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[url="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/08/26/microsofts-ad-in-poland-p_n_269366.html"]Microsoft's Ad In Poland Photoshops Black Man, But Keeps Asian Man, White Woman[/url]

Doing business abroad sometimes requires companies to tweak their marketing strategies. Companies often swap idiomatic phrases or images in advertisements to better suit cultural sensitivities and achieve better sales. But do those edits ever go too far?

A black man was replaced with a white man in a Microsoft online advertisement intended for use in Poland. An Asian man in the ad apparently made the cut, and appeared in both the Polish and stateside versions of the ad.

But the ad's creator(s) missed one small detail.

The Asian guy miraculously survived, but only a small portion of the black guy remains. They forgot to Photoshop out his hand.

Engadget reports that the ad has been taken down.

Microsoft has since apologized, according to CNET:
We are looking into the details of this situation," a Microsoft representative told CNET News. "We apologize and are in the process of pulling down the image."

If you're curious, take a look at Microsoft's statement on its commitment to diversity. The company promises to, "promote and integrate diversity and inclusion at every level within our organization and in everything we do."




Brilliant piece of marketing there Microsoft....

I mean, no matter which way you slice it, MS just looks bad. They either appear to be accusing the Polish of racism, they themselves could be mistaken as being racist, and... they're a technology giant who just screwed up on a basic Photoshop..

Heh! Somebody'll get kicked in the butt. :laugh:

Brilliant piece of marketing there Microsoft....

I doubt this will so much as scratch their sales though.

Fljotsdale wrote:Heh! Somebody'll get kicked in the butt. :laugh:

The word is the company is going to ... "handle" ... the person responsible for the change ... aka kicked in the butt.

Loki[D.d.G] wrote:I doubt this will so much as scratch their sales though.

Sadly, no.

dragon wench wrote:they're a technology giant who just screwed up on a basic Photoshop..

Indeed. Makes you wonder just who they are employing these days. Whiz kids a casualty of the recession? Or maybe it could have been someone's convoluted idea of a joke.

Surely they could have done both at once and just put in a shot of Michael Jackson?
We are allowed to start joking about him again now right?

I could have done a better job. Thats quite shocking.

And why not reshoot it? It takes what an extra 20 minutes and one more model....?

Craig wrote:And why not reshoot it? It takes what an extra 20 minutes and one more model....?

And have to pay extra for a professional photographer, a studio and salary for a model? Photoshop is way cheaper and much more convenient by comparison, provided you don't make a boo boo.

Loki[D.d.G] wrote:And have to pay extra for a professional photographer, a studio and salary for a model? Photoshop is way cheaper and much more convenient by comparison, provided you don't make a boo boo.

But this is microsoft, they already have a studio and photographer...plus you pay for a one off shot of the model. I think this is more because they'd have to tell the black model guy he was to be replaced by a white guy for the second shooting. How'd you think he would feel about that?

Craig wrote:How'd you think he would feel about that?

How do you think he felt about getting Photoshop-ed out of the Polish ad? With a hand to reveal his prior existence.

A cry of racism just because some guy in the middle got replaced by someone else in a different version of the same ad? So what? Is Microsoft suddenly advocating racism?

I probably bet that this is the same folks who lampooned Capcom for racism in Resident Evil 5 just because it happens to be set in Africa and the majority of the enemies there are black. As a result, both the Far Cry 2 and RE5 devs have to 'diversify' their enemies so as to avoid the racism complaints. What a bunch of jerks.

DesR85 wrote:A cry of racism just because some guy in the middle got replaced by someone else in a different version of the same ad? So what? Is Microsoft suddenly advocating racism?

Race has always been a sensitive issue, no matter where you are from. There will always be someone waiting to take offense at even the slightest occurrence.

Loki[D.d.G] wrote:Race has always been a sensitive issue, no matter where you are from. There will always be someone waiting to take offense at even the slightest occurrence.

This is so true; and it makes people think twice - or more - before making legitimate complaints or comments, in case they are accused of racism. Which, in turn, means that we supinely say nothing at all and injustices and inequities are sometimes permitted in the names of political correctness and antiracism.

And no: I'm not a racist - or at least I don't think I am. But I do have huge issues regarding religious matters. I'm an atheist, and it scares me to death to see the way religion can warp the minds of even perfectly nice, and otherwise normal, people. To say nothing of the fanatics.

So... uh... I kinda expect this post to be deleted in the name of political correctness...

DesR85 wrote:A cry of racism just because some guy in the middle got replaced by someone else in a different version of the same ad? So what? Is Microsoft suddenly advocating racism?

I probably bet that this is the same folks who lampooned Capcom for racism in Resident Evil 5 just because it happens to be set in Africa and the majority of the enemies there are black. As a result, both the Far Cry 2 and RE5 devs have to 'diversify' their enemies so as to avoid the racism complaints. What a bunch of jerks.

Well - it is Microsoft so of course it is racists (yes - sarcasm)
But no - I agree with you.

A cry of racism just because some guy in the middle got replaced by someone else in a different version of the same ad? So what?

So they did it to pander to racists in Poland, any different than doing it to appease the KKK?

galraen wrote:So they did it to pander to racists in Poland, any different than doing it to appease the KKK?

Is having the Chinese as enemies in Fallout 3's Operation Anchorage or blacks in Resident Evil 5 any racist than Germans in WW2-themed games?

DesR85 wrote:Is having the Chinese as enemies in Fallout 3's Operation Anchorage or blacks in Resident Evil 5 any racist than Germans in WW2-themed games?

I suppose it all goes down to an individual's mindset. But when a company as big and renowned as Microsoft does something like this (or however minor, for that matter), it is bound to get media attention, followed closely by public outrage.

DesR85 wrote:Is having the Chinese as enemies in Fallout 3's Operation Anchorage or blacks in Resident Evil 5 any racist than Germans in WW2-themed games?

There is just a tiny difference between a game and real life you know! If you can't see the difference between having Chinese enemies n a game where China is the enemy and changing an advert to cater for the perceived racist nature of your target audience, I'm really speachless.

The interesting thing is that as far as we know, no specific research has been done prior to the change to tell MS whether we poles would stomach the black guy in the ad or not. Of course, it wasn't exactly necessary - they could just go by facts generally known, such as the percent of black people in our overall population etc. Which they probably did. The result seems to indicate that we are regarded as a racist country, which is sadly true when you look into the matter, so they actually have a point, even if it is microsoft.
Altough perhaps it could be a reason to put even more african people in our ads? After all, nobody objects to sexy black sportsmen of both genders sweating on nike posters.

@DW, yay for cabbage rolls! We call them 'pigeons' though.