"Microsoft apologizes for changing race in photo"

[~Fabulousity~]

Originally Posted by caitlin1214

I'm interested to know why they picked the black guy to switch out. Why not the Asian guy? Why not the woman? Everyone knows a woman's place is in the home.

yeah...

[~Fabulousity~]

Originally Posted by caitlin1214

^^ Haha, yeah! She should be holding a tray of cookies!

LOL with a nice friendly welcoming smile

[meela188]

It seems obvious that the bad photo shop was for marketing but they already had a white person in the picture. So why cut out the black guy and not the asain? I'm guessing they felt the Polish audience would react more favorably to an asain as his skin tone is much lighter and IMHO that is the REALLY sad part about all of this.

[caffeineaddict_]

^
That was exactly my initial reaction.

Frankly I was really surprised most people, including real life friends 21-2 year olds, brushed it off as "just marketing". I took a few days to rethink why exactly it bothered me so much,to consider whether I was being too serious and it finally came to me how to express my concern.

Yes it is "just marketing". But marketing is a reflection of societal attitudes. Look at the advertising in the 1950s where sexism was rife ("even a woman can do it") which of course was acceptable. Now we look back on it in disgust (I hope). Perhaps in 50 years we will look back again and see this incident in different light. I'm Asian, so I'm glad at least the Asian dude was deemed "acceptable" enough to leave unaltered. I feel sad that they felt compelled to go out of their way to photoshop that black guy out.

My 2 cents.

[nataliam1976]

Originally Posted by meela188

It seems obvious that the bad photo shop was for marketing but they already had a white person in the picture. So why cut out the black guy and not the asain? I'm guessing they felt the Polish audience would react more favorably to an asain as his skin tone is much lighter and IMHO that is the REALLY sad part about all of this.

I am Polish, I have lived in Poland until I was 18 and I visit on regular basis.
To be completely honest I think the reason why Microsoft marketing decided to alter this ad is that we have many more Asians than black people working in Poland and its a much more natural picture. We have a lot of Asian businesses - especially car manufacturers - investing in Poland, opening factories and having a lot of their native employees move at least temporarily there. Due to that we definitely have much less black professionals than Asian ones, so the original ad probably didnt seem tailored much to Polish reality. I dont think it was about the race but more about familiarity.

Not saying it was a smart decision, but I think people are reading more into this than there actually is. And I am not saying there is no racism in Poland, because there is - like everywhere else. But I dont think it was about the skin tone as the poster I quoted had suggested.

[cherubicanh]

Wow, that is a horrible photoshoped pic. I could probably do better on PAINT. HA

[meela188]

Originally Posted by nataliam1976

I am Polish, I have lived in Poland until I was 18 and I visit on regular basis. To be completely honest I think the reason why Microsoft marketing decided to alter this ad is that we have many more Asians than black people working in Poland and its a much more natural picture. We have a lot of Asian businesses - especially car manufacturers - investing in Poland, opening factories and having a lot of their native employees move at least temporarily there. Due to that we definitely have much less black professionals than Asian ones, so the original ad probably didnt seem tailored much to Polish reality. I dont think it was about the race but more about familiarity. Not saying it was a smart decision, but I think people are reading more into this than there actually is. And I am not saying there is no racism in Poland, because there is - like everywhere else. But I dont think it was about the skin tone as the poster I quoted had suggested.

Yes, i do think it had to do with skin tone but as a black woman it does sting a bit. This kind of thing can touch a nerve and make one feel undesirable. So it begs the question, what exactly is wrong with our skin tone?

[nataliam1976]

Originally Posted by meela188

Yes, i do think it had to do with skin tone but as a black woman it does sting a bit. This kind of thing can touch a nerve and make one feel undesirable. So it begs the question, what exactly is wrong with our skin tone?

Well, I cant answer your question, since throughout my whole post I was trying to explain that it didnt have to do with skin tone but with the level of familiarity. So if you are directing it to me, I dont understand why, because I never said there is something wrong with your skin tone in the first place.

[bagaholic85]

i have to say as a white woman it wouldnt bother me at all if they replaced her with a black or asian woman in that photo to market to a society that is majority asian or black. i honestly dont see this as a race issue as much as its just bad photo editing.

i really dont mean to be insensitive, but i really dont see it

[meela188]

^^Well as a white woman you do not face the same prejudices, you are the "ideal" so to speak in our society, so i wouldn't really expect you to understand.

[meela188]

Originally Posted by nataliam1976

Well, I cant answer your question, since throughout my whole post I was trying to explain that it didnt have to do with skin tone but with the level of familiarity. So if you are directing it to me, I dont understand why, because I never said there is something wrong with your skin tone in the first place.

I was not really directing that part of my post towards you, only the first half was geared towards you. There are black people all over the world so i'm sure most Polish people have come in contact with a black person in their lifetime, so i don't agree that familiarity is the sole reason behind the photoshop job. It may have been more believable if there was not a white person in that ad but there already was and since Poland has a black population why not represent the society as a whole? or do the black people currently residing in Polond not use microsoft products? that is just my stance on the subject matter. side bar: It does not help to hear others brush it off as just marketing because there is a reason behind the marketing. Even if you are fortunate enough not to have to go through such things as this, you should still be able to see that there is a flaw in the reasoning behind it. To ignore it or downplay its significance is basically telling those who were hurt by the gesture that they are overreacting and should just get over it.

[bagaholic85]

Originally Posted by meela188

^^Well as a white woman you do not face the same prejudices, you are the "ideal" so to speak in our society, so i wouldn't really expect you to understand.

yes and no. in business, women face prejudices constantly. and on that note i wouldnt be offended if the white woman were replaced by a white man (to make it a p.c. team of men) either.

like i said, i honestly dont mean to be insensitive. i just honestly dont see it as a "microsoft has a problem with race" issue.

[meela188]

^^I don't think microsft has a problem with race, i never said that and i hope that's not how i'm coming across. As i stated earlier what upsets me is not the photoshop itself but the fact that microsoft felt it was necessary because of societal norms. I feel the same way about companies that lighten models pictures for ads so that a black spokesperson can appeal to the masses. I know that loreal got a lot of criticism for an ad the had picturing Beyonce. her complexion had been lightened so outrageously that she looked latin. It's not something that could have been a mix up either because it took someone a considerable amount of time to achieve, it's just sad.

[bagaholic85]

Originally Posted by meela188

^^I don't think microsft has a problem with race, i never said that and i hope that's not how i'm coming across. As i stated earlier what upsets me is not the photoshop itself but the fact that microsoft felt it was necessary because of societal norms. I feel the same way about companies that lighten models pictures for ads so that a black spokesperson can appeal to the masses. I know that loreal got a lot of criticism for an ad the had picturing Beyonce. her complexion had been lightened so outrageously that she looked latin. It's not something that could have been a mix up either because it took someone a considerable amount of time to achieve, it's just sad.

i see your point...and its a good one that goes even past race. think of how many people are photoshopped to make them look thinner, bustier, teeth whiter, etc. it is kind of sad.

[nataliam1976]

Originally Posted by meela188

I was not really directing that part of my post towards you, only the first half was geared towards you. There are black people all over the world so i'm sure most Polish people have come in contact with a black person in their lifetime, so i don't agree that familiarity is the sole reason behind the photoshop job.

This is absolutely not true for many Polish people, I dare say majority. Plus if you notice I didnt talk about meeting a person of certain race but being around them on daily basis, hence the notion of familiarity.

Originally Posted by meela188

It may have been more believable if there was not a white person in that ad but there already was and since Poland has a black population why not represent the society as a whole? or do the black people currently residing in Polond not use microsoft products?

If we were to represent society as a whole and not get suggested as numbers, we should probably have at least 50 people on this picture ...then somebody could ask why did you put an Asian and a black professional on the picture and skipped a Jew, an Indian...and so on and so on. There are Jewish and Indian people using Microsoft products in Poland.

Originally Posted by meela188

that is just my stance on the subject matter. side bar: It does not help to hear others brush it off as just marketing because there is a reason behind the marketing. Even if you are fortunate enough not to have to go through such things as this, you should still be able to see that there is a flaw in the reasoning behind it.

As I said, it wasnt a smart decision - so yes, I see the flaw of it. But I think you are so focused on the race issue that you are not accepting the fact that sometimes its not about it and other factors come into play. Also, if they took a new picture without the black guy in it, nobody would even make a peep about it.

Originally Posted by meela188

To ignore it or downplay its significance is basically telling those who were hurt by the gesture that they are overreacting and should just get over it.

If I think there is no significance the way you see it, I cant be ignoring or downplaying it. So its not my intent. TBH since its my country and I know the mentality and social environment I feel I am more able to try and guess the original meaning of this particular Microsoft move.

I also dont see how trying to explain in a nice way to the ones hurt by something that it wasnt meant to hurt them is telling them to get over it.