Obama Monkey Ad Pulled
- Categories: Japan, News
- Date: Jul 2, 2008 10:30 JST
- Tags: Censorship, Marketing, Mass Media, Obama, Politics
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?
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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?
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
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!
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!!!!
It is an insult to degrade monkeys with comparison with ANY politician...
very true
monkeys are used for comical purposes. to personify:
Ignorance, Playfulness, or Oddity.
i dont know if this ad was racist intentionally. but it is just not good to use.
i remember when people flipped out over Obama Sock Monkey. but that was not racism to me. Sock Monkey's are a long time American toy and well loved.
but it is understandable why people took offense to it.
Japan doesn't know what black-based racism is.
actually they have allot more overall racism than we in north america do. its just that they don't see it as being wrong, to judge somebody by there skin color, and nothing is done about it.
I knew a few black people who went to japan, every time they went into a store they where watched like a hawk. although many younger boys came and shook hands with them, possibly mistaking them for famous american rappers maybe?
japan has allot of racism, but its mostly just baseless suspicion of something that they don't understand, you won't find any hicks shooting somebody because the "nigger" looked at his daughter or something like that.
its more of their no gaijin thing...cause the are more secluded to the world thats why they dont even know whats politically right or wrong in the western world...even if they do they think it wont affect them because theyre are japanese and they have "no gaijin" mentality going on
regardless japanese people are shallow pervs, this whole site proves it
WOW that is really racist .... that is why most Asian countries do not like the Japanese
Your comment is rediculous. The reason most of Asia hates Japan is because Japan never properly acknowledged and apologized for essentially raping the Asian world from 1934 until 1945.
He is soooo right!
That's exactly what i wanted to say
If you take things into perspecitve (ie. that it is a recurring thing using the moneky) then it is not racist at all. Imo they are just oversensitive here.
naw dawg...if you call a black person a porch monkey it still offends them as much as the word "nigger(excuse me for the word)"...japan just doesnt really care and have you seen that old article here about the gundam seed episode where they took all the black out of the black people and made them look japanese?
Why a monkey of ALL the animals in the kingdom.
They could have settled for KITTIES
Maybe because monkeys are like humans? LOL! XD
But indeed... Why monkey...
lmao! It's not a racist attack. Since when has Obama coined (or copyrighted) the word 'change' in political terms? It's twisted cynical humor that's coming during the age of P.C.
I would agree...the all the add said (to my understanding) was the word change, and that makes it related to Obama? I would really follow the election, but I think this is ridiculous to accused of such.
In Asia, monkeys are not quite as stigmatized as they are here. Haven't you ever heard of Sun Wukong?
Fucking niggers. They pretty much are no different than monkeys anyway.
lol i troll u
you best be trollin nigger.