British Bank Attacked For "Offensive" Sumo Ad

[Mulboyne]

The Observer: Bank loses face over Brian the sumo fake
One of the world's biggest banks has been accused of 'cultural insensitivity' after dressing up an overweight white man to look like a sumo wrestler. HSBC, which calls itself 'the world's local bank', is running a series of billboard and print advertisements featuring the wrestler alongside the slogan: 'Fixed savings rates that won't budge.' The campaign has upset members of Britain's Japanese community, who claim that the man's skin tone has been darkened and that make-up has been applied that appears to narrow his eyes. The pseudo sumo - a model known only as Brian - has been given a Japanese-style wig and is dressed in a traditional mawashi belt...Godfrey King, director of the Anglo-Japanese Society of Wessex, said the advertisement had "insulted the honour of a nation". He added: "The fact that the picture depicts a sumo wrestler who is not actually a sumo wrestler but has been made up to look like one would be considered a high insult to the Japanese community. It is culturally insensitive"...more...

[Samurai_Jerk]

HSBC should tell everybody to fuck off.

[Midwinter]

In further news, the world doesn't give a fuck and tells Japan to get over itself. Outspoken pugilisit, fucked gaijin, and one time chemist Tyler Durden had this to say on the matter, "Listen up, maggots. You are not special. You are not a beautiful or unique snowflake. You're the same decaying organic matter as everything else".

[Mulboyne]

I've been looking for a picture of this online for a few weeks now to post in the Random Gaijin thread. It's not a very good ad but some of the people quoted seem to be overreacting. I can't say I looked too closely when seeing it in the street but I didn't get the impression they had tried to make the guy look Asian by changing his eyes. The point of the ad is surely that he's supposed to look like a normal British guy in a sumo get-up.

[Midwinter]

What gets me is how they can get so worked up like this, but back home they have comedy routines and advertising spots where Japanese people wear large, plastic noses while pretending to be foreigners. Double standard, much?

[Blah Pete]

Godfrey King, director of the Anglo-Japanese Society of Wessex, said the advertisement had 'insulted the honour of a nation'. He added: 'The fact that the picture depicts a sumo wrestler who is not actually a sumo wrestler but has been made up to look like one would be considered a high insult to the Japanese community. It is culturally insensitive.'

Godfrey King needs to learn something about Japan and stick to something he knows, like cock sucking.

[Mulboyne]

What gets me is how they can get so worked up like this, but back home they have comedy routines and advertising spots where Japanese people wear large, plastic noses while pretending to be foreigners. Double standard, much?

Rather than a double standard, although I see what you mean, I think there's an element of going local in the complaints.

To give you an illustration, when you order a pint of beer in a British pub, the barman legally must give you a full measure and, if he doesn't, you are entitled to demand he top up your glass. I was in a pub once which was used by Japanese expat bankers and the Japanese guy being served in front of me complained he'd been given a short pint. I could see it and it looked fine to me but the barman didn't flinch and managed to slip a couple of extra drips into the glass.

It occurred to me the guy was getting aggrieved about something that wouldn't bother him in the slightest back in Japan. If anything, he was oversensitive to it. But there are a number of reasons why he might have asked for the top-up. On the one hand, there's the sheer novelty factor of being able to do it. Perhaps also he didn't want people taking advantage of him and had been warned by friends about how people can rip you off. Or maybe he was just trying to fit in and was doing what he thought British people would do in the same situation.

Back to the poster, a Japanese person complaining might do so for similar reasons. If he thinks any other ethnic, national, religious, political or special interest group would do the same in similar circumstances, then he might speak up to keep so as not to somehow lose ground.

[xenomorph42]

HSBC should tell everybody to fuck off.

Hmmm, this is a little bit of a touchy subject. While I don't really believe there was any kind of malicious intent on the part of HSBC, the fact remains, in today's society you have to really be careful, of course you can make the argument that sometimes people are a little bit too sensitive. We all need humor and especially living in Japan, we need lots of it. When attempting to do any kind of humor involving race, there is a potential possibility that it can blow up badly in your face, it can be done as long as you know where the limit needs to be met.
Having said that, on the other hand, Japan has NO sensitivity bone about slamming any FG wether it's mocking them or just blatant in your face insults. Fine, maybe HSBC could've used a real "Japanese" for the ad, other than that, the ad is not that offensive, living in Japan Black or White or any other ethnic group being subjected to the racial stereotypes, the mockery and the rude comments that are so often depicted on TV, printed ads, books can be quite insulting.
When a FG tries to educate or to explain the insensitivity to the many negative depictions, we are told " to get over it, it's just humor, nothing more, why are you angry?" Japanese are very insensitive when it involves people of other races and that's a fact.
This kind of Double-standard at it's worst!

[Greji]

Rather than a double standard, although I see what you mean, I think there's an element of going local in the complaints.

I think it's a continuing trend to make points on the stupid US over use of the PC thingy. You must be so sensitive to the minorities. I think it is, in most cases, condescending at best and insulting as a minimum...

The Japanese community should be incensed that these nerds were objecting on the behalf their country when must of those clowns don't have a clear understanding about Japan the first place.

[Iraira]

What gets me is that J-media is ripe with stories of how other countries "borrow" or "use" an aspect of Japan in their businesses, advertisements, etc. I've never seen the J-media really get po'ed at a mischaracterization, generally, they just poke fun at it with an "it's cute how ________ are ignorant about Japan."...maybe I don't catch the seething underlying anger in it

Still, Geofrey King now gets to try to up recruitment to feed his Japan fetish (Takechan's probably right in this case). So many groups that have 10 members look for a situation to get po'ed about, so they can get some press. The problem with technology is that anyone with a computer can print up a nice letterhead and look like a "Society" with hundreds of thousands of members who are all so terribly annoyed at the horrible racist depiction you chose to present in your ad.

I remember when Rising Sun was opening in the US, and Japanese-Americans were all bent. After explaining to some Japanese living in Japan what the hubbub was, the Japanese living in Japan seemed to feel that the Japanese living in the US don't work hard enough and had too much free time to get bent on something silly like a movie.

Still, it's Sunday morning, I shouldn't get all uppity and preachy on a Sunday morning.

[Dragonette]

It's hard to tell whether or not the model has been made up to look Japanese, but either way so what? There were/are plenty of Russian, Hawaiian etc. sumosans, anyway, but I wouldn't expect them to hire an authentic sumosan as an ad model, any more than they would have to hire an authentic baseball or soccer player to illustrate a blurb like "we're on the ball", whatever.

Damn!
Sumo is not a religious calling, it's just a national sport, like baseball is here in the USA - with a few big differences.
Most other countries want their athletes to be in good physical shape, and they also generally frown on beating young trainees to death with baseball bats. For me, at least, that truly "insulted the honour of a nation". Did Geofrey King or the nameless J-expats ever say anything negative about that situation?

(And as a woman, I personally hate seeing young guys that have the potential to be gorgeous male specimens turned into a stable of overstuffed buchans just to please the masses.)

[Greji]

overstuffed buchans

Ahhh, how do you know me?

[GuyJean]

The sumo guy should've had beer bottle bruises on his face and a joint hanging out of his mouth.. Sumo has done a fine job of disgracing a nation on it's own.

GJ

[Greji]

The sumo guy should've had beer bottle bruises on his face and a joint hanging out of his mouth.. Sumo has done a fine job of disgracing a nation on it's own.

GJ

You forgot the aluminum bat damage...

[Gilligan]

I don't see what's so offensive. The add is attributing a positive quality to rikishi -- they can't be moved. I might understand getting offended if the add were attributing them with some negative quality like being fat, but it doesn't.

As to whether or not the rikishi should be British, I think Dragonette addresses that issue.

Finally, the idea that the Japanese somehow "own" sumo because it is derived from their culture and so other people should not "defile" it is as stupid as thinking that Christians "own" Christmas.

[Greji]

I don't see what's so offensive. The add is attributing a positive quality to rikishi -- they can't be moved. I might understand getting offended if the add were attributing them with some negative quality like being fat, but it doesn't.

As to whether or not the rikishi should be British, I think Dragonette addresses that issue.

Finally, the idea that the Japanese somehow "own" sumo because it is derived from their culture and so other people should not "defile" it is as stupid as thinking that Christians "own" Christmas.

Especially since sumo originated in Mongolia...Your turn Take...

[hundefar]

Godfrey King needs to learn something about Japan and stick to something he knows, like cock sucking.

Er..you wouldn't happen to have his number, would you? It's for some important research I am doing.

[AssKissinger]

Godfrey King, director of the Anglo-Japanese Society of Wessex, said the advertisement had 'insulted the honour of a nation'. He added: 'The fact that the picture depicts a sumo wrestler who is not actually a sumo wrestler but has been made up to look like one would be considered a high insult to the Japanese community. It is culturally insensitive.'

Godfrey King needs to learn something about Japan and stick to something he knows, like cock sucking.

[AssKissinger]

To give you an illustration, when you order a pint of beer in a British pub, the barman legally must give you a full measure and, if he doesn't, you are entitled to demand he top up your glass. I was in a pub once which was used by Japanese expat bankers and the Japanese guy being served in front of me complained he'd been given a short pint. I could see it and it looked fine to me but the barman didn't flinch and managed to slip a couple of extra drips into the glass.

It occurred to me the guy was getting aggrieved about something that wouldn't bother him in the slightest back in Japan. If anything, he was oversensitive to it. But there are a number of reasons why he might have asked for the top-up. On the one hand, there's the sheer novelty factor of being able to do it. Perhaps also he didn't want people taking advantage of him and had been warned by friends about how people can rip you off. Or maybe he was just trying to fit in and was doing what he thought British people would do in the same situation.

I used to ask them to top off my glass in Japan because the motherfuckers will give you 30% foam and air if you don't.

[kusai Jijii]

Shame, shame, shame. And its not like gaijin ever have the piss taken out of them on Japanese tv...

http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=YVzno0389Os

[Greji]

Er..you wouldn't happen to have his number, would you? It's for some important research I am doing.

You can do better than "researching" that slug!

[TFG]

And those that can't afford the plastic nose try to grow their own.

[Neo-Rio]

And those that can't afford the plastic nose try to grow their own.

I don't know what is more disturbing. The fact that this nose thing would actually work, - or the fact that it doesn't work at all and the people who made it are lying through their teeth just to make a buck selling something completely useless - or the fact that some woman buying it is dumb enough to think that this product has actually been rigourously tested for strange nasal side-effects. I mean, if the advert can't even get their English right - what hope have you got!?

[Kuang_Grade]

An ad Lenovo has been running during the Olympics here in the US

[yt]OesLO1hvN6U[/yt]

It is kind of high concept that doesn't work in my opinion...My first thought was, what I need to 200 laptops in a Beowulf cluster before this thing will actually 'fly'? My second was what is a Chinese company using Sumo wrestlers in their ads?

[baka tono]

A nose clip??? Japanese people need to be more concerned about getting a pair of braces and some teeth whitener than what their nose looks like.

[amdg]

[TFG]