Intel apologises for 'racist' computer ad

-Jonathan Richards
The chip-maker has pulled an advertisement which it acknowledged was 'culturally insensitive and insulting' Intel, the computer chip maker, has been forced to apologise for an advertisement which has been widely criticised as racist.

The ad, which was for a new generation of micro-processors, showed six black sprinters crouched in the start position in front a white man wearing a shirt and chinos in an office. Above the image was a slogan which read: "Multiply computer performance and maximise the power of your employees."

Blogs were quick to spot the connotation of a white master surveying a group of black workers apparently bowed at his feet. In a statement on its website, Intel said: "We made a bad mistake. I know why and how, but that simply doesn't make it better." It was intended that the advertisement "convey the performance capabilities of our processors through a number of visual metaphors," Don MacDonald, director of global marketing for the company, wrote.

"Unfortunately, this ad using African-American sprinters did not deliver our intended message, and in fact proved to be culturally insensitive and insulting." Gizmodo, the technology blog which spotted the ad, said of the picture: "Lousy, barely subliminal, racist advertising, or just plain lousy advertising?"

The Register, a technology news site, said in its analysis: "While the white man's smug jubilation is apparently derived from choosing the Intel Core 2 Duo Processor, there are some pretty sinister undertones in the advertisement."

Intel said it had pulled the ad from hundreds of publications, but was unable to stop two which had already shipped. The California-based company said it had identified "specific steps" in its ad reviewal process, and would rely on these, as well as "just more common sense", to guard against a similar incident in the future.

Intel, which recently reported second quarter revenues of $8.7 billion (£4.3 billion), is relying heavily on a new breed of 'multi-core processors' in the war with its long term rival, AMD.

http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/article2192554.ece

LondonDiva Says:

Intel knew exactly what they were doing from the start. Ads like this don't just magically appear from creative brainstorming (or in this case lack thereof). It's a very well thought out, and in some cases a very long term process to get an advertising campaign right, from the table of executives to the consumers magazines. As when not done right can be the difference in making or breaking a multi-billion dollar company's image and potential profits.

Somehow I don't think that this big conglomerate will suffer, except from a bit of bad press maybe. But can you really see black people or those from other ethnic minorities refusing to buy anything computer related with the Intel sign on, or throw out their computers in protest? Highly unlikely. In some instances, especially with Intel, we don't really have much of a choice. Due to their stature and position within the global marketplace, and for this reason alone, they knew before this insensitive ad was released probably wouldn't hinder them or their net profit margins in the process.

As for the ad itself, it wreaks of what many white, middle-aged, male dominated run corporations think and feel about those from an ethnic background, especially blacks, and please don't get it twisted, white women fall into that category too. All of this talk about 'times are indeed changing' is indeed a bunch of bullshit. We will always be seen as the lowest of the low in their eyes, irrespective of what we may achieve in this lifetime, and this ad is just that. Them sending us the message in print. I guess they never got the memo that we actually don't give a shit. They ('The Man') were never bold enough to say it up until now, but it's no surprise to me, as we always knew that's what they were thinking. Forever bowing down to the chino clad, two-step rhythm lacking, middle-aged white man, expecting them to be thankful and grateful to us for what we have and who we are.

Unfortunately for Intel, this is one method of advertising that they got very wrong. Forget the racist connotations for just a second. Never in my life have I met a black person, male or female that feels they owe their success and achievements in life to 'the man', worth bowing down to. If this ad were true to form and needed to have black people portrayed as bowing down to anybody, the white man in the centre would have been substituted for the mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters worth bowing down to. That's who we praise and hold in high esteem for making us who we are today.

Obviously the advertising guru behind this campaign is stuck 400 years ago in the past and hasn't seen the new breed of blacks and other ethnic groups that are dominant in today's society on all levels professional and aspiring to be anything and everything other than a negative statistic often portrayed in today's media constantly on a daily basis.

I can't even get mad at the ad, not because it isn't wrong, but because nothing really surprises me, nor do I care anymore about what 'they' think about me or us as community. After this Intel will probably raise their ethnic minority employee quota or donate a huge chunk to the NAACP to show they're 'down for the cause'. I'm surprised the dick behind all the quotes, Don MacDonald, didn't say what we're so used to hearing from these ignorant fools, which they've forever hidden behind as a shield from a racist accusation. "I don't understand how could the ad could have been deemed as racist towards blacks? Some of my best friends are black!"