Microsoft ad sparks black-and-white photo flap
| August 26, 2009 | 11:33 AM
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Take note future marketers: Here’s what NOT to do.
In a photo running in an online Microsoft ad, the head of a black businessman was replaced with the head of a white man. An Asian man in the photo was not altered. Worse, the black man’s hands were not replaced.
Bloggers spotted the manipulation and cried foul, raising accusations of racism. Microsoft has pulled the ad and apologized, blaming it on a “marketing site photo mistake.” It didn’t say whether the ad was created in-house or by an ad agency.
Since the ad was meant to run in Poland, some are speculating that the black man’s head was changed because Poland is almost entirely Caucasian. In the same ad meant for the U.S., the black man is left intact.
The head swap wasn’t the only hoodoo in this photo. Even more embarrassing for Microsoft: In both versions of the ad, the man in question appears to be using a MacBook with the Apple logo erased.
Lesson #1: Never, ever, ever play racial musical chairs in advertising photos.
Lesson #2: Airbrushing out a logo doesn’t necessarily disguise the fact that you’ve got a competitor’s product in your ad.
Lesson #3: If you’re going to Photoshop something, at least have the decency to do it well.
See the U.S. and Polish versions of the ad here.
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advertising, marketing, microsoft, photo manipulation, photoshop
