KarachiYWOCLC
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Pardon me for being culturally sensitive and whatnot but Ad agencies need to start firing some people. How hard is it to make a commercial that doesn’t offend the people it’s directed at. I’m so sick and tired of watching telly and seeing all the rubbish that’s being passed off as quality advertising. I’m torn between the urge to march into an agency as the herald of the ‘rubbish apocalypse’ and my need to stay away from working in an agency after I graduate; I just might throw coffee in someone’s face if I’m sitting in a meeting one day and some jackass throws down a proposal for some racist, sexist, or homophobic commercial. Nah! I’d never do that. Verbal assault, not coffee flinging.
Anyhoo, there seems to be a growing number of borderline racist commercials out there. My latest source of annoyance is non other than the McDonald’s commercial for the Mango Pineapple smoothie. You know, that one where there’s a dude on stage and he goes, “When I say Mango, you say Pineapple...” The first time I saw it I was like “WHAT?! Is everything a mini hip-hop video now?” Imagine my shock and surprise when I discovered that the head of Marketing is black. Black I tell you! The commercial has inspired many comments, some of which tickle my funny bone.
Youtuber A: “since when can you hype up a crowd over a smoothie...”
Youtuber B [in response to Youtuber A]“according to McDonald's, as long as the crowd is black and the smoothie is tropical.”
Youtuber C: “Shit like this is embarrassing to everyone. Made by people who will never see hip hop as anything other than how to sell shit to black folks.”
And then there’s the Hair Cuttery commercial with a man and woman dancing in what seems to be a club. This is ridiculous from the get go. I originally argued that black people don’t get their hair cut at the Cuttery but it seems that I am wrong. That doesn't change the fact that it was a stupid idea to make the commercial a club scene. Is that all black people do? Dress up and go to clubs? Why couldn't it be a commercial with a black couple out to dinner, or out boating or something. I don't know! Just not a club!
Moving on, there’s also the fact that advertisers seem to think that they must have a black equivalent for every commercial they put out. Census 2010, Kia, Education Connection anyone? Just take what you have, stick a young man in baggy pants flinging his hands about like they’re on fire and ta-da!, you’ve got a commercial ready to be directed at a black audience.
It's cute but seriously? It even has backup dancers doing Beyonce's Oh-oh dance.
Clearly someone needs to be out on the streets passing out surveys so an end can be put to all this.
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