View Full Version : Microsoft Edits Black Man Out of Photo, Apologizes
Here is the link, with edited photo (think you heard about this one? Thnk again and take a look):
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,542901,00.html?test=latestnews
This is shameful. But they have NOT apparently learned anything from it.
Why do you think it's shameful?
It's for a Polish ad, and Poland is vastly Caucasian, right?
If MS wanted to use that base image for an ad in Japan, I wouldn't be upset or surprised if they replaced the white or black dudes faces with that of a Japanese dude.
What I find shameful is that Microsoft would apologize in the instance above, while in contrast, their news outlet, MSNBC.com (which is supposed to follow guidelines on journalistic ethics - including impartiality) did the same thing to a photo of an African-American gun owner who was exercising his right to open carry his carbine while attending a protest down the street from a "town hall" on health care.
What MSNBC did, specifically, was edit the photo so that the person's race was concealed, and then used the photo to imply that white gun owners were making threats by open-carry near town halls. When they were called on it, they did not opologize. So far as I know, they did not respond.
CharlieMike
08-26-09, 12:56
Why do you think it's shameful?
It's for a Polish ad, and Poland is vastly Caucasian, right?
If MS wanted to use that base image for an ad in Japan, I wouldn't be upset or surprised if they replaced the white or black dudes faces with that of a Japanese dude.
I don't think they should have apologized but I do question their reasoning for doing it. Is that really how Polish people make software purchasing decisions? Too many black people in the ad and its a no-go?
Here is what MSNBC did to demonize gun owners and those who voice opposition at town halls (from T.O.S.):
http://www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=1&f=5&t=915672
The_War_Wagon
08-26-09, 19:01
Hey - now Der Kommissar Obamassar can go after Microsoft, for not ONLY being successful :rolleyes: - now he can get them for racism, too!
ta da. :rolleyes:
Why do you think it's shameful?
It's for a Polish ad, and Poland is vastly Caucasian, right?
If MS wanted to use that base image for an ad in Japan, I wouldn't be upset or surprised if they replaced the white or black dudes faces with that of a Japanese dude.
Yeah, I don't see anything wrong with them tweaking the ad to match the market in which it's running. The ORIGINAL ad had a black guy and an asian in it, and I believe a white woman. It's actually a pretty overtly diverse ad.
I think people are over-reacting.
variablebinary
08-26-09, 19:53
I guess blacks don't play well in Poland.
I guess blacks don't play well in Poland.
The article I read described Poland as "ethnically homogeneous" or something like that.
CarlosDJackal
08-26-09, 21:11
I don't get it, why should it be considered shameful for anyone to alter a photo for a FREAKING COMMERCIAL AD? :rolleyes:
Seriously, how many people of color live in Poland, of all places.
Shit like this pisses me off.
I bet nobody would have give it a second thought if Microsoft had edited a white guy out of their ad. When are people going to wake up and realize all of this cooing over minorities shit is racist in it's own right???
Shit like this pisses me off.
I bet nobody would have give it a second thought if Microsoft had edited a white guy out of their ad. When are people going to wake up and realize all of this cooing over minorities shit is racist in it's own right???
Nah, I don't see it that way. I don't see Blacks saying, "I won't buy that because there are no Blacks in the ad". I hope Whites don't say, "I won't buy that because there are Blacks in the ad", either. I think people identify with the images presented to them but I don't think it influences their purchases. I've never seen a Black person in a Porsche ad but I'd purchase one in a nanosecond even if it only came with black, red and white floor mats. But, hey, I'm weird like that.
I DO notice the OBVIOUS desire to have a diverse ethnic makeup in ads, however, and the demographics don't reflect the workforce. As an engineer it seems that 75% of them are White males so I have some reservations about ads that have one Black male, one Hispanic female, one Asian male, one White female and one White male in the ad (for, say, Lockheed-Martin or NASA or General Dynamics) when the place is predominately White male. It's "stupid" to me.
I DO notice the OBVIOUS desire to have a diverse ethnic makeup in ads
The principle behind this is what I'm referring to. Strategically placing (or not placing) certain quantities (or lack thereof) of different races strictly due to their race is racist in it's own right. Remember the ad of the black guy drinking Colt 45 and the uproar that created? The only reason it created an uproar is because it associated blacks with cheap malt liquor and indirectly alcohol abuse. Now, if they put a skinny white guy covered in prison tattoos and pants hanging down to his knees in that ad nobody would have objected.
Dr. Quickdraw Mcgraw
08-27-09, 21:08
The thing that I laugh about is the fact the computer that the man in question is using is a Macbook with the apple logo photoshopped off... In a microsoft ad...
I DO notice the OBVIOUS desire to have a diverse ethnic makeup in ads, however, and the demographics don't reflect the workforce. As an engineer it seems that 75% of them are White males so I have some reservations about ads that have one Black male, one Hispanic female, one Asian male, one White female and one White male in the ad (for, say, Lockheed-Martin or NASA or General Dynamics) when the place is predominately White male. It's "stupid" to me.
You are SO right. When I worked for Ford, I did some campus recruiting at U of IL (I got my undergrad there). Every time it was the same thing - a sea of white males looking for jobs along with some asians, a few women, and a handful of minorities. Yet the majority of the printed recruiting material depicted minority and female employees.
I'm looking for a job now, and every corporate job listing page has minorities prominently displayed in the engineering section. And I've run into the SAME photo of the SAME guy in multiple places. It's just a stock photo, not even an actual employee.
It's all very absurd. Just looking at the demographics of engineering grads, there is no way they can increase diversity enough to reflect the publicity photos. There just aren't enough female/minority grads.
aside from the obvious hypocrisy of MS and MSNBC et al I see know problem with this ad.
I have more disgust at the so called "broadcast journalist's" at msnbc etc. that tell have truth's and mislead, mis quote and mis inform the public and do so without a 2nd thought about journalistic integrity, fairness or balance.
chris matthews is pathetic and jack cafferty is at times hard to take.
You are SO right. When I worked for Ford, I did some campus recruiting at U of IL (I got my undergrad there). Every time it was the same thing - a sea of white males looking for jobs along with some asians, a few women, and a handful of minorities. Yet the majority of the printed recruiting material depicted minority and female employees.
I'm looking for a job now, and every corporate job listing page has minorities prominently displayed in the engineering section. And I've run into the SAME photo of the SAME guy in multiple places. It's just a stock photo, not even an actual employee.
It's all very absurd. Just looking at the demographics of engineering grads, there is no way they can increase diversity enough to reflect the publicity photos. There just aren't enough female/minority grads.
I was an FCG at Ford and refused to appear in the "big glossy brochure" to be disseminated around college campuses. It was a picture of diversity with only one White male. I understand what they MAY be trying to portray but I'm a bit too cynical I guess. I know how to reach ME and people who think like me but putting every ethnic group (and hosts of women) in the ad when you won't find them is a little bit disinginuous to me. Especially when there is no tolerance for diversity of perspective or thought.
If the Black (and other minorities) parent's perception would change so would their offspring. Calculus, Biology and Physics classes need to become de rigeur in high school. Hell, it should be the norm for the nation as a whole.
I was an FCG too, hired into Automotive Components Division in 1994, and ended up getting spun off with Visteon in 2000, and got out in 2001.
You're right, there was little diversity of opinion. They basically wanted everyone to let themselves be brainwashed into the company culture. Those who did that the best moved ahead the fastest.
I was an FCG too, hired into Automotive Components Division in 1994, and ended up getting spun off with Visteon in 2000, and got out in 2001.
You're right, there was little diversity of opinion. They basically wanted everyone to let themselves be brainwashed into the company culture. Those who did that the best moved ahead the fastest.
Yes, I tried to make changes there but they resisted mightily. I left in 2007 and haven't looked back. All I had stated has come to pass.
I was an FCG...
Fire Control Group?
Fire Control Group?
I wish! Actually it means:
Ford College Graduate.
It's a rotational training plan for new engineers hired right out of college. My program was 4 jobs in 5 years - two in product development and two in manufacturing. I was able to get experience in component design, system design/project management, manufacturing floor supervision, and manufacturing engineering.
While the company had its issues (and still does), I did get a lot of training and exposure to different things early in my career. And that has helped me quite a bit in my career.
I wish! Actually it means:
Ford College Graduate.
Ah, excellent.
Thanks for the explanation.
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