Japanese mobile phone firm eMobile bowed to pressure recently and pulled an advert which critics lambasted as a racist attack on Obama, since it featured a monkey in a suit engaged in crowd wooing oratory, and calling for “Change”. The firm for its part denies the accusations, but has ceased the offending campaign anyway. In their defence, they state they had earlier employed the macaque motif in other campaigns.
Full report at rag Guardian. It may be interesting to note that hardly a whiff of this story has appeared in the Japanese media, or even on 2ch to my knowledge. Comes to my attention via FG.
Insensitive, or oversensitive?
It’s funny when Bush was president there were all sorts of pics with him next to a monkey made to insult his intelligence, but somebody puts a monkey in any context that could be possibly related to Obama and OMG ITS TEH RACISTS!!!!!! Fuckin double standard liberal bullshit.
SO TRUE.
There was a J-Drama in 2008 with the name Change with a political theme. http://wiki.d-addicts.com/CHANGE
This is why Japan should stop trying to do black people. THEY ALWAYS GET IT WRONG! That’s not to say I wouldn’t like to see more black people in anime but more often than not THEY DO IT WRONG!
thez fold so easilz. broadcasters rip on presidents all the time and nothing happens. i guess comparing someone to an animal is over the top
to be honest, i think its only americans who can look at this and think its actually a representation of a black guy. i’ve never actually thought of monkeys/apes/gorillas as black people until i came to study in this god-forsaken country.
Me either actually… Maybe I’m behind on racism?
PUSSYS!!!- To imply that the Monkey is offensive or is even connected to Obama and thus to ‘cave in’ only re-inforces the ‘Possibility’ of Stereo-Type.
If it has nothing to do with Obama- Why accept guilt?
Really- The ‘slobbering’ fan fare over this guy is already getting pathetic. While I can read or speak Japanese I’m assuming that the ad implies that the Advertisers New Phone (Blackberry-thingy) is so easy to use or figure out that ‘a Monkey can do it’ – and that maybe if you’re ‘All thumbs’ even YOU could work the thing- How is this Obama related. The man doens’t own the word “Change”.
If there was an American Flag in the ad I might see their argument. I’m warning you- “P.C. pushers” (and whiners) are the New “Thought-Police”- WAKE UP People!!!!