Sony ad causes white riot from Guardian Unlimited: Gamesblog — What are they thinking? Who is running Sony? Himmler?
A new billboard advert for Sony’s white PSP has caused consternation across the US videogaming community. The ad shows a white model dressed entirely in white threateningly grasping the face of a black model. Next to them are the words, “PlayStation Portable. White is coming”. The ad can also be seen on the Dutch official PSP site.
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I believe, and I think the actions of Sony over the past year back me up, that the people running Sony have a bet to see how fast they can ruin the company so bad that they actually will go bankrupt and the name Sony will disappear. No one would even want to buy them out for the brand name. That’s the bet….make Sony such a virus brand that it will go the way of Commodore.
Think about it, why else are they acting in this insane manner? PR fiasco after PR fiasco. It’s like they’re trying to piss their customers off.
In today’s climate not very bright.
Do the reverse with these models and state that black is coming, and nobody, not even you, would give it a second look.
So if black went first can I whine about that since I am white??? Or can Chris Rock really sue White Out since it eliminates black letters??? Just curious….
#2 – Bull$#it
It would create controversy were the roles reversed.
Its hard to say what they were thinking, and who knows, maybe this ad was dreamed up by people with no real exposure to the racial tensions so prevalent in the US. Perhaps the second model should also be white, but clad in black.
It obviouse what they hoped to say, and what they actually did say, but not why they said it that way.
it’s deliberate and designed to generate buzz…
i and the g’friend both have black PSPs…would have bought her the white one had it been in North America (saw it in Hong Kong a month ago
Ok, Sony didn’t post this ad in America, for obvious reasons, but why is there so much crap on this ad when there are two other ads in this campaign
They at least tried to balance out the “racism”.
There other two photos create some additional perspective and suggest the issue is a bit overblown…
Plus, after looking at the ads, I’m strangely aroused…
Wow.. these ads (especially the 2 linked in Jared’s post) are kinda hot.. Does thinking that make me a bad person? 😛
John, why do you think that the people at Sony don’t know what they are doing and are trying to kill the company?
You have posted about the ads, hundreds of other folks have been talking about them. The media will be all over them. Sony gets way more publicity thanks to all this talk and buzz. They win.
I didn’t see that much flack from the graffiti ads that were placed all across the country before, and they got a ton of publicity from that too for the same reason.
I think they know exactly what they are doing.
True enough, Sony lacks the snap that they used to have. Still, a girl fight (even if it’s fixed, with paid models etc.) should, in general, not be interfered with.
Its only racist because the public makes it that way and the weak minded are sure to follow
I hate sony and this makes me hate them more. I bought a sanyo front projector over sony’s; a pioneer plasma over the sony bravia, a nintendo ds over a psp, a panasonic dvd recorder over a sony, and will be buying an xbox360 and not a ps3 (i used to own a ps2).
It goes without saying that i have an ipod, but that’s just because it’s better than the crappy bean, not because i hated the company.
They are the suck – i will take some pleasure in watching them fail and their employees scattered among the leaves – who goes to work for such a bunch of losers!
Since Sony is selling a product and not people, why not use two white people or two black people. I think the issue that people take with the add is the domination that whites have over the world, and the insidious things they have done to gain that power. If you do not believe me just ask any Native American in either North or South America. In some parts of the world racism is a live and well. There are still places in America where blacks are not welcome. When we stamp that out then maybe someone will listen to your unsympathetic comments. It is not about the past but, about what is occurring today.
Dang – look at that tie she’s wearing. I could have sworn it was a noose the first time I saw it.
Considering that Japan has historically been a very racist society, I can see how this wouldn’t really have struck a nerve with them. You’d think the PR firm would have said something though. I can just imagine the meeting where they sold this campaign to the muckey mucks… lol…
Very Japanese…. I don’t think there is much ‘diversity’ in Japan. But is fun to think how this will be received elsewhere.
I wonder why they didn’t feature blond in a yellow raincoat.
Yellow is coming!
I read elsewhere that Sony’s ad agency specializes in controversial ads. Controversy gets attention. And attention is what any Marketing Manager wants.
#2 David…..you’re very right. Anyone who says differently is just trying to be PC. If it was a man that she was grabbing, it wouldn’t make any difference what color they are, men are allowed to be put down and made fools of.
But when you see the other two ads, then you realize that the ad shown here is nothing racist at all, except in the minds of those always on the lookout for something to whine about and add to their *victimhood*.
Regardless of whether the PC enviorment is crappy bla bla bla, the ad creators are idiots.
Boneheaded for sure. But what about if they had the whole spectrum (ROYGBIV) and had the white as triumphant? I wonder if that would have gotten such attention?
#9 Dave M. Let me assure you that I have worked on and off with Sony for perhaps over 20 years. The group running the company today is running it into the ground. It’s amazing. And it is not as if the products suck that badly. It’s the arrogance that permeates the place. Sending Howard Stringer in to fire people is not the solution.
And as for this campaign generating buzz. Ha. It may generate buzz about itself, but that buzz is unlikely to generate sales. So what is the point?
See…it can’t be racist cause they’re women…only white *males* can be racist. Right? ;->
So why is it racist?
The ad wasn’t posted in the US, but instead posted in Europe. Sony knew full well that this would cause huge controversy in the US, but I haven’t heard a word about controversy in the rest of the world. Maybe I’m just not reading the right places, and if anyone can point me in the direction of this kind of discussion from somewhere else in the world, where there are two sides in a discussion, not the discussion of America’s reaction. If you can’t find one ask yourself this, why is it that of all the countries in the world why are we, who claim to be leading freedom and equality, having the issues of becuase a white woman is shown in dominance over a black woman? If we are really equal, why is there such a big ruckus over the one, one of three ads I might repeat, another of which shows a role reversal and the other showing them on equal terms, ad showing the white over the black, but nothing has been raised about the ad showing the black over the white? Someone care to give a counter?
Racist or not, Sony needs to follow the old saying “when you’re walking on eggs, DON’T HOP AROUND”.
The Japanese are simply tapping in to the growing frustration that white people have with the way their countries are becoming non-white. The Japanese are openly proud of their race in Japan, and sometimes fail to realize that whites have been beaten down with guilt to the point where they are ashamed to be white.
I’m ashamed to be white if I have to be someone like xully.
#10- couldn’t agree more.
Sony- sorry, but after the rootkit thing, I just can’t stick up for anything they do. I don’t even care what I might have thought, Sony can go stick it.
And again, #10, testify.
Give me a break, sony is trying every angle but the ones that would legitimize them..
Sony we know you are phoney, or are you the BUSH administration, eerie how two great empires are throwing away their sanctum on the BS of their goals in wonderland.. Wonder why Alex Kidd gave it up to Sonic who could speed past Sega’s previous BS,
Sony isnt cool, the Nintendo DS is whopping it’s butt and that is a damn shame. No one gives a damn about blue ray, how about wait till they cant afford to see your TV’s go down hill at the rapid pace of your bad deal cheap outsourced walmart-rfid effort to cheapen the world.. Goodbye sony.. See you in RCA land
SONY has no value in their name,,,, They are merely FORD/GM in 1984 against 1997 Microsoft/USA..
A very deep one…