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Sony defends white PSP ad News
PSP News by Ellie Gibson
Sony Computer Entertainment has defended itself against accusations of racism over a controversial advert for the new 'Ceramic white' PSP.
The advert, which has appeared on billboards in the Netherlands, shows a white woman gripping a black woman by the jaw and features the slogan: "PlayStation Portable White is coming." Many websites and forum posters have protested that the advert is racist and are campaigning for its removal.
A Sony spokesperson has responded by stating that the ad does not have a racist message and that is part of a wider marketing campaign, telling our sister site, GamesIndustry.biz: "The marketing campaign for the launch of the White PSP in the Benelux focuses on the contrast between the Black PSP model and the new Ceramic white PSP model."
"A variety of different treatments have been created as a campaign to either highlight the whiteness of the new model or contrast the black and the white models. Central to this campaign has been the creation of some stunningly photographed imagery, that has been used on large billboards throughout Holland."
According to the spokesperson, "All of the 100 or so images created for the campaign have been designed to show this contrast in colours of the PSPs , and have no other message or purpose."
It seems the controversial ad is unlikely to appear outside Holland, with a representative from Sony's UK office telling GI.biz: "I would like to confirm that we categorically are not running this advert creative in the UK."
You can see some of the other images used as part of the campaign elsewhere on Eurogamer, and on the Dutch PSP website.
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the_dudefather
05/07/06 @ 13:20
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PCGM - remember: no named flames on the forecourt either
Edited 1 times,
most recently on 05/07/06 @ 15:42
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ManicDrunkMonk
05/07/06 @ 13:26
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I feel more racist already. But then again that old Sony ad with the weird, alien-faced girl gave me some unusual fetishes.
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most recently on 05/07/06 @ 14:28
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OK this is inevitably going to be followed by the usual 'political correctness gone mad!' drum-beaters, but however you percieve racism, you have to admit that (especially in a country and a continent in general undergoing some serious racial tension) putting an advert out where a person of one colour fights a person of another colour and the advert is about selling the 'improvement' of one colour over the other is, if nothing else, incredibly STUPID.
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JediMasterMalik
05/07/06 @ 13:34
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@drumbaby - Great point. Political correctness is going crazy these days. The skin colour contrast in these ads is the point of the ads, that doesn't make it racist.
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Balls to this.
I think peeps need to climb off their collective PC horses and calm down. Ask the following questions: 1) Am I hurt by this ad? 2) Is anyone I know hurt by this ad? If the answer to both is no (and I can't think of a case in which it's not) then I view it in a cheerily "arty" light. I despise the whole "everything is racist" kick. How many people are even showing the ads where the black lass IS the dominant party? No news there... when it's not racist it's not news. |
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Carpathian
05/07/06 @ 13:38
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Utter and complete rubbish.
The ad portrays one woman showing power over another woman. That's all. End of. If it had been two white woman, two black woman or the roles reveresed would anybody have commented ? Eveybody seems to be looking for things to moan about these days - not realising they're falling into the very trap they seek to avoid. In another of the campaigns images the black girl is sitting on the white girl, giving *her* the edge that time round. Rascist ? Deplorable ? Just two girls on a poster ? I know which of the three I see. Besides, who's to say what the power base is between the two people pictured in this one ? For all we know one is about to kiss the other. Assuming negative intentions on the part of the "white" character is rascist in and of itself - saying the woman is doing bad things to the other becuase one is white and the other is black is worse than the perceived offence of the poster in the first place. Sheesh. What next.............. {rolls eyes} |
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In a world where racism did not exist, this advert would not even cause a murmer. By claiming that it is racist (which it clealry was not intended to be) we are merely admitting that we live in a racist world and thus compounding the problem.
Fuck racists. Fuck the PC brigade. Fuck skin colour. Make art. Play games. |
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But we do live in a racist world, it is still an issue so using those stereotypes in an advertising campaign is bad taste.
And this isn't just seeing things that aren't there, the advert isn't merely having or not having people of a particular race in it. It's specificly about promoting the superiority of one product color over the other using humans.
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most recently on 05/07/06 @ 14:54
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Canadian_Mike
05/07/06 @ 13:53
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Being from one of the most politically correct countries in the world i'd have to say the imagery does feel somewhat offensive. Their clothing is one example, the posture another.
But the artist in me finds the contrast brilliant and loves the thought provoking nature of the ad. I must admit Sony marketing in general is spectacular. ...a little to deep for the average gamer though if you ask me. *outs spliff...goes back to work* |
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jack_klugman
05/07/06 @ 13:55
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Sony Computer Entertainment has defended itself against accusations of racism over a controversial advert for the new 'Negro Black' PSP.
The advert, which has appeared on billboards in the Netherlands, shows a well built black man inserting his erect penis in a nubile white girl and features the slogan: "PlayStation Portable Black is coming." |
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Now had this been a white bishop taking a black rook...
They didn't have to use humans to frame the colour difference. They simply chose the easiest and most controversial route. That's what shit advertising creatives do for the excessive salaries. "If one more person in this thread refers to ADVERTISING as "art" " I'll second that.
Edited 1 times,
most recently on 05/07/06 @ 15:03
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OK, this is pretty straightforward:
Controversy x PC do-gooders = Publicity Publicity leads to more awareness, and more awareness puts the product at the forefront of peoples' minds. Next time a consumer goes into a shop and think about the possibility of buying a handheld what springs into their mind first? a PSP. On the racism front, STFU! If it had been a white chick with blonde hair grabbing a white chick with black hair no-one would have batted an eyelid - let alone start waving the flag of hair-ism! |
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manic_mouse
05/07/06 @ 14:13
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"They didn't have to use humans to frame the colour difference"
Why not? Some people are black, some people are white. Is there any particular reason we should ignore this fact? What if it had been someone with white hair and someone with black hair, would you then be complaining? What's the difference between the colour of hair and colour of skin? I can't stand racism, but equally I can't stand political correctness either. Both are extreme and stupid view-points. EDIT: "Becuase hair-ism doesn't exist" and here we have it people. The sheer stupidity and double standards of political correctness. Why is skin any different than hair when it comes to what colour it is?
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most recently on 05/07/06 @ 15:19
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The difference is verry clear and easy; skin color is used in racism, hair color is not. Using one is fine, using the other is bad taste.
And they aren't just portraying people of different color in an add in any old random way, it's speciclly about the superiority of one over the other. Simply whiping everything away as politicall correctness gone mad is equally stupid as it completly side steps the issue and simply lumps it onto something else entirely. Much like throwing the word fanboy around randomly in discussion about hardware without actaully looking at what has been said. Recognizng the existance of an issue does not mean you agree with said issue. That's just stupid and has nothing to do with double standards. If there were say Neo Hair groups going on about hair color or have a history of segragation between people with different hair color it would be an equally bad topic for advertising. And I never said that add was racists, since that is pretty obviouse not what it's promoting, just that it is in poor taste and pretty stupid it got through any sort of design meeting.
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most recently on 05/07/06 @ 15:26
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asphaltcowboy
05/07/06 @ 14:21
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It's not racist for goodness sake. People are far too sensitive nowadays!
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The Bodybuilder
05/07/06 @ 14:24
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I'm sure an ad were a white woman is grappling an inferior black woman (why not use a white woman wearing black) in a massive billboard would not ignite racism. I'm sure when someone sees such an ad, the first thing that comes to mind is "I'm sure this ad is about the psp".
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manic_mouse
05/07/06 @ 14:25
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"The difference is verry clear and easy; skin color is used in racism, hair color is not. Using one is fine, using the other is bad taste."
So if I say you're an inferior human being because of the colour of your hair then that's fine? "And they aren't just portraying people of different color in an add in any old random way, it's speciclly about the superiority of one over the other. " As others have pointed out, there is another version of the add which shows the black woman in dominance. So no, the adverts do not show one "colour" to be superior to the other because both PSPs are the same. |
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"Some people are black, some people are white. Is there any particular reason we should ignore this fact? What if it had been someone with white hair and someone with black hair, would you then be complaining?"
I've not said it's racist, nor am I complaining. My issue is with the laziness of the advertisers for picking something which they know will create controversy. And the fact that the UK office will "categorically" not use it. I actually think the ad looks like an ersatz early 80s ID magazine fashion shoot. If that's the level of Dutch creativity these days... |
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"Some people are black, some people are white. Is there any particular reason we should ignore this fact?"
Historically there is something called slavery which involved skin colour as an excuse to deprive people of its humanity and rights in the interests of capital. The repercusions of this continue today. One thing is to ignore it, another is to make use of it tastefully and with care as it is a very touchy subject for millions of humans. |
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The Bodybuilder
05/07/06 @ 14:26
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>"Also racist? "
Obviously, but let's not forget that we live in a world with a past of slavery. To move on, we need to dissasociate from a pass (and such an ad doesn't help). |
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Canadian_Mike
05/07/06 @ 14:27
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"If one more person in this thread refers to ADVERTISING as "art" "
@ManicMinerUK & Scientist Like it or not, modern ADVERTISING has become one of the biggest outlets for artists these days. Some of the brightest and most talented artists in the word work for places like these doing advertising and making VFX for film etc. They need to eat!! When was the last time you or anyone you know went out and bought a painting? Or name me 5 modern time, traditional medium artists off the top of your head. See what i mean? |
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No, you saying it would be bad, using it as a metaphor in a product advertisment would be okay since it diden't have any overtones of a real world problem. So it would only carry that one meaing, relating to the product.
And there are other versions of the add but not showing anybody in dominance over the other, this one though is still in poor taste. But wether it's white on black or the other way round it's still refrencing to the same thing: the racial conflict, just in a differnt way.
Edited 3 times,
most recently on 05/07/06 @ 15:32
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In the words of Mr Michael Winner, 'Calm down dear, it's only an advert.'
If you check out the Dutch PSP site you will see another of the ads depicts a black women wrestling a white women to the ground. So are the ads therefore racist towards white people too? It's perhaps a little niaive of Sony to think that people wouldn't draw conclusions based on racial imagery from these ads. Perhaps that was the aim of the campaign. Never the less, I think people are reading far too much into this.
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most recently on 05/07/06 @ 15:35
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"I'm sorry, but WTF are you talking about? Seriously? You're wanting to ban this ad on the basis of slavery?"
No. I would not have this ad banned. Particularly I don't think it is racist nor offends me personally. But understandably people suffering because of racism either present or past can find it offensive, and that is why when somebody asks why we should ignore the fact of people's colour skin I mention slavery. |
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manic_mouse
05/07/06 @ 14:34
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"Historically there is something called slavery which involved skin colour as an excuse to deprive people of its humanity and rights in the interests of capital. The repercusions of this continue today.
One thing is to ignore it, another is to make use of it tastefully and with care as it is a very touchy subject for millions of humans." "To move on, we need to dissasociate from a pass (and such an ad doesn't help)" This is what I'm getting at. By treating black people with kid gloves you are not helping the world get over the terrible past of slavery. The way I live my life is that I treat everyone as equally as possible be they black, white, gay, ginger, bald or whatever! I don't pander to the past, I learn from it. I refuse to believe that black people want to be treated with kid gloves. I believe everyone should be treated equally. The add with the black woman being dominant over the white woman is just as "racist", yet it isn't making any headlines. In a world where racism doesn't exist these adverts would not even be given a second thought. By making such a fuss over them we are preventing that world from existing.
Edited 1 times,
most recently on 05/07/06 @ 15:38
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