So after a few weeks, Sony has pulled the "racially charged" (read: neo-Nazi) Playstation Portable billboards that were displayed throughout the Netherlands. The ads feature a white woman grasping the face of a fearful black woman, with the proclamation "White is Coming."
What did the execs over at Sony have to say? "We only intended to make a sharp contrast between black and white, but never meant to discriminate against anyone." Someone needs to fire their press agent. Is that not the very definition of discrimination, to distinguish between two things? Whatever.
The jaw grabbing thing was obviously not intended to suggest a power dynamic either. Can you imagine the presentation of the ad at the agency? How the hell did they explain the concept? The Japanese should be sensitive to this kind of thing, well with the internment and all. To be fair, there were other treatments of the ad, e.g., with a black guy atop a white guy, grabbing his face. The bottom line: Don't play the color game with people - use dice, dominoes, anything else. It's not artistic, it's bad p.r.
Anyhoo, black males ages 10-40 now have license to go and cop the New PlayStation Portable White. We're sure it will be a status symbol by Labor Day.
Sony Removes Ads for New PlayStation Portable in Netherlands After Racism Allegation (Mainichi Daily News, July 13, 2006)
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