Speaking of Racism

[Artegal 1]

WAMU TV SPOT, always old white men versus a young black guy. Would never bank with this company. Edited September 4, 2007 by Artegal

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Bad link?

[pedroh 21]

oh the WaMu commercials are funny

[Artegal 1]

Try it now

[Ban Hammer 13,346]

but that's ok, right?

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

I dunno. You start to overanalyse these things and we end up in murky areas of political correctness.

Why not have all white people in the commercial?

Why not all blacks?

Why not asians and mexicans?

Advertisers pretty sensitive to the appearance of discrimination that I think they overstress the 'all-inclusive' part to the point where it comes across as rather contrived sometimes. You really can't win if someone is taking political correctness to the nth degree to find fault with an inoffensive TV commercial that happens to have people of colour in it.

More important things to worry about than this IMO.

[smoke20 0]

maybe i'm slow. i missed the racial overtones. are you sure your not looking for something that isn't there?

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

maybe i'm slow. i missed the racial overtones. are you sure your not looking for something that isn't there?

There aren't any. The objection (though not sure if its really intended as a serious criticism) seems to be that it features a young black man and a number of old white men.

[pedroh 21]

ya #######.. this ad is not about ohh the old white people and the cool black guy, it's talkin about new banking and old skool banking style.. nothing else.. artegal, u ok?

[smoke20 0]

i think he's just trying to get a bunch of racial sh!t started. this one was started at 10:01 & this one at 9:41

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...c=86078&hl=

don't give him what he wants.

[Artegal 1]

Would you say I was overanalyzing if the case were one white guy and a bunch of African Americans presented in a stereotypical characters.

The case is with the WAMU ads its always the young black guy and the “old school” bankers as you call them are always old white males—all of them 100%. I think this ad is clearly racist. And not this ad but all WAMU ads are like this. They present older white males in a stereotypical corrupt, greedy, and stubborn light. Compare the other thread with the poster of the white sheep booting the black sheep. And then remember that in other ads similiar humiliating things have been done the old white male bankers. This ad is pretty blatantly racists, and not very humorous or true—as nearly all banks now-a-days offer the same services that WAMU offers.

Also WAMU's supposed Diversity and Inclusion motto:

At Washington Mutual, diversity isn't just a word; it's a commitment. Diversity is about valuing differences of all kinds whether they have to do with race, gender, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, age, national origin or religion. It's also about celebrating differing viewpoints, experience, talent and ideas. By fostering an environment that provides fair and equal opportunities for employees, customers and suppliers, we benefit our communities and ourselves.

Washington Mutual has long valued diversity and inclusion, which have been among the keys to our success and are essential building blocks of our company. We believe a company that offers fair and equal opportunities is a successful one—and one that contributes to the success of the communities in which it serves. We also believe that diversity of background, thought and talent are a competitive advantage.

[trailmix 77]

Would you say I was overanalyzing if the case were one white guy and a bunch of African Americans presented in a stereotypical characters.

The case is with the WAMU ads its always the young black guy and the “old school” bankers as you call them are always old white males—all of them 100%. I think this ad is clearly racist. And not this ad but all WAMU ads are like this. They present older white males in a stereotypical corrupt, greedy, and stubborn light. Compare the other thread with the poster of the white sheep booting the black sheep. And then remember that in other ads similiar humiliating things have been done the old white male bankers. This ad is pretty blatantly racists, and not very humorous or true—as nearly all banks now-a-days offer the same services that WAMU offers.

You are right (it is not humourous), it's also not racist.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

I dunno - I think you have to put some consideration into the idea of 'specific intent'. There are a ton of ads which feature a token black man, or which go out of their way to show a group people of every ethnic identity. As I said I think there's a tendency for people to overanalyse these things, just as there's a tendency for advertisers to be so concerned about how their commercials are perceived that they end up appearing contrived and creates contrary interpretations to what is intended.

Is a McDonalds commercial racist because their new menu item is being promoted by a black working class man who is shown eating it? I'm not so sure...

I dunno - I think you can take these things any which way. There are bad commercials and good. Perhaps the WAMU one isn't one of the best - but I'm not sure that makes it specifically racist. Advertisers and marketers are pretty concerned about how their marketing campaigns are perceived by the viewing public. Of course noone said they always get it right - but they tend to know what works and what doesn't. Often by trial and error.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Edit to ad - the 'black sheep' poster is an example of specific intent.

BTW I didn't see that as racist either, but given the caption about security, the specific message being conveyed was that 'foreign' was negative (an impression that was reinforced when I read some of the SVP's party literature). In that sense its certainly xenophobic (a term that is used interchangeably with racism but actually has a different meaning) and is directly prejudiced against foreigners regardless of nationality or ethnic background.

[Artegal 1]

It doesn't bother you that in the WAMU ads, a number of the old white bankers appear to talk with British accents, wear suits more likely found in London, albeit the London of Churchill, etc?

These ads are racist, sexist, "prejudiced against foreigners," [using your words] and disrespectful toward the elderly, and disabled--as some of the bankers use canes, have sleeping disorders, breathe with the help of oxygen, or are in wheelchairs.

Edited September 4, 2007 by Artegal