eMobile pulls Obama-inspired commercial
The Guardian reports that eMobile has pulled its Obama-inspired commercial after facing criticism in the blogosphere:
The company, which stressed it had used the macaque mascot in several other adverts, said it had never intended to insult Obama but had decided to pull the “Change” ad in response to criticism in the blogosphere.
“We had no bad intentions, but this is a cross-cultural gap issue and we have to accept it,” eMobile’s chief executive, Sachio Semmoto, told Reuters. “There are African-Americans in Japan, so we decided to take prompt action and shut down the ad.”
Semmoto went further, describing the senator from Illinois as the kind of leader who could benefit not only the US but also Japan. “For two years I’ve been saying Obama has the capacity to change America, the kind of capacity that Japan needs,” he said.Monkeys are revered in Japan, and their image can be found at numerous Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines, but eMobile’s choice of animal for this ad did not impress the foreign blogging community.
I understand their decision, but I still stand by my previously written statements about the ad. It’s a shame that so many non-Japanese bloggers took the commercial out of context and screamed about racism.
[hat tip to 空]
Diaper-headed Man Robs Convenience Store
Dolphin Blooper Video
Baby Monkey Rides Wild Boar
Is That Castle Burning?
Wild Boar Attacks Buddhist Temple
Golgo 13 Monkey Dies
China Favors Knock-off Arita-yaki Porcelain Over Authentic Arita-yaki
Japanese Man Rollerblades Across America
Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade to Feature Takashi Murakami Balloons
Weird English Conversation
Online Coupon Sharing For Tech-savvy Japanese
Girls Generation in Japan
Silly ultra-PC foreign bloggers….
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If you are constantly looking for racism you will find it. I wish people would 1. lighten up 2. stop being cultural neo-colonialists and 3. think before they cry out racism.
There are definitely foes out there than need to be fought, but being hypersensitive about everything around you as though you are constantly under siege by racists is no way to live your life. Don’t go where Debito went. It will eat you up inside as it did him.
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Absolutely. My boss (who knows Debito well – and has regrets about that) referred to him as “like a Greenpeace activist in a world full of whales”. He cannot accept that things are not as he sees them (the “Japan” he lives in is definitely not the “Japan” the rest of us live in) as he has invested so much energy and based his entire sense of self-worth around his “activism” that if he tried to look at things as they really are he’d shrivel up and blow away.
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Please keep the comments on this post on topic.
This post has nothing to do with Debito. He didn’t use his blog to attack the eMobile commercial.
Point well taken, James. Feel free to trim my post to keep the discussion on-track.
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Absolutely. Another score for the misguided “political correctness” movement. Sheesh.
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What are black people in Japan called? Not African-Americans I’d assume. African-Japanese?
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Black. They’re Black. Everywhere. And white-people are White. That’s the way it is. It seems like it’s mostly white-people afraid of coming off as racist who use the term “African-American”, while most black-people just prefer to be called “Black”, for the same reason white-people in America are “White” and not “Irish-German-American” or something similarly silly.
Politically False.
http://victorymanual.com/2007/04/22/politically-false/
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It’s only an american thing, In the UK Black people are called black.
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The word most often used in Japan is 黒人, if that’s what you’re asking. Literally “black person”.
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Oh God.
Do we have another Debito on our hands?
Sometimes a monkey is just a monkey.
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Even if their intentions was not to represent a black personn as a monkey in a racist way it was insulting for a lot of people who are you to judge these personns?
Black people have been compared to monkeys saying they were not even human beings which has led to what we know and what keeps running.
They did not have to look for racism in the messge . Just turn on the TV walk in the streets surf on the internet , and there was a black personn as a monkey they felt insulted and have the right to let others know it even if you do not agree.
This blog answered in a smart way showing that the monkey was used before in other commercials, Obama is popular here and japanese are not ignorant but do have the same history and culture .
It is a good decision and they explained the cultural gap. They have millions of yen to create a commercial the message must stay positive.
In Japan black people are refered to as foreigners, as black people, but an individual is called by his nationnality if it is known : an american, australian, french personn. I don’t get the remark. Should I look for racism in it? ;p
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Ah crap. I was afraid this would happen. Just like several years ago when Nintendo changed their Japanese-edition Pocket Monsters trading cards because some collectors came to Japan, bought them and took them back to the States, where a bunch of morons who couldn’t tell the difference between a Manji and a Hakenkreuz (Nazi swastika).
“This is a cross-cultural gap issue and we have to accept it.” Wrong answer. It is a cross-cultural gap issue, but the onus to “accept it” is on those who were blinded by their own cultural prejudices and refuse to accept any interpretation except their own. This is not America.
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Agreed.
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Here here. Although, I would hope that America wasn’t all blinded by cultural prejudice.
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Who gives a toss? This is just funny.
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I think it’s very telling that if you make a commercial immitiating a politician whose only message is “Change!” and nothing else, even Obama supporters assume it’s a mockery of Obama. then bring up the monkey/black issue…
so even they are basically admitting that’s all Obama is, a black guy who says “Change!” and people swoon.
Besides, if we want to be racist in the Japanese style, shouldn’t we be calling him “hafu”, since he’s half-black?
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Muslims swooned to see the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons,
Some people who accoiated the black people with a monkey in a negative way swooned.
”Haafu” is a word that came from “half” just like half African-American.
The word does not necessary carry a negative tone in Japanese.
Becky is a popular talent in Japan whose father is (said toIbe) British. Nobody would spoon if she and Pankun (a chimp) wear the same type of clothes on TV.
Some people avoid the word “haafu” because there are people who don’t like it.TwentyT years or so ago, theree were some people who preferred to be called dabulu”(double); they wanted to say they were the people from two cultures, not from half culture. The idea was good, but the word has never stayed for some reason.
If there is racism against “half” in Japan, what is necessary is to speak up and appeal to Japanese people rather than asking an dubious social activist for help.
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Thanks to the blogosphere I will never look at a monkey the same way again…
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Thanks to the protest from African-Americans, some Japanese will never look at a monkey the same way again.
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To be fair, you should say “thanks to the protest from some African-Americans”. I would like to think all African-Americans aren’t “tricky”.
(Tongue in cheek) Perhaps we could also say some monkeys will never look at African-Americans the same way again.
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Oh sure.
Anyway, I hope African descendants will find the life in Japan comfortable, and let’s work together to realize that.
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Good finally. That was a stupid commercial.
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