"Microsoft apologizes for changing race in photo"

[caffeineaddict_]

Source
original and altered advertisements

Quote:

Wed Aug 26, 9:53 am ET LOS ANGELES – Software giant Microsoft Corp. is apologizing for altering a photo on its Web site to change the race of one of the people shown in the picture. A photo on the Seattle-based company's U.S. Web site shows two men, one Asian and one black, and a white woman seated at a conference room table. But on the Web site of Microsoft's Polish business unit, the black man's head has been replaced with that of a white man. The color of his hand remains unchanged. The photo editing sparked criticism online. Some bloggers said Poland's ethnic homogeneity may have played a role in changing the photo. "We are looking into the details of this situation," Microsoft spokesperson Lou Gellos said in a statement Tuesday. "We apologize and are in the process of pulling down the image."

Hilariously bad photoshop aside, I found this article very disturbing. Why would the company go out of its way to remove the black man from the advertisement?

What do you think?

[Irishgal]

Maybe they figured the black people were smart enough to buy a Mac?
I don't know. Maybe there is nothing sinister going on, just marketing.

[HauteMama]

I don't think it is that big a deal what races of people they choose to use in a photo (oftentimes, having "one of each" seems overly staged anyway), but they ought to at least have the decency to take a new picture instead of swapping heads!

[caffeineaddict_]

Originally Posted by Irishgal

Maybe they figured the black people were smart enough to buy a Mac? I don't know. Maybe there is nothing sinister going on, just marketing.

You're probably right, it's just marketing. But the concept that underpinned the foundations for that marketing decision - hey we're in Poland...let's replace the black guy because they're not as appealing to the consumer - makes me sad.

But hey, I am chuffed the Asian guy apparently got the green light. Either that, or the boss saw how bad the first photoshop went and decided to scrap to do-over.

[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.

[ayla]

Oh god the photoshop job is SO BAD !

[sw0pp]

I don't know what kind of image black people have in Poland, but in most countries of the world political correctness (even if it's only superficial) isn't as prevalent as in the US. they don't even try. sad, but true

[twin53]

marketing

[GhstDreamer]

^How true - I mean it's about selling the most of their product and if the company feels that it may look more appealing to have no black man in the advertisement, then it's their choice. It's not politically correct but then there are a lot of ads in the US and Canada that is far from political correctness - like for some odd reason whenever there is an Asian in an American commercial, they're usually nerdy and a gong could be heard in the background. In Canada, we had national tourism ads that said White Canada and all the citizens they showed in them well were caucasians (as if other races don't live in Canada - I think they forgot the First Nations people too!). That was never pulled off the air or from magazines.

I think the real crime here is the bad photoshopping skills by "professionals."

[bipolarbear]

My goodness, what idiotic photoshopping from a computer company. At least they didn't try to extend their photo doctoring skills to add a cripple to the picture. Then the mess would be really complete.

[IcansPotaFake32]

We won't know for sure but maybe the ad was looking a little too cliche with all the races involved. An African American, A Caucasian and an Asian man...maybe they thought they should have two of one not sure why they picked Caucasian.

[surferchick2]

Originally Posted by caitlin1214

Why not the woman? Everyone knows a woman's place is in the home.

Photoshopping the replacement head and the man boobs was too much work.

[caxe]

LMAO. I wonder what idiot had THIS idea? I mean, it's a bad photo editing job, it's bad for their PR now that they've been found out...it's just all around bad. Shame on you, Microsoft!

"Hey! We can't have a Mac in the middle of a Microsoft ad!"
"Don't worry, I'll just clone out the Apple logo, and no one will know it's an iBook G4."
--
"Wait? Are there black people in Poland?"
"Don't worry, I'll just comp in a guy with vaguely Slavic looks, lit from a completely different angle."
--
"We need the woman at the head of the table to be doing something."
"Don't worry, I'l (sic) put in a monitor with no power or video cable, and a random keyboard."

[Jahpson]

Originally Posted by Irishgal

Maybe they figured the black people were smart enough to buy a Mac? I don't know. Maybe there is nothing sinister going on, just marketing.

lost all train of thought because of this hilarious comment. LOL

Boooo to Microsoft

[Jahpson]

Originally Posted by GhstDreamer

^How true - I mean it's about selling the most of their product and if the company feels that it may look more appealing to have no black man in the advertisement, then it's their choice. It's not politically correct but then there are a lot of ads in the US and Canada that is far from political correctness - like for some odd reason whenever there is an Asian in an American commercial, they're usually nerdy and a gong could be heard in the background. In Canada, we had national tourism ads that said White Canada and all the citizens they showed in them well were caucasians (as if other races don't live in Canada - I think they forgot the First Nations people too!). That was never pulled off the air or from magazines. I think the real crime here is the bad photoshopping skills by "professionals."

right. like forgetting to do the hands. such carelessness.