Advertiser showing insensitivity to Asian Americans: Six Flags!
Not sure why Six Flags and its advertising agency, Ogilvy & Mather, believe this character is acceptable. Then again, this video taken at an actual Six Flags theme park presents a performance with another questionable Asian depiction. Perhaps Six Flags will also introduce The Chinese Water Torture ride.
Sunday, May 25, 2008
5510: Raising A Red Flag. Six, In Fact.
Saturday, May 24, 2008
5509: Begging Your Pardon.
Passing judgments in a MultiCultClassics Monologue…
• New York Governor David Paterson granted a full and unconditional pardon to Slick Rick. The rap icon had been facing the threat of deportation. “[Slick Rick] has fully served the sentence imposed upon him for his convictions, had an exemplary disciplinary record while in prison and on parole, and has been living without incident in the community for more than 10 years,” said Paterson. “I urge federal immigration officials to once again grant Mr. Walters relief from deportation, so that he is not separated from his many family members who are United States citizens, including his two teenage children.” No word if Paterson will also pardon Slick Eliot Spitzer.
• Lawyers for R. Kelly are allegedly seeking to have witnesses charged with crimes. The details are fuzzy, but speculations include wanting to charge anyone who possessed a copy of the infamous tape with child pornography—which would include a Chicago Sun-Times reporter who received a copy anonymously in 2002 and turned it over to police. The defense will also probably ask New York Governor David Paterson for a full and unconditional pardon.
5508: Progressive Presbyterian.
From USA TODAY…
Presbyterians pick first black seminary leader
RICHMOND, Va. — For the first time in its 196-year history, one of the nation’s oldest Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) seminaries will be led by a black pastor, a triumph for African-Americans who hope he’ll use his position to nurture the next generation of minority pastors.
Brian Blount, the head of Richmond’s Union Theological Seminary and Presbyterian School of Christian Education, is positioned to shape everything from recruitment to curriculum for the institution.
Supporters hope Blount’s high-profile position will inspire black students to attend the school; later, as pastors, those students could draw a more diverse group of parishioners desired by this shrinking 2.3-million-member denomination, which is 92% white.
Blount, 51, embraced the challenge at a May 7 inauguration ceremony.
“Are we ready to be more diverse?” Blount asked, to applause. “If we’re going to transform a multicultural world, we must be a multicultural seminary.”
He takes on the role in the former capital of the Confederacy, at a seminary where one Civil War-era professor boldly spoke in favor of slavery.
“It is a historic moment,” said the Rev. Gregory Bentley, head of the National Black Presbyterian Caucus in Charlotte “The symbolism of it, I think, is powerful in that it points the way to the possibility of an inclusive and diverse future.”
[Read the full story here.]
5507: Clinton Shoots Herself In Foot. Again.
From The New York Daily News…
Hillary Clinton’s colossal blunder simply the last straw
By Michael Goodwin
SICK. Disgusting. And yet revealing. Hillary Clinton is staying in the race in the event some nut kills Barack Obama.
It could happen, but what definitely has happened is that Clinton has killed her own chances of being vice president. She doesn’t deserve to be elected dog catcher anywhere now.
Her shocking comment to a South Dakota newspaper might qualify as the dumbest thing ever said in American politics.
Her lame explanation that she brought up the 1968 assassination of Robert Kennedy because his brother Ted’s illness was on her mind doesn’t cut it. Not even close.
We have seen an X-ray of a very dark soul. One consumed by raw ambition to where the possible assassination of an opponent is something to ponder in a strategic way. Otherwise, why is murder on her mind?
It’s like Tonya Harding’s kneecapping has come to politics. Only the senator from New York has more lethal fantasies than that nutty skater.
We could have seen it coming, if only we had realized Clinton’s thinking could be so cold. She has grown increasingly wild in her imagery lately, invoking everything from slavery to the political killings in Zimbabwe in making her argument for the Florida and Michigan delegations. She claimed to be the victim of sexism, despite winning the votes of white men.
But none of it was moving the nomination needle, with Obama, despite recent dents, still on course to be the victor.
So she kept digging deeper, looking for the magic button. Instead, she pushed the eject button, lifting herself right out of consideration.
Giving voice to such a vile thought is all the more horrible because fears Obama would be killed have been an undercurrent to his astonishing rise. Republican Mike Huckabee made a stupid joke about it recently. Many black Americans have talked of it, reflecting their assumption that racists would never tolerate a black President and that Obama would be taken from them.
Clinton has now fed that fear. She needs a very long vacation. And we need one from her.
Say good night, Hillary. And go away.
5506: Translators Must Be Expensive.
Not sure why this ad ran the headline in one language but presented the body copy in English.
Friday, May 23, 2008
5505: No Need To Debate The Lack Of Progress.
At AdAge.com’s The Big Tent, Tiffany R. Warren presents an odd perspective on the potential ramifications of Barack Obama becoming President of the United States. Some are apparently concerned such an event would threaten diversity initiatives, as people might believe the notion of President Obama signals “the false impression that America has gotten over its racial issues.”
Actually, a different argument ought to be made. That is, the United States is primed to elect a Black man for President, so why do industries like advertising still lag so far behind with diversity? Why is Madison Avenue—the place boasting to be on the leading edge of culture—trailing the general population in such a glaringly pathetic way?
5504: Keep Your Eyes On Your Pies.
Switching schedules with a MultiCultClassics Monologue…
• Mickey D’s CEO Jim Skinner told shareholders that the fast food joint’s fries are no longer cooked in trans-fat oils. The official swap was allegedly made months ago, although the company opted not to advertise the change. “While we don’t plan to advertise these changes, we wanted [shareholders] to be the first to know that we have followed through on our commitment while keeping the same great taste that our customers expect from McDonald’s,” said Skinner. However, Mickey D’s is still working on removing trans fats from its cookies and pies. Because, by golly, it’s imperative that they keep the same great lack of taste that customers expect from those items too.
• A federal judge ruled that Wesley Snipes won’t have to report to jail on June 3 as scheduled, and can remain free pending his appeal. Which means the actor still has time to enjoy Mickey D’s cookies and pies before the products change.
Thursday, May 22, 2008
5502: Cutting Mullets And More.
Making cuts in a MultiCultClassics Monologue…
• Four people testified in the R. Kelly trial, identifying the female in the infamous tape. “I know her like the back of my hand,” said one witness. “We got our hair cut the same way together. It’s a mullet. Short at the top, long at the back.” If the mullet fits, you mustn’t acquit.
• American Airlines announced plans to cut domestic flights and workers. Plus, the airline will charge passengers $15 for the first checked bag. Earlier this month, American said it would also bill $25 for the second checked bag. No word how much they’ll charge for losing both bags.
5501: Deceptive Recruitment Advertising.
This is technically not an actual job listing; however, it was assembled from the content of real recruitment ads…
At Agency X, a Director is a relationship guru—an inspirational leader and mentor. This person works with counterparts to foster and define a vision and leads team members toward this vision. He/she will work in our brand new Austin location and be a part of the agency that is on the radar of every marketing and communications company on the planet. Agency X, launched in 2006, focuses on coming up with ideas first without the distinction between disciplines and job titles, resulting in the highest Return on Ideas for clients. A Director is a connected player with his/her multi-functional teams, peers, the creative youth and our clients. He/she manages needs of team members to maximize learning and productivity while minimizing turnover. This person is a talented storyteller who is capable across multiple disciplines, such as digital, copywriting, design, interactive, CRM, promotional campaigns and environment/experiential. People that have experience with innovative direct marketing campaigns will be given high priority in our search for the best. The ideal candidate will be an outstanding strategic and conceptual thinker and persuasive communicator. Plus, he/she will be enthusiastic about business beyond marketing aspects. If you are up for the challenge, send your résumé, portfolio and cover letter explaining why your experience will help us take brands to immortal levels.
The true prospective employers are Project DaVinci, Saatchi & Saatchi X and Draftfcb. One agency has not yet done shit, and the other two have done nothing but. Here they are, nonetheless, hyping themselves like industry trendsetters. Too bad trophies aren’t awarded for breakthrough creativity in classified copywriting.
5500: Mood Poisoning.
Here’s a pretty odd way to advertise a restaurant. Hopefully, the young woman isn’t feeling ill after dining at the place.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
5499: Dollar Discrimination.
From nationwide news sources…
Paper Money Discriminates Against Blind?
WASHINGTON — The U.S. discriminates against blind people by printing paper money that makes it impossible for them to distinguish among the bills’ varying values, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday.
The ruling upholds a decision by a lower court in 2006. It could force the Treasury Department to redesign its money. Suggested changes have ranged from making bills different sizes to printing them with raised markings.
The American Council for the Blind sued for such changes but the Treasury Department has been fighting the case for about six years.
“I don’t think we should have to rely on people to tell us what our money is,” said Mitch Pomerantz, the council’s president.
The U.S. acknowledges the design hinders blind people but it argued that blind people have adapted. Some relied on store clerks to help them, some used credit cards and others folded certain corners to help distinguish between bills.
The court ruled 2-1 that such adaptations were insufficient. The government might as well argue that, since handicapped people can crawl on all fours or ask for help from strangers, there’s no need to make buildings wheelchair accessible, the court said.
Courts can’t decide how to design the currency, since that’s up to the Treasury Department. But the ruling forces the department to address what the court called a discriminatory problem.
Pomerantz says it could take years to change the look of money and until then, he expects that similar-looking money will continue to get printed and spent. But since blindness becomes more common with age, people in the 30s and 40s should know that, when they get older, “they will be able to identify their $1 bills from their fives, tens and twenties,” he said.
Officials at the Treasury Department and the department’s Bureau of Engraving and Printing, which prints the nation’s currency, had no immediate comment on the ruling. The government could appeal to the Supreme Court.
While the government has been fighting to overturn the lower court ruling, it has been taking some steps toward modifying U.S. currency for the visually impaired.
The most recent currency redesign of the $5 bill introduced in March features a giant “5” printed in purple on one side of the bill to help those with vision problems distinguish the bill.
The appeals court also ruled that the U.S. failed to explain why changing the money would be an undue burden. The Treasury Department has redesigned its currency several times in recent years, and adding features to aid the blind would come at a relatively small cost, the court said.
Other countries have added such features, the court said, and the U.S. never explained what made its situation so unique.
5498: Obesity Bias.
From USA TODAY…
Weight discrimination could be as common as racial bias
By Svetlana Shkolnikova, USA TODAY
Weight discrimination, especially against women, is increasing in U.S. society and is almost as common as racial discrimination, two studies suggest.
Reported discrimination based on weight has increased 66% in the past decade, up from about 7% to 12% of U.S. adults, says one study, in the journal Obesity. The other study, in the International Journal of Obesity, says such discrimination is common in both institutional and interpersonal situations — and in some cases is even more prevalent than rates of discrimination based on gender and race. (About 17% of men and 9% of women reported race discrimination.)
Among severely obese people, about 28% of men and 45% of women said they have experienced discrimination because of their weight.
“Weight discrimination is a very serious social problem that we need to pay attention to,” says Rebecca Puhl of the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at Yale University, a co-author of both studies.
The research, based on surveys of more than 2,000 U.S. adults in 1995-96 and 2004-06, is the first to compare rates of weight discrimination with other forms of discrimination, Puhl says.
Institutional discrimination involved health care, education or workplace situations, such as cases in which people said they were fired, denied a job or a promotion because of their weight. Interpersonal discrimination focused on insults, abuse and harassment from others.
Lynn McAfee, director of medical advocacy at the non-profit Council on Size and Weight Discrimination in Mt. Marion, N.Y., is not surprised by the findings.
“Until we clean up language like ‘war on obesity’ and have authorities speak out about it, discrimination will continue to increase,” she says.
Puhl agrees weight discrimination will not decrease until attitudes change and laws begin addressing it.
No federal laws against weight discrimination exist, although some cities, including Washington, D.C., and San Francisco, have banned discrimination locally. The Massachusetts Legislature had hearings last month on a proposed law.
Peggy Howell says she will never forget the day her boss told her she either had to lose weight or lose her job. She weighed 280 pounds at the time and was working as a librarian. Feeling as if she had no choice but to comply, Howell joined Weight Watchers.
Howell volunteers for the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance, a non-profit organization in Oakland.
After shedding 120 pounds in a year and a half, she quit her library job and started an online business selling items that portray people of size in a positive light.
She says she now knows she has the right to challenge stereotypes, and she wants to “help people to see the beauty in themselves, no matter what their size.”
5497: Keep Your Lies On Your Fries.
Article above from the May 19, 2008 issue of Crain’s Chicago Business…
Why does a fast food joint that built its reputation on speedy service need years to rid the menu of deadly trans-fat oil? Looks like the boys running Mickey D’s are slick and slippery—and they’re playing the public for clowns.
5495: Arnold Seeks To Diversify.
The story below appeared at Adweek.com. MultiCultClassics comments immediately follow…
Arnold Hires Multicultural Marketing Chief
Osborne joins Havas shop from Novartis
By Adweek Staff
BOSTON Havas’ Arnold said it has hired Reginald Osborne as svp, group director of multicultural marketing.
Reporting to evp Jon Tracosas, he will focus mainly on the shop’s McDonald’s business. The long-range goal, per Arnold, is to create an integrated capability for diversity marketing across all agency accounts.
“I am excited to be at an agency like Arnold that believes diversity is important culturally and as a resource to better serve clients and consumers in a multi-cultural marketing and communications world,” Osborne said in a statement.
Added Fran Kelly, Arnold’s CEO: “The world we live in and market in is growing increasingly diverse. He will be an enormous asset to Arnold and to our clients.”
Osborne joins from Novartis Pharmaceuticals, where he most recently served as associate director of multicultural marketing. Prior to Novartis, he was at Spike DDB, where he worked on clients such as Jaguar, ExxonMobil, Foxwoods and State Farm Insurance. Other agency stops include Grey and Ted Bates.
Arnold has championed multiculturalism in the workplace. The Ad Club of Boston’s Arnold Rosoff Awards celebrating industry diversity are named for one of the agency’s founders.
The move is in keeping with industry trends, as agencies large and small have heightened their diversity efforts in the wake of continued criticism from some quarters that the ad business is too white and male-centric.
This story is unique on a few fronts.
First, it’s extraordinarily rare for Adweek to report on anything non-White. Although the byline seems to indicate it took the entire staff to figure out the brief news item.
Agency Spy’s superspy—who will soon leave that blog and probably take all interest with her—seemed perplexed over certain points. She observed, “…according to Adweek, [Osborne’s] goal will be to ‘create an integrated capability for diversity marketing across all agency accounts.’ So, what Arnold really means is they’re going to try and talk to people of color. Why they just can’t say that, I’ll never know. Never. According to Ad Age’s Report Cards, Arnold isn’t listed among the top 50 multicultural agencies in either the Hispanic, African American or Asian markets. Better get cracking, mister.”
Well, superspy, it’s unlikely Arnold will crack the top 50 anytime soon. If you closely inspect the Ad Age lists you referenced, you’ll see the overwhelming majority are minority-owned enterprises. Even the places “bought” by holding companies still keep minority-ownership status by retaining the necessary 51 percent share. This maneuver avoids upsetting clients who employ multicultural agencies to satisfy corporate diversity goals—that is, multicultural shops are viewed as minority vendors. It also means Arnold will have difficulty realizing its goals, especially if the Bostonians ever compete for business with typical multicultural shops.
Additionally, one could debate if the true objectives of diversity are being addressed when a general market agency hires minorities to focus on segregated initiatives. Or you could question why general market shops might be eligible to pursue multicultural assignments when multicultural shops are rarely allowed to pitch general market work. But those are the topics of future posts.
For now, let’s extend congratulations and best wishes to Reginald Osborne.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
5494: The Camera Never Lies. The Subject Matter, Well…
Lights, camera, action and a MultiCultClassics Monologue…
• At last, the R. Kelly child-pornography trial began with opening statements today. The key players are depicted above: Prosecuter Shauna Boliker (left); R. Kelly (center); Defense Attorney Sam Adam Jr. (right). The defense’s contention is that the man in the infamous tape is not Kelly. Plus, the female in the tape is not the alleged victim. “Robert Kelly is not on that tape,” said Adam in court. “I stand before you on May 20, 2008, to tell you [the alleged victim] is not on that tape.” Or maybe it took so long to get to trial that the players completely forgot being a part of it all.
• An actress who appeared in a jewelry commercial where she writhed and moaned in a bed is suing the producers. She claims she was told the ad would be humorous, and she was shocked to discover it became a racy message. So far, a judge has allowed the $5 million lawsuit to move forward. R. Kelly insists he was nowhere near the filming of this one.
5493: Shades Of Whiteness.
From The Chicago Tribune…
The white vs. off-white election
By Meghan Daum
If you’re white and you like stuff, maybe you’ve bookmarked the Internet blog Stuff White People Like. The creation of Christian Lander, a 29-year-old Culver City, Calif., copywriter, it’s an ever-growing list of the kind of privileged preoccupations that traditionally are coded “white.”
Examples include not having a TV (“The No.1 reason why white people like not having a TV is so that they can tell you that they don’t have a TV.”), indie music (“To a white person, being a fan of a band before they get popular is one of the most important things they [sic] can do with their life.”) and, a bit abstrusely, awareness (“White people … firmly believe that all of the world’s problems can be solved through ‘awareness.’”).
To date, there are 99 items on Stuff White People Like.
Barack Obama, at No. 8, was among the first entries. Guess who is not on the list?
Somehow, Hillary Clinton, whose campaign now coasts on the fumes of a particular variety of white voter (the fuming kind), has failed to meet the rigorous standards of Stuff White People Like.
The reason, of course, is the same reason clichés such as mayonnaise and square dancing don’t make the cut either. The one thing Clinton has over Obama, which she has clumsily described as “hardworking Americans, white Americans,” is that certain white people like her more. But, to borrow a phrase from Lander and company, they are “the wrong kind of white people.” Could that mean they’re barely “white” at all?
Clinton’s white voters lack the salient feature of the white experience—privilege. As Stuff White People Like suggests, privilege now functions as a rarefied club that excludes people based not on their skin color but on their economic status, personal tastes and aesthetic sensibilities. The Web site tips toward progressive emblems of privilege (public radio), but because plenty of Republicans like iPods and farmers markets, it’s safe to say the actual cohort is bigger than that (or at least could support a sister site about white love for McMansions, mega-churches and golf). Yes, this club is still called “white,” but as time goes on, that whiteness becomes more conceptual than literal. You don’t have to be white to be white. You just need enough disposable income and the desire to buy the lifestyle accessories and adopt the points of view that were once exclusively associated with it.
So where does that leave Clinton’s last-ditch voting bloc? Barred from this new whiteness (and apparently unwilling or unable to make common cause with others who are also outside the pale), the people who handed Clinton a decisive victory in West Virginia have been stripped of so much social currency over the last few decades that you wonder if a new racial category—called “off-white” perhaps?—is about to emerge.
How else to explain the air of irrelevance that swirled around the primary? Granted, no one expected a nailbiter, but watching the media coverage, most notably the news clips in which one voter admitted to being “sort of scared of the other race” and another cavalierly insisted Obama was a Muslim, was to feel like the whole state had been written off as one big trailer park through which Clinton would take a final joy ride.
Some of that dismissiveness may be the result of the near-impossibility of Clinton getting the nomination. But it also may be a reflection of the way that, in the last 50 years, white people without college educations have gone from being the most dominant segment of American society to the most ignored.
A recent Brookings Institution paper on the decline of the white working class points out that in 1940, whites without a four-year college degree represented 86 percent of the over-25 population. Last year, they accounted for less than half. Moreover, in 1947, 86 percent of American families were white and earning (in 2005 dollars) less than $60,000 a year. By 2005, such families comprised only 33 percent.
But in addition to their dwindling demographic presence and their diminished status, these people constantly battle another head wind: culturally sanctioned mockery. Unprotected by the political correctness that makes deriding other minorities unacceptable or at least uncool, poor whites are often regarded not as people but as mullet-sporting, mobile-home-dwelling vessels of kitsch.
West Virginia had too few delegates at stake to matter much. Still, it’s been easy to get the feeling that some people, particularly those in the Stuff White People Like demographic, have concluded that the place is so backward it doesn’t matter at all.
The problem is, voters like those in West Virginia don’t see it that way. They may represent a shrinking demographic, but, as all the campaigns know, there are still enough of them that they can’t be ignored. The catch is that in an election in which race plays such a prominent role, the greatest tension may not be between black and white but white and off-white.
Meghan Daum is an essayist and novelist in Los Angeles.
5492: Boone On Board.
WPP’s Project Da Vinci finally lived up to its “new kind of marketing organization” hype by passing on the usual suspects—old White guys, that is—when selecting the CEO. Given all the criticism the enterprise has already received, the man will definitely have his hands full. At least no one can blame him for the potential agency name of Synarchy. Congratulations and good luck to Torrence Boone. Here’s what AdAge.com reported…
WPP Names CEO for Dell Shop
Former Digitas President Torrence Boone Will Head New Global Agency
By Rupal Parekh
NEW YORK -- After months of speculation, WPP said today it has named Torrence Boone, former president of Digitas, Boston, CEO of the global agency it is building from the ground up to service its first client, Dell.
“The opportunity to play a leadership role in the creation of a new agency, built to spec, with an ambition to redefine the client-agency relationship, comes along perhaps once in a lifetime,” Mr. Boone said in a statement. “I’m thoroughly excited about Project Da Vinci’s prospects and look forward to working with an exceptionally talented team to tackle the marketing challenges of Dell and other clients in today's dramatically changed media, marketing and customer landscape.”
Mr. Boone, 38, who declined to grant an interview today, comes to the start-up venture after several years at Digitas, which he joined in 2001. He previously served as VP-general manager at interactive shop Avenue A. Earlier, Mr. Boone, who holds an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School, was a senior manager at Bain & Co., where he focused on the health-care/pharmaceuticals and consumer-products areas.
He will officially take the reigns in early June, will be based in the agency’s New York headquarters and will report directly to WPP Group Chief Executive Martin Sorrell.
‘A new kind of marketing organization’
“The goal from the start was to design and build a new kind of marketing organization that not only provides unique solutions for Dell, but meets other clients’ marketing needs and does so using developments in technology to guide and measure its marketing decisions,” Mr. Sorrell said in a statement. “Torrence is ideally suited to this critically important leadership role. His deep experience across multiple marketing disciplines and his reputation as a developer of innovative marketing programs make him uniquely qualified to lead Project Da Vinci as we focus on reinventing the approach for integrated marketing services. We believe that Project Da Vinci will provide a template for other clients with similar desires.”
Mr. Boone’s appointment is long-awaited; it has been nearly five months since WPP was handed Dell’s three-year, $4.5 billion marketing contract, with the understanding that the holding company would build it a custom-made global agency network.
In his new role, Mr. Boone will be responsible for an agency with hubs in four U.S. cities, as well as London, Beijing, Singapore and Sao Paolo, and a staff of 1,000 or more staff globally. He will also have the help of a leadership team assembled ahead of his arrival. It includes Valerie Hausladen, managing director, Austin office; Kelly McGinnis, chief corporate communications officer; Matt Rayner, chief media officer; Jack Reynolds, chief talent officer; John Roulston-Bates, chief technology officer; Joe Scangamor, chief operating officer and chief financial officer; Ken Segall, chief creative officer; Stephen Sonnenfeld, president, consumer-solutions group; and Jeffrey Wilks, president, business-solutions group.
With a CEO in place, Da Vinci will focus on, among other things, establishing a new name and identity, which it expects to introduce soon.
5491: Don’t Ask.
Ask John Lee Why He Loves His BlackBerry. As the copy shows, John and his wife publish THEME magazine. And this ad ran in—you guessed it—THEME magazine.
Monday, May 19, 2008
5490: CEO 2 CEO.
The Spring 2008 issue of Black MBA—The Official Magazine of the National Black MBA Association—featured an interview between NBMBAA President and CEO Barbara L. Thomas and Starcom Mediavest Group CEO Renetta McCann. Topics of conversation included the much-ballyhooed SMG study on Blacks and diversity in the advertising industry. Download a pdf of the interview here or simply click on the images.
5489: SuperBlog.
One Diverse Comic Book Nation is a blog dedicated to exploring the diversity or lack of diversity in comics. ‘Nuff said. Check it out.
5488: Obesity And Fat Cats.
Junk food and garbage talk in a MultiCultClassics Monologue…
• The Philadelphia Inquirer reported on the growing health crisis among poor people in America, where high food costs lead to undernourishment and obesity. “The food crisis will make obesity and attendant diabetes even more rampant,” said a University of Washington epidemiologist. “Fruits, vegetables and fish are becoming luxury goods completely out of reach of many people. Consumption of cheap food will only grow. … Obesity is the toxic consequence of a failing economy.” Mickey D’s will probably introduce a new Southern Style McToxic Chicken sandwich.
• Mickey D’s CEO Jim Skinner criticized regulatory efforts to mandate calorie information on restaurant menus. Calling the proposed regulations “redundant and flawed,” Skinner rambled on to call activists “professional naysayers” and “CAVE people—Citizens Against Virtually Everything.” Given the crisis detailed in The Philadelphia Inquirer story, Skinner ought to consider venturing outside of his Ivory Cave.
5487: Ching, Chong And Little Change.
To commemorate Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, it seems appropriate to note the debate ignited by Chicago Sun-Times advertising columnist Lewis Lazare. The writer recently criticized a new commercial for Quiznos starring an Asian American woman working at a Laundromat. Created by Cliff Freeman Advertising, it can be viewed at the Quiznos website. In the spot, the old woman eats a $5 bill; plus, she appears to be in the throes of dementia as she gazes adoringly at her Quiznos sandwich.
“Cliff Freeman takes sandwich war too far by demeaning Asian Americans,” read Lazare’s headline. “To say the commercial insults Asian Americans is a massive understatement.”
A few days later, Lazare published the following reactions to his perspective:
You are right about the Quiznos spot. The Six Flags ad is even more stupid and offensive to Asian Americans. —Mike Kocher
I thought the commercial was an attempt to be funny. You review the same type of ads with young white guys doing stupid antics and don’t mention anyone being insulted. Can’t Asian Americans act stupid to get laughs? —Michael Schimp
I strongly feel the Quiznos ad is insulting, and I’m not Asian. It is really a stupid way to try and get people to buy their brand. —Kathy Repak
Are you Asian American? I wonder how do you know what offends someone else? (I work in a Chinese restaurant, where they slurp their soups and drink loudly without concern—offensive to you or me perhaps, but not to them.) Would you have said the same thing if the actress in question were Caucasian? Probably not. You see a woman of Asian descent. I see a woman. —Lou Lohman
How is the Quiznos ad an insult to Asian Americans? Are they, like the handicapped, not to be made fun of? Are they sacred and therefore not to be displayed in any light less than reverent? Would the ad be acceptable with a white woman? —Michael Curley
Thank you for your opinion piece on the Quiznos ad. I was so shocked when I saw it on television. Somehow, Asian Americans are always portrayed as crazy on television. —Jack Song
While I am not Asian, I think there is still a big difference between funny and offensive. This was funny! —Roger Kelner
I wondered how long it would take for someone to blow the whistle on Quiznos’ obnoxious—and blatantly racist—television ad that pulls its laugh at the expense of a poor old mama-san. —Mary Shen Barnidge
How is this a demeaning commercial? They were able to hire an Asian to do the spot, so it can’t be that bad. My girlfriend is Asian, and she finds the commercial funny. You need to loosen the bow tie and find your funny bone. This ad may not bring more customers into Quiznos, but it may give normal folk a good chuckle. Learn to lighten up. —Chris Murphy
Don’t mean to sound jaded like a dragon, but these debates have become so predictable—plus a pathetic portrait of the culturally clueless characters in the advertising industry and beyond.
It’s almost as if these racial respondents materialize on cue to hit their marks, dropping statements which have become as stereotypical as the imagery that inspires them. From the person who wonders why no one takes offense when Whites are portrayed as stupid to the Chinese restaurant worker allegedly witnessing heathen behavior to the dude with an amused Asian girlfriend to the attacker of political correctness griping that we all need to lighten up (hey, no Freudian slip there), the discussions on these topics reveal a true lack of progress in society at large.
On the multicultural marketing totem pole, Asian advertising agencies in the U.S. are still positioned far below their already-disrespected Latino and Black peers. Which means the overwhelming majority of Asian depictions in commercials and print are coming from the White ad shops. Granted, Asian Americans are starting to make positive appearances in advertising and media. Perhaps it’s partly because the White shops feel more comfortable integrating the “model minority” into messages. Or maybe it’s an offshoot of the popularity of Lucy Liu, Jet Li, Jackie Chan and kung fu movies. Whatever.
But it’s hard to deny the history of representations indicating adfolks consider people of Asian descent to be loud, bizarre, Sumo wrestling, Zen-speaking Laundromat owners inclined to eat anything.
5486: Don’t Monkey Around.
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