Spaceman Spiff Posted January 8, 2018 Share Posted January 8, 2018 http://money.cnn.com/2018/01/08/news/companies/hm-apologizes-monkey-hoodie/index.html Quote H&M was forced to apologize Monday for using a black child to model a sweatshirt with a "coolest monkey in the jungle" slogan. The company removed the offending ad from its website after hundreds of social media users accused it of being racist. It continues to sell the hooded top online. "This image has now been removed from all H&M channels and we apologize to anyone this may have offended," said H&M (HNNMY) spokeswoman Anna Eriksson. The image of the child in the hoodie appeared on the British version of the Swedish retailer's online store. Social media users pointed out that two other tops from the same line, one that said "survival expert" and one with images of animals, were modeled by white children. I would like to think that this is an honest mistake but I can't believe that no one on that set taking those pics didn't understand that this was a terrible idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Evil Genius Posted January 8, 2018 Share Posted January 8, 2018 I'm surprised the kids parents didn't object. Not that H&M wasn't at fault also..but it seems like it could have ended with the parents letting them know (if they don't already) of the racial overtones that the pic would have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Destino Posted January 8, 2018 Share Posted January 8, 2018 2 hours ago, The Evil Genius said: I'm surprised the kids parents didn't object. Not that H&M wasn't at fault also..but it seems like it could have ended with the parents letting them know (if they don't already) of the racial overtones that the pic would have. The only thing I can think of is maybe the studio and models were not English speakers? Maybe? This isn't some rare unknown slur George Allen's famed "macaca" comment, so the only thing I can think of that makes sense is that the people involved didn't know what the words on the shirt meant. That would only explain how the picture was taken in the first place, it still wouldn't excuse publishing it. Someone should have definitely caught something that blatantly racist. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
No Excuses Posted January 8, 2018 Share Posted January 8, 2018 21 minutes ago, Spaceman Spiff said: I would like to think that this is an honest mistake but I can't believe that no one on that set taking those pics didn't understand that this was a terrible idea. Most likely they do not have people of color in leadership roles in the marketing department. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spaceman Spiff Posted January 8, 2018 Author Share Posted January 8, 2018 3 minutes ago, No Excuses said: Most likely they do not have people of color in leadership roles in the marketing department. I don't think you need to be a person of color to understand how that's wrong. I think you just have to have some sort of awareness. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan T. Posted January 8, 2018 Share Posted January 8, 2018 H&M is my favorite store. In management and marketing, they have good people on both sides. Both sides. Also, good prices on red ties. - Trump tweet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zguy28 Posted January 8, 2018 Share Posted January 8, 2018 3 minutes ago, Dan T. said: H&M is my favorite store. In management and marketing, they have good people on both sides. Both sides. Also, good prices on red ties. - Trump tweet. You forgot "This will MAGA!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skinsmarydu Posted January 8, 2018 Share Posted January 8, 2018 I point out stuff to my husband in commercials that he doesn't see. He said "that'd never get by you"...and that I should probably get into marketing, which I am, for myself.? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoony Posted January 8, 2018 Share Posted January 8, 2018 I was ready to rant about our soft, whiny ass pc culture.... but damn, this is awful. What morons Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TradeTheBeal! Posted January 8, 2018 Share Posted January 8, 2018 H&M gobbling up some free advertising this morning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riggo-toni Posted January 8, 2018 Share Posted January 8, 2018 This is a Swedish company; I don't think they thought there were any racial undertones. Back in the nineties Benetton, an Italian company, had an ad with a white and a black forearm and hand handcuffed to each other for their united colors of Benetton campaign. No one batted an eyelid in Europe, but when songs were posted in the US, it became all about racial profiling/stereotypes because everyone claimed the implication was a black man arrested by a white guy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
No Excuses Posted January 8, 2018 Share Posted January 8, 2018 2 hours ago, Spaceman Spiff said: I don't think you need to be a person of color to understand how that's wrong. I think you just have to have some sort of awareness. We shouldn't be surprised at a lack of awareness. On racial and cultural issues, there is barely any among a lot of people regardless of political affiliation. Here is an ad dove ran last year: Insensitive portrayals of colored people is still quite common. One of the biggest celebrities among American youth just went to Japan, "vlogged" the whole time, which was essentially him doing culturally insensitive junk acts again and again. The lack of awareness to some extent is the result of people not willing to listen on these issues and dismissing concerns as "PC culture". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mooka Posted January 8, 2018 Share Posted January 8, 2018 The article pointed out this Kellog's box too: Have to admit, can't stop laughing at this cereal box. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elessar78 Posted January 8, 2018 Share Posted January 8, 2018 H&M is a Swedish brand. Was the image in question shot in the US? Is there the same monkey-minority connection in Sweden? Based on soccer fans racist taunts throughout Europe, I can't imagine that it would be unheard of in Sweden. Regardless, if this image ran in American media then the brand manager should know better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Evil Genius Posted January 8, 2018 Share Posted January 8, 2018 It was a UK ad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcsluggo Posted January 8, 2018 Share Posted January 8, 2018 I had a good Finnish friend (in the 1980s) who had a coat that said: "Have a White Day" .... in great big letters across the back. Not a single Finn batted an eyelid, or even THOUGHT of a racial undertone... it CLEARLY just meant (have a good snowy day for your cross country skiing --- or some other snow related interpretation) It is a good thing that we are all getting much more conscious of the racial implications of our actions/speech... but yeah, i hope that at least the round of the back and forth discourse aims at the "we all want to get this right" ideal, rather than immediately jumping up and flinging accusations. A polite: "have you considered how that statement might sound if someone viewed it through a racial lens...?" is better than jumping up and yelling The polite question will get much better responses than accusations will from people genuinely NOT trying to offend .... and for people that were trying to be sneaky and send up coy racist smoke signals, being polite forces them to either back off, or double down in way that better reveals their true intentions. 1 hour ago, No Excuses said: We shouldn't be surprised at a lack of awareness. On racial and cultural issues, there is barely any among a lot of people regardless of political affiliation. Here is an ad dove ran last year: Insensitive portrayals of colored people is still quite common. One of the biggest celebrities among American youth just went to Japan, "vlogged" the whole time, which was essentially him doing culturally insensitive junk acts again and again. The lack of awareness to some extent is the result of people not willing to listen on these issues and dismissing concerns as "PC culture". this Dove ad ^^^ on the other hand.... holy ****! really? There is no misinterpretation here. At all. someone thought that this would be a good idea? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
No Excuses Posted January 8, 2018 Share Posted January 8, 2018 18 minutes ago, mcsluggo said: this Dove ad ^^^ on the other hand.... holy ****! really? There is no misinterpretation here. At all. someone thought that this would be a good idea? Dove is uniquely skilled at this. Here is another gem from not too long ago: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGreatBuzz Posted January 8, 2018 Share Posted January 8, 2018 reminds me of when i used the term "ninja" in front of a black friend of mine. He was like "What the **** did you just say?!?!" I quickly learned that ninja is a derogatory word for black people as a substitute for the other N word. And he learned I meant actual ninjas, like dressed in black writhe throwing stars. Probably didnt helpI was talking about people jumping a fence in the middle of the night to steal stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elessar78 Posted January 9, 2018 Share Posted January 9, 2018 5 hours ago, TryTheBeal! said: H&M gobbling up some free advertising this morning. Cynical me thinks this was planned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Llevron Posted January 9, 2018 Share Posted January 9, 2018 Heard from the GF today that social media is, as expected, totally divided over this and I can't help but think there is a Russian plant in H&M some place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warhead36 Posted January 9, 2018 Share Posted January 9, 2018 If you have to ask if its racist, then it probably is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClaytoAli Posted January 9, 2018 Share Posted January 9, 2018 Ha ha this: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bacon Posted January 9, 2018 Share Posted January 9, 2018 Am I a horrible person for laughing out loud at the complete lack of self awareness in that ad? They really dressed a little black boy in that. I can't believe this **** still happens in 2018. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan T. Posted January 9, 2018 Share Posted January 9, 2018 5 hours ago, mcsluggo said: this Dove ad ^^^ on the other hand.... holy ****! really? There is no misinterpretation here. At all. someone thought that this would be a good idea? That ad featured a series of women taking their t-shirts off. After the black woman takes off hers, it morphs into a third woman, a brown haired woman who looks Italian or maybe middle eastern. But press accounts of the ad usually cut it short before the whole ad ran. Seen in its entirety, it's not as blatantly insensitive as you might think. I went against the tide in giving Dove the benefit of the doubt there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebluefood Posted January 9, 2018 Share Posted January 9, 2018 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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