A Lite-hearted take on Sony's racy PSP ad

by Ross Miller { Jul 7th 2006 at 2:25PM }

Sony's racy (racial?) new PSP ad has caused quite a stir. Thanks to Ctrl+Alt+Del's Tim Buckley, we now have a good idea what Nintendo would have done if given the same billboard.

Tim Buckley also adds his own two cents on the billboard, which is only being shown in Holland. Have we gone nanners?

See Also:
Readers pick best webcomic (June 25 - July 1, 2006)

[Thanks, Rodents]

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

Tim @ Jul 7th 2006 2:41PM

Gotta love Tim Buckley, awesome parody!

Seanspace @ Jul 7th 2006 2:49PM

i'm sorry if i'm being stupid but i don't get the ad.

matt t @ Jul 7th 2006 3:02PM

he makes in interesting point

"Stop making race a big deal, and race stops being a big deal."

but, he thinks that because slavery is over prejudice is too. race will always be a gib deal, and while i didn't take offense to the ad after thoughly loking over it, but was for sure in poor taste.

Lionel @ Jul 7th 2006 3:08PM

Seanspace, I think the ad is just comparing between DS Lite and DS "Phat." Much like Sony's ad was comparing the black PSP with the new white one.

vaylen @ Jul 7th 2006 3:20PM

Now if the ad had featured an Egyptian holding a Jew by the face... THAT would be in poor taste. Slavery is never funny, even if the people doing the ad aren't the ones who practiced it and even if everyone involved have been long dead and turned to dust. Having the opportunity to make people unaffiliated with the crime feel guilty and cramp their style for centuries to come is one of the few pleasures left to those decended from slaves.

(/sarcasm)

Jason W @ Jul 7th 2006 3:21PM

As a fat guy i think this is an offensive ad. Im going to write my congressman!

AlloyNES @ Jul 7th 2006 3:21PM

I think this ad is weightist! It's an attack on fat people, dammit!

>=)

Jason W @ Jul 7th 2006 3:22PM

But it is nice to see Brit Spears is still working.

Laxcat @ Jul 7th 2006 3:23PM

Its a nice little parody, but man, Tim's "two cents" was the most ridiculous thing I've ever read. His only valid point was that Holland would be less offended by this ad than America. Perhaps, but that in no way justifies it. America would be simply outraged. Where does that leave Holland? Just really mad?

He spouts some idealist nonsense about how "it's just skin" and how "it's just color." Racism exists. Yes, even in Europe. It will for many (probably hundreds of) years to come. You simply can't make an image like the original ad and expect people to see "just skin."

32_Footsteps @ Jul 7th 2006 3:27PM

I personal favorite part is where Tim says that the ad did its purpose because it got people talking about Sony. Funny, I don't see anyone buying the system because of the ad. Driving sales up; *that* is the reason for an ad campaign. Unless Buckley can show that it has, in fact, driven sales up, then he's wrong, and the ad is a failure.

GSI @ Jul 7th 2006 3:28PM

"As a fat guy i think this is an offensive ad. Im going to write my congressman!"

In this day and age, it wouldn't surprise me if someone actually did something like that. With people sueing over coffee being hot (the McDonalds case) and the guy who sued Apple for having his iPod volume too high...nothing surprises me anymore.

GSI @ Jul 7th 2006 3:33PM

"He spouts some idealist nonsense about how "it's just skin" and how "it's just color.""

Well technically, he's right. It IS just skin and it IS just color. Racism will continue to be a problem if people continue to see the color of ones skin as a reason to judge someone.

Seanspace @ Jul 7th 2006 3:37PM

oh ok

Daniel M. @ Jul 7th 2006 3:39PM

c'mon, 32_footsteps: there's no such thing as bad press.

This got Sony the attention they were looking for. Whether or not people jump up to buy the PSP, a lot of people (WAY MORE than would've been reached w/ a conventional "gamer" ad) are now aware that the PSP 1. exists and 2.is available in black or white.

I think Tim is right on point w/his commentary. Only in America would people whine about racism upon seeing the ad. I'll bet people in Holland aren't "really mad" about this. I would bet that they didn't really even notice the damn thing.

Americans are like the Italy-in-the-World-Cup of political correctness: crying foul left and right, until everything is completely sterilized.

Mentok @ Jul 7th 2006 3:46PM

I'm just surprised that Tim seems to be showing more wit
than his normal unnecessary (and over the top) violence, forced randomness and using other people's jokes.

Johnny @ Jul 7th 2006 3:47PM

Props to the guy for trying to see somthing else in it, and in a non negetive light.

but lots of the time, when you get the answer from the artist directly, Interperters are WAY off.

I wouldnt be surprised of the artist in question had some sort of race issue. but we're likely to never find out what the artist was trying to do, and if we are, it'd be somthing that went through sony's PR machine first. so count on it to be edited.

anyway my point is.
Theirs is no way to know what the ad means, and people can make all the guesses they want, but none of them will mean anything.

A better ad might have been for then to license the spy vs spy characters from MADD.

If Moutain Dew can do it, I'm sure sony could have too.

Derbeste @ Jul 7th 2006 3:54PM

There IS such a thing as bad press. to say, "There is no such thing as bad press" is a rediculous myth. That mind set only applies to individuals and celebraties where sensationalism is the name of the game. It does NOT apply to companies that must portray a sense of value to get people to spend their money.

Personally, there are chains I outright REFUSE to buy from because of black marks in their past or even just because their commercial annoy me to no end.

Most notably, I do not buy from company that sport blatently negative and defametory ads. I feel, if you have to bash the competition that badly....You're afraid of them for some reason. It actually makes me more likely to buy from the company they just bashed.

People need to trust a company before they will by from them. That's why word of mouth is more effective than ANY add ever conceived. This add does NOT evoke trust of any kind. But then again....neither does Sony in general.

KyleK @ Jul 7th 2006 3:57PM

Tims comment to the original ad is right to the spot: After all it _is_ just the color of skin. Everything else gets implicated by the viewer through his education.
If you continue to bring things like this to attention, you're passing on this "knowledge" to the next generation and the next and the next...
It has to stop somewhere, doesn't it? Yes, racism exists nowadays, but it is things like this ad that are bold enough to go beyond that social boundary and move your (our) society forward.

I looked at the ad and simply saw just skin, and in combination with the text in the upper left I immediately understood its intention. I'd never have thought that it could be seen as offensive.

32_Footsteps @ Jul 7th 2006 3:59PM

Derbeste does a good job on the brief version on why there is such a thing as bad press. What's interesting, of course, is that the people who lean on the "no such thing as bad press" aphorism don't ever bother to offer evidence to prove their point, but those of us that believe otherwise always cite evidence. I personally will side with the people with the evidence.

But on top of that, don't forget there's also worthless press. Namely, press that doesn't do you any good. You can argue that this gets Sony's name front and center. Great - now how much money does that get Sony? Do their sales go up at all from this entire thing? If not, then it's worthless and a failure, because it was meant to drive up sales and it didn't.

Drew @ Jul 7th 2006 4:06PM

This has to do with post #11: Just to inform a little bit, the McDonald's coffee-spilling case isn't that rediculous if you look into it. McDonald's wasn't liable for the person being an idiot and putting a cup of coffee between his legs, the were liable because their coffee in general was so ungodly hot (far hotter than a reasonable consumer would expect) at that McDonald's and many others, that they should have foreseen that someone was going to get badly hurt sooner or later.

Sorry, I always feel the need to mention this when someone references that case.

polly @ Jul 7th 2006 4:39PM

Though I thought the comic was funny, Tim's post is just another example of him taking himself too seriously. Racism is bad? People are sensitive about race? Maybe we should all just chill out a little? Thanks for explaining that all to me and taking such a bold stance Tim. I found the original PSP ad more lame than offensive. I'm sure I'm not alone.

Laxcat @ Jul 7th 2006 4:39PM

GSI: One could also say "It's just racism."

In the context of his remarks he would have us believe that the colors of the skin of the two women are of no consequence. We should have just seen a humanoid of white color domineering over a humanoid of black color, and the glory of Sony's marketing genius would have been manifest.

The solutions for racism never involve ignoring race altogether. To suggest otherwise is the idealist nonsense I was speaking of. It's not even idealistic, its just foolish.

Dan @ Jul 7th 2006 4:52PM

what happen to forgive and forget

Derbeste @ Jul 7th 2006 4:56PM

Forget what? ;)

KawF @ Jul 7th 2006 4:57PM

And as with the two previous mentions of this ad campaign, you ignorant fools totally ignore that this specific image is one of the of which the other two portray neutraility and a reversal of positions. But please, do be ignorant. You seem to like it.

Further, what I'm reading into some of the comments here is that "we must treat people differently depending on their skin color in order to not treat people differently depending on their skin color."

There is no logic in that.

Please go back to "witch" hunting or whatever other activity you fancy instead of even commenting on a subject you don't even understand.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Racism

At least know the defenition of racial discrimination and racism.

"...any distinction, exclusion, restriction or preference based on race, color, descent, or national or ethnic origin which has the purpose or effect of nullifying or impairing the recognition, enjoyment or exercise, on an equal footing, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural or any other field of public life.."
- Wikipedia

Reversal
http://pspupdates.qj.net/uploads/articles_module/57882/pic-3.jpg

Neutrality
http://pspupdates.qj.net/uploads/articles_module/57882/pic-1.jpg

All you people seem to want to do is try to "win at being politically correct".

RiskyChris @ Jul 7th 2006 5:06PM

Um, KawF, is it alright to show naked boobies on TV if later in the program you have an arbitrary censor bar? Are we supposed to put the two images together to get something TV-appropriate?

ck @ Jul 7th 2006 5:11PM

I just did a double take when Drew went to defend the idiot who sued McDs in the hot coffee case!! Are you serious? McDonald's coffee is ungodly hot and they deserved it? I think maybe someone beat you to the punch with sueing McDs. Seriously, coffee is hot, in fact, it's ungodly hot! You have to be careful. Basically, we're filing lawsuits against companies that are just relying on their customers to have basic knowledge of the way the world works (ie common sense).

That would be like filing a lawsuit against a knife company after you sliced your finger. But that's why there's so many products with ridiculous warnings. And it probably won't stop until there's some sort of tort reform in the justice system...

RiskyChris @ Jul 7th 2006 5:23PM

Everyone knows knives can hurt you, but not everyone jumps to the conclusion that hot coffee can actually *severely* burn you. Most people jump to the conclusion that, yes, the coffee is hot, but spilling it would only be an annoyance, not a danger.

Derbeste @ Jul 7th 2006 5:29PM

Risky...

I'd wager most COFFEE DRINKERS do. I mean...did they think it got COLD when they BOILED the water all these years?

Secondly, who puts ANY drink above room temperature in their lap? Wasn't the fucking CUP HOLDER hint enough that some things don't belong in your lap?

Thirdly, why not sue all drive throughs because I didn't know how impaired and distracted I might be DRINKING COFFEE WHILE DRIVING!!? Clearly the accident is now McDonalds (or your cell phone providers) fault.

RiskyChris @ Jul 7th 2006 5:37PM

I'm a coffee drinker, and I'd have expected spilling it on myself would be a "damn, this is really hot" moment instead of a "damn, I'm burnt and have to see a doctor... now" moment.

Derbeste @ Jul 7th 2006 5:41PM

Perhaps I should now sue you both for putting my life at risk by driving while distracted by food.

Hey...this game is fun! What else can we sue each other for?

I'll bet there is SOMETHING on you that is causing me cancer.

Mentok @ Jul 7th 2006 5:43PM

I thought everyone knew what 'hot' meant. It's the most simple physics e.g. hot things burn. Since when did people get surprised when universal laws occured, "OMFG I stepped of a bridge just now and dangnabbit if I ain't
plunging into a river, and there was me thinking i'd just hover in the air. *splash*" Are they going to put warnings on cliffs and bridges now *Danger: Gravity!*.

polly @ Jul 7th 2006 5:52PM

Yeah, don't trouble yourself with the details or anything. Then people might get the right idea. Let's all jump on the tort reform band wagon, since we're so well informed on the subject.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonald%27s_coffee_case

Now that we're hopelessly off topic...

Etheo @ Jul 7th 2006 6:02PM

I really don't care if it's offensive or not, the parody is ingenius and hilarious! Now if only he'll do the other two ads... I'd like to see the fat guy on top.

Mentok @ Jul 7th 2006 6:09PM

Oh, I've read the article already but it doesn't change the fact that even though the coffee was too hot she held the disposable coffee cup, made of a material that lacked any sort of strength being made of paper or polystyrene, in an insecure place instead of a cupholder . Perhaps we should settle on Mcdonalds were incompetent and the lady was stupid and get back on topic.

the deaf guy @ Jul 7th 2006 6:13PM

time for some wicked crazy /sarcasm... *cough* ahem.

Seems people have a problem with the color black.. so heres a quick fix... ban objects that are black! black cars.. gotta go. black dvd cases.. see ya!.. EA's Black.. take a hike. coffee.. its outta here (unless you put some creamer in)hmm what else is there... pepper its got black in it so it might offend someone! no more black paint =( you see where its going!!! do your part people! ban all objects that are black!

/endsarcasm

but yea this country needs to lighten up. everyones got something to cry about nowadays *grunt* i'm gonna go eat some cocoa pebbles.. does that offend anyone? if it does suck it up! >.<

(I bribe the grammar police)

Mentok @ Jul 7th 2006 6:20PM

Now if they did a PSP with a see-through case the add would have been weird and gross.

Rodents @ Jul 7th 2006 6:47PM

omg omg! :-P. Like in 4 submissions i finally get noted on the front page, next time i need to link my homepage :)

mandarin @ Jul 7th 2006 6:54PM

Kinda homosexual ad now isnt it?

sir stank @ Jul 7th 2006 6:59PM

It reminds me of a Coors Light commercial.

Newmiracle @ Jul 7th 2006 7:11PM

I don't think it's unreasonable to be uncomfortable with the ad, while not calling it racist. I certainly don't think that Sony has something against black people.

But there is something off-putting about the ad.

The way the face is being grabbed makes me think of 'domination.' Why couldn't it have been a black and white person in a boxing ring? Sword fighting? Something that put 'new psp color vs. old psp color' in a metaphor that isn't a white person dominating a black one. Specifically the face grab is what creeps me out- it's a pose that is closely linked to 'domination.'

As for the 'why can't we just see color?' issue, there's the issue of the past. If there was a PSP ad with a plane flying into a building, would it just be about planes and buildings? No, there's a culturally relavent association with it. It might be great that you can 'see past it,' but most of us live in the 'real world' where we remember things that happened.

Would any of you people who 'just see colors' be blasting N-Bombs? Isn't it 'just a word'? Usage defines definition, and the usage of white people dominating black people has been used for so long in a racist context that it's tough for people to 'get over it' or whatever we're trying to achieve as a society.

Ultimately, I don't think it's a huge deal. It's not racist because it's more marketing machine than anything else. The thing that irritates is that Sony just knew that this kind of thing was going to happen and thought it would be a good buzz generator.

chris @ Jul 7th 2006 7:21PM

@ ck, Derbeste, and polly --

As a law student who just studied the hot coffee case in torts last semester, I have to side with Dave on this McDonalds coffee thing. The wikipedia article doesn't really provide the whole picture. Try these:
http://www.centerjd.org/free/mythbusters-free/MB_mcdonalds.htm
http://www.vanosteen.com/mcdonalds-coffee-lawsuit.htm

Without getting too far into the legal jargon, McDonalds created an unreasonable risk (coffee that hot is ridiculous, no matter what the customer does with it), it knew about the risk and chose to do nothing (it went so far as to commission a study where they calculated that it would be cheaper to risk being sued and pay out rather than change their policies), and it ended up grievously injuring someone as a result (3rd degree burns are no laughing matter. Look for a picture of one sometime). Sure, maybe the woman shouldn't have kept the coffee in her lap, and I'm sure that McDonalds tried to argue contributory negligence. But given that at least 699 other people were also injured by the coffee (I doubt they were ALL stupid), combined with McDonalds' moral and ethical irresonsibility, I'm glad that McDonalds had to pay.

Back on topic: The cartoon is hilarious. I love the pudgy dude's expression.

jay cee @ Jul 7th 2006 8:41PM

i'm going to say this and don't care if i get stars or not most of the people that are talk about this are white and have never faced the things that we are talking about you guys wake up in the morning see some stuff like this and talk about it just move on to somthing that you know and not what u think u know and shut the hell up

GSI @ Jul 7th 2006 8:55PM

Sorry but a person who sues a company b/c their HOT coffee burned them when it was in her LAP is downright STUPID. It says it in the name of the product..."HOT"...and common sense tells you that if you have trouble driving while doing something else (which you shouldn't be doing in the first place), you should pull over.

All HOT coffee is "HOT"...it isn't anything that McDonalds specifically did.

polly @ Jul 7th 2006 9:23PM

GSI, apparently you didn't read about the case then, because she wasn't driving and the car was stopped. People love to judge others, but how many times have you spilled a drink? 3rd degree burns, skin grafts, 8 days in a hospital and 2 years of treatment... yeah... what a stupid lady. Please.

I'd personally like to thank Stella though. I'm sure her incident had some role in making iced coffee popular. Frappacino FTW!

kay @ Jul 7th 2006 9:47PM

As detailed on my website, I think the ad can easily be seen as offensive. The DS Phat vs DS Lite doesn't work. Not only are there issues with the graphic (I've created one thats more of a parallel) the fact remains that Phat people have never been killed in large number by Lite (skinny) people.

If someone created some billboard ad that made a parody hinting at 9/11 in some way, I doubt the country would "lighten up" and not find it offensive.

striderhayasa @ Jul 7th 2006 10:00PM

I'm don't agree with Tim. His comments proved my point as far as how I feel about the ad situation. He just doesn't get it. I see the point of his parody but I never liked his artwork so it's lost me.

@ Newmiracle

exactly! I agree.

@ Dan

It's easy to ask the question when the people that ask it are not the people that were oppressed.

@ Jay cee

I see what you mean. And I think that there is a general lack of understanding. I'm in Philly and I used to visit a local game store on chestnut st. There was an employee of that store (young white guy) that thought racial issues were total bull@#$% like many believe here. He felt he had the right to drop the N-bomb because of this and the fact that his friend (another white guy) is dating a black girl that had his baby. Mind you he dropped the n-bomb at the store with more a number of black guys present (myslef included). When the room went silent, everyone present knew that was a violation. The manager of the store (a korean girl) said nothing regardless of the fact that many of their customers are black.

That same manager didn't see a problem with that and also didn't see a problem with telling a number of black men that she'd never date a black guy. She had dated a dark middle eastern man before even though she's not attracted to them at all but she'd never date a black. In the same breath she said, it's okay for her sister to date black guys because she'll date anybody. (I was present for that too) Take that as you will but. I, personally, don't shop there anymore and will never shop there again.

striderhayasa @ Jul 7th 2006 10:19PM

sorry for the typos, I typed that really fast.

@ kay

I made a similar comment at 1up.com and people thought I was blowing the situation out of proportion. I used the example of Bin Laden in place of the white woman and an american citizen in place of the black woman.

I agree with you and it's saddening but not surprising that a lot of people just don't get it.

Sloan @ Jul 7th 2006 11:36PM

Polly, thanks for the informative links and explanation - I've often wondered about that case in the past and the decision rendered makes a lot more sense now.

Of course Nintendo would NOT have done such an ad. They're trying to bring in more gamers, not insult anyone (including people who are overweight) or even come close to insulting anyone. They would go the Spy vs Spy route mentioned above. Of course they also would never limit their color palette to just black and white, where's the fun in that?

The Sony ad is a failure and it IS racially insensitive. Maybe folks in Holland don't have the awful civil rights history in the 15th, 16th, 17th, 18th, 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries that America has, so this ad MAYBE would strike some kind of artsy chord over there. But I have a hard time imagining the person who is more likely to buy a PSP after seeing that ad. And it conveys even LESS of a sense of fun in playing the PSP (those two models have nothing to do with gaming). The PSP is far from synonymous with fun - that's Sony's problem and a main reason in my opinion that the DS Lite is wiping the floor with it in Japan. The PSP has been more successful in the US because we Americans aren't that smart.