Bahama Mama
July 12, 2006, 10:26 AM
Sony has taken flak over the last several days for a PSP billboard ad currently running in the Netherlands. It features an apparently angry Caucasian woman, with white hair and a white outfit, clenching in a white-gloved hand the face of an apparently intimidated black woman wearing black clothing. The advertisement's text reads "PlayStation Portable White is coming." Various groups and internet denizens have accused the ad of racism or racial insensitivity. For Sony's part, the company claims that the sole purpose of the ad is to showcase the "contrast between the Black PSP model and the new Ceramic white PSP model." Speaking to GamesIndustry.biz, a representative from Sony UK noted, "I would like to confirm that we categorically are not running this advert creative in the UK."
Sony has come under fire for its PlayStation-related advertising campaigns before. Towards the end of last year, residents of various urban areas complained about graffiti-based advertisements Sony had paid real estate owners to stencil onto prominent buildings. In September, to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the PlayStation brand, Sony ran an advertisement in various Italian publications depicting a man with a Christ-like crown of thorns, which upon closer inspection was made up of bits of metal fashioned into PlayStation button symbols. The text of the ad read, "Ten years of passion." The Vatican and various Catholic organizations protested the ad, which was retracted.
Last week, a blogger wrote on what he saw as perhaps subconsciously racist images in Sony's brightly colored game Loco Roco (PSP). He pointed out that the main enemies of the game share striking similarities to mocking depictions of African Americans as seen in blackface minstrel shows, which lasted into the early 20th century. Such imagery is exceedingly rare in the United States in modern times, but is known to be less controversial in countries such as Japan, which do not have the same history of black/white race relations. The blog post kicked off a storm of controversy throughout the gaming press.
Source (http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/42791/)
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a321/RochelleF/sony_screen001.jpg
Is this ad inappropriate?
Sony has come under fire for its PlayStation-related advertising campaigns before. Towards the end of last year, residents of various urban areas complained about graffiti-based advertisements Sony had paid real estate owners to stencil onto prominent buildings. In September, to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the PlayStation brand, Sony ran an advertisement in various Italian publications depicting a man with a Christ-like crown of thorns, which upon closer inspection was made up of bits of metal fashioned into PlayStation button symbols. The text of the ad read, "Ten years of passion." The Vatican and various Catholic organizations protested the ad, which was retracted.
Last week, a blogger wrote on what he saw as perhaps subconsciously racist images in Sony's brightly colored game Loco Roco (PSP). He pointed out that the main enemies of the game share striking similarities to mocking depictions of African Americans as seen in blackface minstrel shows, which lasted into the early 20th century. Such imagery is exceedingly rare in the United States in modern times, but is known to be less controversial in countries such as Japan, which do not have the same history of black/white race relations. The blog post kicked off a storm of controversy throughout the gaming press.
Source (http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/42791/)
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a321/RochelleF/sony_screen001.jpg
Is this ad inappropriate?