German Marketing

[Skar]

So, I'm in marketing and my company is international, so we have to make changes to the campaign pieces every time we ship them overseas, usually just translation.  

Every time, and I mean every time, we send pieces with black people in them to Germany and Australia their marketing departments complain and insist on swapping them out for white people.  It never fails.

I'm the first guy to be FOR tolerance and AGAINST affirmative action and racial quotas, But they're really starting to piss me off!

[Spriggan]

Maybe you should set them up with SONY's European marking (this is from Holland)

[Skar]

You know, putting these two things together makes me think that perhaps that Sony sign is more serious than we think.

[The Holy Saint, Grand High Poobah, Master of Monkeys, Ehlers]

it doesn't surprise me that much. most of it is probably because Austria (and I imagine Germany) has fewer black people than Utah. they probably just think it makes it harder for their customers to respond to the ads. I'm not arguing whether they're right in that regard, but that's what makes sense to me.

(I was thinking AUstria, but you wrote australia, is that a typo or am I just wrong?)

[Skar]

Nope, I meant Australia.

And were not talking about a black guy being the central focus most of the time here either.  We've got a 28 page Professional Information Guide with one black guy in it, buried somewhere in the middle as part of a lifestyle pic and they want it removed.  That kind of thing.

[The Holy Saint, Grand High Poobah, Master of Monkeys, Ehlers]

well then, that's just stupid. That's the only thing that makes sense to me in that case.

[FirstMateJack]

That's kinda weird.

But, probably accurate. We studied that in marketing classes I took in college as well. America is really the only country that pushes for equality and having every ethnic group represented in our pictures. The rest accept it, but really don't care.

I had the same problem as E. I was reading and read Austria, and not Australia.  Stupid brain.

[stacer]

Australia has really been struggling lately with First Nations issues, I've heard (the term *is* First Nations, now, isn't it?). I think. Jampaladin would be able to tell more about it, but from what I understand there are factions that are fighting against the equality that's been so long in coming. But perhaps the black person doesn't look enough like an Australian black person? There are distinct differences, aren't there?

[Spriggan]

At least your other markets actually ask you about things, my companies international arms tend to ignore us completely.

[Parker]

Having lived in Germany for two years, I can see why they would be doing this, even if I don't agree with it.  Racism is a much less frowned upon thing there.  They even still depict blacks in children's toys as being quite cartoony, if you get my drift.  In Eastern Germany as of a few years ago at least, there was a new Nazi political party (different name, of course) and they had quite a few people in power in the government.  There are many blacks in Germany, mainly from Africa and usually there for Asylum, fleeing from their home country.  Some Germans are quite upset about this, claiming that the foreigners steal their jobs, etc.  (When the unemployment rate is around 30%, I suppose they have a bit more justification for this than Americans do with illegals, but just like here, many of the Germans whining about not having work refuse to do the jobs that foreigners do).

By no means do I want to say that all or most of the German people are racist, but the mind set is different over there.  In some places, having a black person in an ad could very well cost the company a significant number of sales.  Sad, but true.

[Oldie Black Witch]

After a large furor, that ad campaign has been pulled.

Link here.

[Entsuropi]

Precisely why are USA 'assemblymen' getting themselves involved in Dutch advertising campaigns? It's not like Sony is even an American company :s

Anyway, that ad is kinda weird - it seems a bit racist but only if you decide that it is - it does make sense in what they are trying to push as the product.

[Skar]

Precisely why are USA 'assemblymen' getting themselves involved in Dutch advertising campaigns? It's not like Sony is even an American company :s

An excellent question.  I suspect the answer includes the word "busybody."

[The Jade Knight]

For Stacer:
'The more acceptable and correct expression is "Australian Aborigines," though even this is sometimes regarded as an expression to be avoided because of its historical associations with colonialism. "Indigenous Australians" has found increasing acceptance, particularly since the 1980s.'

(from Wikipedia)

[The Holy Saint, Grand High Poobah, Master of Monkeys, Ehlers]

and we all know that wikipedia is infallible.