JC
Thanks for the heads-up on this ad from TheThink. He said he wasn’t going to blog about it and would leave it to me at MMW, but then he did write about it. ;) Check it out. There is a lot of discussion going on about this billboard ad (it seems from the Netherlands) - questioning whether it is racist or not. I am not quite sure how I feel about it, but it definitely raised an eyebrow or two. Of course, it is meant to be shocking — all white next to all black. But the pose is questionable, especially coupled with the phrase “White is coming.” The white woman is snarling and has the black man/woman/girl/boy (?) in a threatening hold.

TheThink has found an interesting accompanying ad that shows the flipside — the black androgynous figure dominating the white — a reversal almost to show that Sony is fair and equal in its disparaging imagery. The question is why the first image has made it onto billboards while this one has not. Again, I think that these ads are meant to cash in on people’s fascination with black against white… not really sure if it is more than that. I honestly think it’s just weird. Actually, the third piece to this triptych makes it clear that these two are actually fighting… I think inherent in these pictures is an eroticism and conflict that go hand-in-hand…this is completely cliche when you think about it — light and dark/white and black — totally repelled by one another yet attracted to each other.

UPDATE: Apparently Sony decided to pull the ad on July 11th. Check out this article from DiversityInc (free registration required):

In a statement, Nick Sharples, Sony’s director of corporate communications in Europe, said: “We further recognize that people have a wide variety of perceptions about such imagery and we wish to apologize to those who perceived the advert differently to that intended. In future, we will apply greater sensitivity in our selection of campaign imagery, and will take due account of the increasingly global reach of such local adverts, and their potential impact in other countries.”

Although Sony has been praised for owning up to its error, this offensive ad points out the clear need for global-diversity councils and also increased diversity training within global companies. The business climate is increasingly global, thrusting companies into new markets. But working in new regions, profitable as it can be, also can pose problems. Without sufficient training and a real understanding of cultural issues, companies run the risk of upsetting their labor force, alienating consumers and, in Sony’s case, offending people all around the world.