Racism is such a delicate, personal, and emotional subject, that when a person sees a situation as being racially motovated, it is hard to convince them otherwise. I think that those who see this as being a racist practice are going to continue to do so, no matter what kind of apology and explanation is issued.

They did a pretty crappy job photo shopping that dude’s head in as well…never mind the hand.

I think PR will come into play after we see how they handle the aftermath. Addressing the situation is needed, and I’m curious to see what angle they go from.

I think with cost cuts, the easy way out for them (without using man power, photo shoots, etc) was to Photoshop. Someone who obviously was not skilled in it had a large part in this.

Thanks for your great thoughts.

The people behind the scenes, who manage, produce and make the “decisions” apparently haven’t had their brains turn “on.”

I only read the other article that I RTed this morning on Twitter, before you and I spoke, and I must say, that my first reaction was — that’s just poor public relations. I never thought MS was being racist.

Perhaps calling them racist is a way to get attention to the cause. But then that would be some sort of propaganda.

I think there is something in the water this month, or maybe this summer for that matter, because PR itself, is giving itself bad PR: BBC, Microsoft BBC, Reverb Communications, 5wPR… I mean the list is endless, but our departments in these companies is lacking, and in some cases where the issues don’t stem from PR, the PR departments again, as like the decision makes, and have their brains on “off.”

On that note, I think that this is NOT racist, because of the fact that, like you pointed out, Poland has a specific type of audience. The same would hold true if the AD were to run in Norway, for example, or even India.

The solution would be to re-shoot the AD or not use people in it at all.

So obviously MS knew who their audience was — and obviously they knew how to reach them. However, the route they chose in which to do so, is not only highly questionable, but it’s pretty foolish.

At least hire a decent graphic designer. It’s not like they aren’t a technology company or don’t have the money.

My verdict: poor judgement.

Excellent post Lauren, thanks for sending me the link!

Identifying with demographics is one of the top skills a PR pro and marketer can have.

My big grumble with the racism bit – how can we battle racism (and try to be ‘one color’) if we point everything to it? Change the mindset, then people won’t freak out at every little thing.