Is it cos my ad is black?
Regular readers will no doubt recall the joys of the general public when it comes to complaints to the Advertising Standards Board.
Here’s a new one, regarding the new Panasonic Neo Plasma TV.
Can you guess the complaint? It’s this:
“You only have to look at the CNN footage a month or so ago of 5 y.o. children – black and white – identifying the “bad” person in identical cartoon drawings as being the one with dark skin – to realise how pervasive the connection between “bad” and “black is. Panasonic is perhaps thoughtless in the way they are presenting this commercial but to strongly reinforce the stereotype and strengthen the link between “black” and “bad” is socially irresponsible.”
Happily the compainant also fancies themselves as a creative director and indeed marketing director, and is happy to suggest some alternatives:
“Saying that ‘black is good’ because it lets you see colours, could work? If not then changing ad agencies might also work.”
Somewhat unsurprisingly, the board ruled: “The Board agreed that most people in the community would appreciate that the advertisement was meant to highlight the blackness of the new Panasonic TV screen and would not be considered offensive or discriminatory against people on account of their ethnicity.”
I saw the ad and wondered when someone might point this out. Common sense rules though, thankfully. Well done ASB.
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This ad represents a dark day in the history of advertising
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Al, I see what you did there 😀
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I think it’s a great ad, just like the KFC cricket one.
move along.
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lol at AI hahaha
Seriously though the footage of the 5yo’s linking black with bad is more to do with the colour black being a dark colour and bad things happen in the dark such as a ghost or walking into something. I’m sure dark purple or navy blue has the same impact on children as opposed to white and yellow colours… Only people looking for 5 minutes of fame would associate this ad in a racial way.
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“Only people looking for 5 minutes of fame would associate this ad in a racial way.”
Spoken like a true white honky.
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I like the idea how they used black on a white background to showcase how well a black background highlights white/colours :S
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Kappiny i’m not white ….
So please don’t call me a “White honky”
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And every time I see the ad, I think it’s for licorice allsorts ….
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My guess, the person who complained was a white person who’s never met someone of different colour or ethnicity, but still felt they had ‘The Right’ to be ‘Outraged’ on their behalf.
A 40 something Suburban housewife who drives a 4 wheel-drive to pick up her two children ‘Brandine & Johnathan’ from private school in between PTA meetings, local mothers against X nights(X being whatever outraged one of them about a topic they know nothing about so lets plan a charity luncheon in awareness for it), and heading down to Fountain Gate Shopping Centre(or its equivalent) for coffee and a spot of light shopping…
But that might just be me…
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9_-4yr-kMc&feature=player_embedded
Now there’s a white version of this ad. Expect the complaints to flood in?
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Oops Kappiny! – don’t let it get personal now…
No racism implied & I believe it’s just silly thinking thinking there is!
Frankly, it’s a great ad. I remember when I first saw it – it kept me hanging to work out what the ad was about. However, it’s made me remember Panasonic’s new Plasma TV! (I was kinda let down… TV’s!? Gah, is that all!).
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