microsoft caught up in racial issue

**biggedon** · 08-29-2009, 01:21 PM

apparently whoever decided to crop the image for a different audience, forgot to change the skin tone on the hand of the ..."man in the middle".

makes me think of MJ's song

http://www.businessinsider.com/micro...n-in-ad-2009-8

so are they apologizing because they replaced the black man, with a white man?

or are they apologizing because their graphics department screwed up the image?

i've never been to poland, so i could not judge if the image change was "politically correct" or not, for targeting that specific ethnic group.

imo...

**Tia Wood** · 08-29-2009, 01:25 PM

Originally Posted by biggedon

i've never been to poland, so i could not judge if the image change was "politically correct" or not, for targeting that specific ethnic group.

imo...

Agreed. It doesn't seem like they were being racist, just targeting the specific demographic area.

**GUA** · 08-29-2009, 01:49 PM

The original title was the best: "Microsoft bad at photoshop"

**Donald Aquilano** · 08-29-2009, 02:11 PM

Why is this an issue for you biggedon??? If it were reversed would you be crying fowl then? The answer is a BIG FAT NO.Microsoft doesn't need to apologize to anyone for what is a smart business decision since most polish are Caucasian.

**seanboy** · 08-29-2009, 02:48 PM

Originally Posted by bd77

Why is this an issue for you biggedon??? If it were reversed would you be crying fowl then? The answer is a BIG FAT NO.Microsoft doesn't need to apologize to anyone for what is a smart business decision since most polish are Caucasian.

Then why did they keep the Asian guy in the picture?

**Raider** · 08-29-2009, 02:54 PM

Originally Posted by meganerd

Agreed. It doesn't seem like they were being racist, just targeting the specific demographic area.

I agree as well... Unfortunately there are too many people in this world that jump at the chance of playing the race card.

**katherine** · 08-29-2009, 02:59 PM

My fave

**Gerry** · 08-29-2009, 03:42 PM

The female is a doctored image as well.

I can tell by the shape of her hands.

If you'll notice, the one on the keyboard was actually wrapped around the shaft of a penis while the one raised was also wrapped around the shaft of a penis. Yes, this image is a still from the hot porn threesome movie, Micr-OH-SO-Soft. The starlet plays a hot corporate type chick and she is the boss over two geeky guys who are virgins. Well, in order to get "their stock up" and pay "dividends", she starts out by slowly stroking their manhood until they all end up in a threesome.

Now, why the brother was replaced should be obvious...he was making the white dudes appear inferior.

**Seraphim** · 08-29-2009, 03:51 PM

Very poor photo editing. With regard to the race issue, Poland is 99% caucasian, with maybe 10,000 or less Southeast Asians.

Marketing, pure and simple.

**jberryhill** · 08-29-2009, 05:09 PM

Of course they had to photoshop those people in.

Do you know how hard it is to get a picture of people using MS products and SMILING about it?

The original shot was probably all reptilian lizard people.

**Seraphim** · 08-29-2009, 05:13 PM

Originally Posted by jberryhill

The original shot was probably all reptilian lizard people.

Probably just empty chairs.

**Anthony Ng** · 08-29-2009, 06:55 PM

Originally Posted by seanboy

Then why did they keep the Asian guy in the picture?

Good question.

Race card? Because there are racists of all kinds around us. Some blatantly, while others try to downplay blatant racism.

OF COURSE, that Microsoft "graphic" f*ckup IS racist. Business decision? target clientele? I'm sure they are also trying to target the Asians in Poland. That must be it. LOL! Sorry, just can't keep a straight face even typing that.

**draggar** · 08-29-2009, 07:44 PM

Originally Posted by jberryhill

Of course they had to photoshop those people in.

Do you know how hard it is to get a picture of people using MS products and SMILING about it?

The original shot was probably all reptilian lizard people.

How do you know they were using Microsoft products?

Originally Posted by sdsinc

My fave

OMG The penguin has human feet!!

**Seraphim** · 08-29-2009, 08:15 PM

Poland being a fairly small country, has two streams of marketing running through it, domestic and international. International ads are always more multicultural, while domestic advertisements feature Polish people almost exclusively. Obviously in the mind's eye of most Polish people there is still a big price difference between the two, though that association is slowly fading away. Clearly Microsoft understood the marketing game on the ground here, and choose to run an ad accordingly. Anyone that would call that move racist, is being extremely ignorant about something that they clearly know nothing about.

**seanboy** · 08-29-2009, 08:17 PM

http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/08/26...a-bing-tshirt/

**south** · 08-29-2009, 09:10 PM

Originally Posted by jberryhill

Do you know how hard it is to get a picture of people using MS products and SMILING about it?

.

Bingo!

**Gerry** · 08-29-2009, 09:27 PM

Originally Posted by seanboy

http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/08/26...a-bing-tshirt/

he he he

**IBN** · 08-29-2009, 10:06 PM

Poland being a fairly small country, has two streams of marketing running through it, domestic and international. International ads are always more multicultural, while domestic advertisements feature Polish people almost exclusively. Obviously in the mind's eye of most Polish people there is still a big price difference between the two, though that association is slowly fading away. Clearly Microsoft understood the marketing game on the ground here, and choose to run an ad accordingly. Anyone that would call that move racist, is being extremely ignorant about something that they clearly know nothing about.

(just 2 cents that may be an interesting view for discussion)

Racism is a deep thing, so deep in the pschye of people that it's automatic. They may not realize it, they may not really mean it. Sometimes it's just what happens if your not careful under the current systems of the world.
Take a look at the picture again and then reread the above post.

What if people saw three Human Beings using Microsoft computer products? Who would you be marketing too?

What is marketing? What is land division? How is wealth distributed? What are suburbs? What are Ghettos? Who's in prisons? ect... Check out the photoshop skills on those scenario's.

There are many different type of people in the world who each have their own characteristics and culture. If we get to know each other, try to live in harmony with each other, we would see three human beings using computer products. OR, maybe they should have had the black guy eating some Kiełbasa?