Racist Chinese Detergent Ad

Wibbs · 30-05-2016 10:09AM

whisky_galore wrote: »

China doesn't have the same notion of 'racism' as the Western world.

Go to some parts of China as an ordinary white westerner and prepared to become the object of intense curiousity.

I suppose because most countries and cultures in west Asia haven't been exposed to the same cultural changes and changing attitudes to racism as countries and cultures in the West. There was this example a while back where an Irish woman was turned down for a job in Korea because she was Irish and we have an alcoholism problem apparently. Even the Japanese who have been very influenced by western, particularly American culture have this list of stereotypes for outsiders and aren't particularly embarrassed to express it. That for me is the main difference. Not the perceptions, but the lack of embarrassment in expressing them. They're more "honest" about it really. I'd bet if you scratch the surface of acceptable opinion in the West, you'd find pretty much the same attitudes unexpressed.

whisky_galore wrote: »

Skin colour matters a lot to say, Thais, Japanese, and no doubt Chinese as well.

A lighter more European skin colour is considered more desirable than a darker tone. Darker skin is associated with poorer people who work in fields all day. There's a big market for skin lightening creams and cosmetics.

Like it once was in the West. Pale was very much in. Before Coco Chanel came along anyway.

30-05-2016 10:42AM

Eugene Norman wrote: »

Did they think you changed hair colour and put on and lost weight and years everyday?

I don't buy it. If identical twins have different hair cuts you can tell them apart.

Of course you can, because there is a big difference.
Do you think all Asians are just pretending that westerners look the same to them?

Pyr0 · 30-05-2016 10:46AM

Didn't you get the memo OP? Only white people can be racist, gawd!

Bob24 · 30-05-2016 10:57AM

While the ad is obviously of poor taste (and the company producing it very bad with PR), it also is quite interesting to put the notion of freedom of speech in perspective.

This ad can be aired on Chinese TV but couldn't have been aired on Irish TV as it would have been stopped either by the TV station or some government body.

Which one is the bad government censoring what its citizens can say and see?

Dyr · 30-05-2016 11:10AM

Wibbs wrote: »

but if you look at that video those Korean folks look radically different from each other. Large diversity in facial shape, nose etc. They couldn't look more unalike from each other. Interesting that one of the Korean lasses when looking at the photos remarks and is disappointed that they all have the same eye colour. She has learned that if you get stuck with European faces, go to the eye colour as they're more diverse there.

Gotta disagree, koreans, especially wimmens, tend to have a very samey look to them.

I reckon I could seperate /korean/filipino/japanese to a fairly decent degree

thegreatgonzo · 30-05-2016 11:30AM

Wibbs wrote: »

Actually race blindness is a well researched phenomenon... European variability just seems more obvious to European eyes.

I always think it's when you are used to looking at something you notice more.
A farmer for instance will be able to distinguish between cattle who might look identical to someone else. The visitor might just notice the colour and overall size of animal whereas farmer will be noticing more subtle differences.
Before anyone gets excited or offended here I am not comparing any race of people to cattle. It's just something that happens quite often when someone is helping you on the farm.

Minderbinder · 30-05-2016 11:55AM

whisky_galore wrote: »

Skin colour matters a lot to say, Thais, Japanese, and no doubt Chinese as well.
.

That could be construed as racist but you're not wrong. And to be fair skin colour matters to the vast majority of white and black people too, despite what comes out of peoples' mouths.

Paramite Pie · 30-05-2016 01:47PM

scream wrote: »

It's an ad in a country an awfully long way away and it isn't real, why do people get so butt hurt about it? It isn't as if they actually put a black man in a washing machine. It must be exhausting being so outraged about so many things all of the time.

If someone made an ad where a messy Irish guy is put into a washing machine and came out clean and impeccably English -- wowing the woman who's thrilled with her new and improved man -- would people here be butt-hurt? Certainly. We get outrage over British newspapers claiming our celebrities for feck's sake.

There are all kind emotions that this could draw up -- I'm not offended and see it as just naive. China doesn't have that historical context so we shouldn't shoe-horn Western Racism into a different culture.

But there are some people throughout the world who do see black skin as 'dirty' and it's not unreasonable for other people to find that offensive.

30-05-2016 01:54PM

Bob24 wrote: »

While the ad is obviously of poor taste (and the company producing it very bad with PR), it also is quite interesting to put the notion of freedom of speech in perspective.

This ad can be aired on Chinese TV but couldn't have been aired on Irish TV as it would have been stopped either by the TV station or some government body.

Which one is the bad government censoring what its citizens can say and see?

I don't know about that, has the Government intervened in an ad campaign? Tv companies may have the right to censure, but isn't that the essence of democracy, they can decline to participate?

Skylinehead · 30-05-2016 02:07PM

Bob24 wrote: »

While the ad is obviously of poor taste (and the company producing it very bad with PR), it also is quite interesting to put the notion of freedom of speech in perspective.

This ad can be aired on Chinese TV but couldn't have been aired on Irish TV as it would have been stopped either by the TV station or some government body.

Which one is the bad government censoring what its citizens can say and see?

The answer to that is China.

Have you not heard of the Great Firewall?

Bob24 · 30-05-2016 02:54PM

Skylinehead wrote: »

The answer to that is China.

Have you not heard of the Great Firewall?

Yes, I am quite familiar with China.

My point is that the notion of freedom of speech is always subjective and really depends on who is setting the rules. There are topics which are perfectly OK in China but could not be discussed in Western media. The difference is that in China censorship is much more obvious because centralised, heavy handed and unapologetically assumed by the government.

Eugene Norman · 30-05-2016 04:56PM

bubblypop wrote: »

Of course you can, because there is a big difference.
Do you think all Asians are just pretending that westerners look the same to them?

I think that if you think hair style is a big giveaway for twins (who are clones) then different hair colour would be a difference signifier amongst Europeans.

I doubt racial blindness, yes. It would mean that certain ethnic groups see faces totally differently to others and I don't buy that.

As for the actual test, the women were fairly similar. A proper control would be to test those photos with westerners first.

osarusan · 30-05-2016 05:42PM

Bob24 wrote: »

The difference is that in China censorship is much more obvious because centralised, heavy handed and unapologetically assumed by the government.

The other difference is that there is much much more of it.

Muff Richardson · 30-05-2016 07:25PM

not sure about that detergent, isn't it suggesting you put dirty clothes in and it comes out yellowish? wouldn't be buying it myself.

the uncle tommin mofo in the ad should be getting just as much abuse as the makers of the ad are.

Bob24 · 30-05-2016 08:16PM

osarusan wrote: »

Bob24 wrote: »

The difference is that in China censorship is much more obvious because centralised, heavy handed and unapologetically assumed by the government.

The other difference is that there is much much more of it.

Probably but it is very difficult to tell for sure since here it is done in a much more subtle manner and applied in many different ways as opposed to China were it is clearly identifiable.

See for example the way Sweedish authorities and media purposingly managed to hide fairly large scale sexual abuse issues with migrants for over a year before Cologne forced the information out. Who knows how many things like this are hidden as it is soft censorship which only becomes visible when for some reason public attention focuses on a particular topic?

Bob24 · 30-05-2016 09:04PM

So now the Chinese Foreign Affairs ministry has to get involved and clarify that Chinese are "good brothers" with African countries: http://shanghaiist.com/2016/05/30/racist_ad_good_brothers.php

I think if a was Chinese I would start being pissed off by the way this is blown out of proportion. Because a stupid ad produced by a single company got viral on the web, it now seems like the whole 1.3 billion Chinese have to apologies to Africa.

Tipperary Fairy · 31-05-2016 12:51AM

Muff Richardson wrote: »

not sure about that detergent, isn't it suggesting you put dirty clothes in and it comes out yellowish? wouldn't be buying it myself.

RACISM!!1!

Samaris · 31-05-2016 08:44AM

Other countries do have their own issues with racism, and, in the same way that "white people look down on black people" (yes, yes, huge generalisation, but bear with me two minutes more), Asians tend to look down on black people (some nationalities more than others). By this I mean that there IS a racist streak specifically aimed at black people that isn't aimed at people of a different skin colour.

So yeah, it is racist and it is playing to a deeply set societal issue in that part of the world. It's not exactly the same as the interactions between black people and white people over the centuries in this part of the world - actually, I don't know where it came from originally - but similar elements.

Can I just reiterate that yes, I really do know that it doesn't apply to everyone, I am speaking in massive generalisations.

cowboyBuilder · 31-05-2016 09:34AM

RIGHTisRIGHT wrote: »

Well spotted.

Funny the left wing don't call that racist.

of course not :

Wibbs · 31-05-2016 10:59AM

Bob24 wrote: »

So now the Chinese Foreign Affairs ministry has to get involved and clarify that Chinese are "good brothers" with African countries: http://shanghaiist.com/2016/05/30/racist_ad_good_brothers.php

I think if a was Chinese I would start being pissed off by the way this is blown out of proportion. Because a stupid ad produced by a single company got viral on the web, it now seems like the whole 1.3 billion Chinese have to apologies to Africa.

he'd be better off rather than apologising for the advert, but looking into the mass exploitation of African resources and peoples by his citizens. That's the real issue.

Bob24 · 31-05-2016 11:15AM

Wibbs wrote: »

he'd be better off rather than apologising for the advert, but looking into the mass exploitation of African resources and peoples by his citizens. That's the real issue.

Maybe as far as she is concerned, everything is working as planned ;-)

The PC idiots are all focused on a meaningless ad, and no-one seems to to care about the much more valid and serious issue you are rightly pointing to.

(having said that and while it doesn't make it any nicer, China's Realpolitik and somewhat colonialist attitude in Africa is no different from what most other powerful countries have done over the past centuries - and China was on the other side of the fence less than a century ago).

Ronald Wilson Reagan · 31-05-2016 06:06PM

Chinese man gets head stuck in washing machine, no doubt influenced by the ad. Also the URL is racist.
http://edition.cnn.com/2016/05/30/asia/china-man-head-stuck-washing-machine/

Grab All Association · 31-05-2016 06:13PM

Where's Nodin?

Bob24 · 31-05-2016 06:55PM

cowboyBuilder wrote: »

of course not :

I suppose your man went to a school like that one: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/education/wp/2016/02/11/parents-outraged-after-students-shown-white-guilt-cartoon-for-black-history-month/

FTA69 · 31-05-2016 08:41PM

Wibbs wrote: »

he'd be better off rather than apologising for the advert, but looking into the mass exploitation of African resources and peoples by his citizens. That's the real issue.

You do have a point definitely but it's a very nuanced issue as well. Some people have tried to portray the Chinese in Africa as being akin to the colonialism that went on during the 19th and 20th century and in fairness, that's innaccurate and lazy comparison. The Chinese are pretty up front in what they want and profess to deal with Africans on an equal footing as business partners as opposed to robbing everything blind and seeking political control. Want a railway and a stadium and a new road and loads of schools? Grand we'll build them. Want lorry loads of consumer goods and phones you can actually afford? We'll sort that out as well. Meanwhile we'll extract your coltan, copper and oil and pay handsomely for it. Nice one and thanks. Many Africans are delighted that instead of banging on about aid and loads of hypocritical whinging like they get from the West, the Chinese come and want to do business.

Now, while the above can be positive it can also be wholly negative. The Chinese developments rarely include Africans or employ them, even the labourers are brought over from China. The cheap goods imported even include stuff the few African industries do make and have promptly wiped them out (textiles for one) and thus driven their economies further into cash crop and mineral extraction. The sums paid to African governments usually end up in the hands of corrupt leaders and actually allow them to solidify their positions. Similarly at a local level many Chinese do whatever the f*ck they want and ignore environmental or minimum wage laws.

I was in Ghana last year and saw a few Chinese gold prospectors. What they often do is take advantage of the tribal structure to get what they want. A common tactic is to bung the chief of a village ten grand and a new jeep and they then proceed to wreck and destroy the gaff with arsenic but the average villager can do nothing as the chief has a goon squad to knock everyone into shape.

It's a mad situation.

Bob24 · 31-05-2016 09:35PM

FTA69 wrote: »

You do have a point definitely but it's a very nuanced issue as well. Some people have tried to portray the Chinese in Africa as being akin to the colonialism that went on during the 19th and 20th century and in fairness, that's innaccurate and lazy comparison. The Chinese are pretty up front in what they want and profess to deal with Africans on an equal footing as business partners as opposed to robbing everything blind and seeking political control. Want a railway and a stadium and a new road and loads of schools? Grand we'll build them. Want lorry loads of consumer goods and phones you can actually afford? We'll sort that out as well. Meanwhile we'll extract your coltan, copper and oil and pay handsomely for it. Nice one and thanks. Many Africans are delighted that instead of banging on about aid and loads of hypocritical whinging like they get from the West, the Chinese come and want to do business.

Now, while the above can be positive it can also be wholly negative. The Chinese developments rarely include Africans or employ them, even the labourers are brought over from China. The cheap goods imported even include stuff the few African industries do make and have promptly wiped them out (textiles for one) and thus driven their economies further into cash crop and mineral extraction. The sums paid to African governments usually end up in the hands of corrupt leaders and actually allow them to solidify their positions. Similarly at a local level many Chinese do whatever the f*ck they want and ignore environmental or minimum wage laws.

I was in Ghana last year and saw a few Chinese gold prospectors. What they often do is take advantage of the tribal structure to get what they want. A common tactic is to bung the chief of a village ten grand and a new jeep and they then proceed to wreck and destroy the gaff with arsenic but the average villager can do nothing as the chief has a goon squad to knock everyone into shape.

It's a mad situation.

Agreed with all of this, but I think China (and Xi) is getting a bit too comfy with its new power as time goes. My knowledge of their dealings in African is quite superficial and I am not sure it applies there as well, but the way they are growing more and more confident to step over other countries to get what they want in the South China Sea should really be cause for worries. Literally every single neighbour (aside maybe from North Korea which is already up to speed) is increasing military spendings and weapon purchases as they are increasingly concerned about what China might do. In my opinion China has fully legitimacy to want to rival or overtake the American navy in the area rather than letting another world power control international water in its vicinity. But when they behave in a way which ignites small conflicts with all there neighbours and persuades these countries to beg the Americans to say and protect the area, they are playing a very dangerous game.

HughWotMVIII · 01-06-2016 02:26PM

I am black. It's racist. It's also funny.

Once when I was in the south of India, my wonderful, kind hearted guide told me that I am ugly simply because of my skin colour. He really liked me too - as a friend - and insisted I keep in touch with him. I found it hilarious simply because it never occurred to him that it could be offensive. He probably wouldn't have said it if he thought my feelings would be hurt. He was only slightly lighter than me mind you.

This is funny in the same way. Although after reading the comeback from the makers of this ad, where they basically said - before retracting it - that westerners are too sensitive, I doubt they give a fig if people are offended

.

Bobblehats · 16-11-2019 04:56PM

I don’t think it was racist just the girl was so pristine perfect it’d be a shame to spoil the lineage. But it got me thinking; what about reverse racism did this girl just opt for a particularly dark tint of ‘concealer’ and don a big wig as it’s the in-thing?!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WwEUQTqRXDM

Takes up the whole shot! Could have had someone’s eye out... I don’t keep up with new trends, I stick with the classics but I do know one thing it is fleeting and some abbhorations we’d rather not hark back to to can be difficult to shift down the line.

Racist Chinese Detergent Ad

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