And even as a series they aren't exactly making love to one another are they.

No, but as the whole theme is about confrontation and dominance that really shouldn't be at all surprising should it.:smile:

We're clearly advertising wimps here in the UK judging by this blast from the past. I wish I'd seen the Audi V Bunny one.

 

[MischievousOne]

Mr. Mischief if you clicked on the link and looked at the Sony billboard ad you will see it is an individual image of hatred and NOT a series of images. And even as a series they aren't exactly making love to one another are they.

I did click on the link, and the other three, making what I would consider a series, since we're talking about an ad campaign, not an individual ad. As I said before, having them look as though they're making love doesn't exactly tell you what's new about it, and would certainly invoke other "racist" sentiment since anything you might say about that kind of scene in an advertising sense just makes it sounds like it's odd that they're together. Having them fight for power/dominance shows that something new has been added to the equation and that one should take note.

Anyway, I was just putting in my two cents, as I've been thinking about racism quite a bit lately due to this board. I've always respected what you have to say about things so this time we'll just have to agree to disagree. Just didn't want people to think I would speak without thinking, something I take great pride in not doing.

Cheers!

 

[medic007]

Though I'd think it overblown to read into it this much, I would definately say to Sony that they're walking a fine line unneccisairily...if they wanted an ad campagin, they should have stuck to something a little safer!

This is one of the latest Sony PSP ads that I located here, "Ad critic: Sony's racially charged PSP ad" The ad is too show that the PSP is going to be released in the color white. The ad seems to have a racial charge too it, but its debatable over whether or not it is.

 

[digitalninja]

In the advertising world, this sort of thing helps bring in the $$$. Controversy sells.

 

[findfirefox]

Heres a quick update pulled from Joystiq. The ads have been pulled by Sony.

A Sony representative informed Gamespot that the decision was made based on the global reaction to an ad that was largely aimed at a specific country. The representative goes on to say that Sony "further recognize that people have a wide variety of perceptions about such imagery and we wish to apologize to those who perceived the advert differently to that intended. In future, we will apply greater sensitivity in our selection of campaign imagery, and will take due account of the increasingly global reach of such local adverts, and their potential impact in other countries."

Interestingly enough, Sony claims to have only received a single complaint from within the Netherlands. It's unclear as to which is the more important lesson to be learned from all of this: Is it that marketers should wear gloves when handling potentially explosive material? Or perhaps it's that the Internet always has a global eye on the moves of a large and popular corporation?

Well there yah go.

 

[dong20]

Watch it get pulled.

Heres a quick update pulled from Joystiq. The ads have been pulled by Sony.
Well there yah go.

Nobody ever listens to me. :tongue:

 

[Shelby]

I'm sure I'll be accused of being insensitive for saying this but people are way to goddamn sensitive.

 

[D_Humper E Bogart]

Damned straight.

Anyway, if my GF was like either of them, I'd be happy. I've always wanted a bodyguard I'm allowed to shag.

 

[Matthew]

Nobody ever listens to me. :tongue:

If they did, you wouldn't be able to say, "I told you so." Why deprive yourself of something that deeply satisfying? :wink:

 

[Lex]

I'm sure I'll be accused of being insensitive for saying this but people are way to goddamn sensitive.

Amazing how your foresight never quite keeps you from saying it, however.

 

[dong20]

If they did, you wouldn't be able to say, "I told you so." Why deprive yourself of something that deeply satisfying? :wink:

Ha true enough..it's just I'm usually wrong when I say such things...so I couldn't hold back a token gloat....:tongue: