McDonald's Racial Ads: They can't be serious?

[The_Bith_Shuffle]

Can I not think these sites are racist but still think they’re really weird and obnoxious?

[arseNal]

@Reply

Got a link? I’m curious now.

I’ll allow that in some of these, the poster probably does not have any malicious intent in slandering asian males, but are couching perhaps earnest statements/questions in the form of “I have heard <some unflattering attribute> about asian dudes, I wonder if this is true?” But all the same, they are perpetuating the stereotypes, and for the most part, if you were to phrase these same questions/comments in such a blanket manner about other ethnic groups, the SDMB would be howling. And nothing necessarily against the posters I’m about to quote; in some cases I generally think they’re good guys based on their posts on other subjects.

http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=11568965&postcount=62

@leander

Like others in this thread, I have heard that Japanese girls (esp in the Ropongi district) are quite keen on sleeping with a gaijin. In fact, I’ve had a Japanese fellow tell me that they are interested in having sex with westerners because of the size of Japanese men’s dongs. Seriously (yes, I was very surprised to hear that from a Japanese man!)

So what’s the deal? Any Japanese women around to comment?

(HAHA! A japanese guy told me a japanese woman said this! Don’t blame me! What do you japanese ladies say?)

http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=11567879&postcount=37

@furt

For one, Asian cultures tend to be much more patriarchal than the US, and especially more than the kind of inquisitive, open-minded types of Americans that tend to want to live overseas. I remember one date in Korea telling me that I was the first guy she’d ever dated that let her decide where we went or what movie we saw.

For another, in some cases the Asian girl is herself not “pick of the litter” in her own culture. A girl that many Asian men would call disgustingly fat might only be pleasingly plump to an American guy (ditto for several other physical features). A girl who is socially awkward in her own culture might actually connect easier with another outsider. Because of the misogyny, very smart girls are sometimes unpopular with Asian guys; but they’re also the ones most likely to have good enough English to date a foreigner.

(See? I heard those asian guys are so shallow and chauvinistic, it’s no wonder the asian women don’t like them.)

http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=11575295&postcount=149

@Siam_Sam

It’s true that the Asian man / Western woman combo is rare here, at least in Thailand, but it does exist. But in Hawaii, I knew one Thai man / American white woman married couple that possibly exemplified why.

The Thai man was a medical doctor and thus highly educated. The American white woman was a graduate student at the University of Hawaii’s East West Center, a federal research think-tank. That was why they were in Hawaii, because she was a student there. He was just along for the ride. Because of his skill, he was allowed to work somewhere as a doctor. His wife, as an East West Center student, had a rather heavy workload. Still, despite the husband’s education and familiarity with Western ways, he demanded his wife have dinner on the table for him every night, clean the house etc. That’s just what wives DO, you see. That’s just the way he was raised, and he had a hard time shaking it. I recall the marriage breaking up.

The male-Asian culture can be quite different from the female-Asian culture.

(This was just one guy I knew, but maybe this explains why all the asian guys can never get the ladies? amirite??)

http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=11567909&postcount=42

@salinqmind

If I were a Japanese woman, I might very well hit on a “foreigner” - from what I understand, a lot of Japanese men seem to be mean drunks who are building themselves screw-bots. I think Japanese women ought to emigrate to teach Japanese as a second language and leave their loser men to knock themselves out with their inventions.

(No comment.)

[BlackKnight]

@Reply

Where’s 365white.com?

I smell opportunity! Maybe the people behind www.blackpeopleloveus.com can whip something up.

[Reply]

@arseNal

I’ll allow that in some of these, the poster probably does not have any malicious intent in slandering asian males, but are couching perhaps earnest statements/questions in the form of “I have heard <some unflattering attribute> about asian dudes, I wonder if this is true?” But all the same, they are perpetuating the stereotypes, and for the most part, if you were to phrase these same questions/comments in such a blanket manner about other ethnic groups, the SDMB would be howling. And nothing necessarily against the posters I’m about to quote; in some cases I generally think they’re good guys based on their posts on other subjects.
[snip]

Wow, thanks! What, do you habitually bookmark every post about Asians?

ETA: Oh, I just noticed they’re all from the same thread. But, still, thanks.

[Lunchy]

Also cringe worthy, at my local Burger King, there are posters of cartoon children, a handicapped kid in a wheel chair who is named ‘Wheels’. black kid with afro an boombox named ‘Nite’ asian boy named ‘crunch’ who’s holding a calculator an wearing yellow shirt, an a spanish kid whose named ‘Lingo’

[Serenata67]

@Lunchy

Also cringe worthy, at my local Burger King, there are posters of cartoon children, a handicapped kid in a wheel chair who is named ‘Wheels’. black kid with afro an boombox named ‘Nite’ asian boy named ‘crunch’ who’s holding a calculator an wearing yellow shirt, an a spanish kid whose named ‘Lingo’

Are you serious? I’ll have to check this out next time I go to a BK.

[Marley23]

@Serenata67

Are you serious? I’ll have to check this out next time I go to a BK.

That ad campaign is almost 20 years old, so I’m wondering when Lunchy last went to Burger King.

[gigi]

@BigT

The only reason “all black people have great rhythm” can be considered racist is that has the corollary “all non-black people have bad rhythm.” In what world is saying good things about a group of people considered a bad thing?

In a world where you can’t look at someone and assume something about them based on race. “All black people have great rhythm” is simply not true and leads to someone looking at a black person and believing something about them based solely on their skin color.

Do you really think “Oh, you can’t dance? But I thought all black people have great rhythm” would be an OK thing to say to someone?

[Cat_Fight]

@BlackKnight

I smell opportunity! Maybe the people behind www.blackpeopleloveus.com can whip something up.

That’s what I thought of when I saw the sites. That and The Onion. I am still having trouble believing they are real. If marketers really think people’s preferences and experiences can be broken down by ethnic origin rather than socio-economic class or neighborhood, studying New York must blow their minds.

ETA Lunchy, that sounds even worse. Getting kids to see everyone in terms of simplistic stereotypes as soon as possible!

[Marley23]

As for the sites themselves… they’re far from nuanced views of Asian or Latin or black culture, but what do you expect in a national ad campaign from a fast food company? Maybe I’d see racism if I poked around more, but right now it just looks like they are looking silly as a result of trying to be hip and understanding.

[enomaj]

Wrong thread. Oops.

[Siam_Sam]

@arseNal

(This was just one guy I knew, but maybe this explains why all the asian guys can never get the ladies? amirite??)

No, that was just on example I gave. I could have given many, many others. But I’ll assume you know better than I how Thai culture works.

[Lunchy]

@Serenata67

Are you serious? I’ll have to check this out next time I go to a BK.

Dead Serious! Can i post pictures here?

[Nzinga_Seated]

@Siam_Sam

No, that was just on example I gave. I could have given many, many others. But I’ll assume you know better than I how Thai culture works.

Let’s hear the ‘many, many others’.

Then, we can sit around and list a bunch of examples of white men treating women like objects. And we will all have insight into the mind of the White Man.

[Mister_Rik]

I guess this is the right thread for this video?

Racist McDonald’s Commercials (NSFW):

Racist McDonalds Commercial

@elmwood

I’ve noticed that on English-language channels and networks in the United States, voiceover announcers on commercials are both male ad female, with a variety of vocal ranges. On Spanish-language channels and networks like Univision and Telemundo, commercial voiceover talent is predominantly male, and almost always a deep baritone.

Ironically, I don’t think I’ve ever met a Mexican man who speaks in a deep voice — which isn’t to say they don’t exist, I’ve just never met one. In fact, most Mexican men I’ve known (I live in a town with a large Mexican population) speak in a somewhat higher register than most of the white men I’ve known. The only place I ever hear a deep baritone voice speaking Spanish is, you guessed it, Spanish-language commercial voice-overs and disc jockeys on Spanish-language radio stations.

[Anaamika]

BTW, I meant to come back and say, the Hindi on that site is correct - although it’s colloquial Hindi - which is pretty cool.

[guizot]

@thelurkinghorror

The McDonalds commercial with the latina who pronounces McCaffé as “maakaafay” infuriates me.

@Belrix

BTW: The rapper’s page says, “Working with McDonalds”, not “Working at McDonalds.” Big difference.

I had a girlfriend who was acting in Spanish-language McDonald’s TV ads (I think they were airing on Univision), and the only thing she’d say after was: “Thank GOD I don’t work at McDonalds!”

[_cc]

@Markxxx

but the announcer can’t pronounce the word INTERNET. OK it’s not “Inna net” OK you can’t even pronounce the word you’re trying to sell?

You don’t pronounce it that way. There are many, many people who do. Language is not a personal property. A word and its “proper” pronunciation do not belong to the subculture that first used it. If it did, English sure as hell wouldn’t exist.

[devilsknew]

I don’t think they’re racist, but let me clear up any misconceptions that any of you seem to be puzzled, insulted, or otherwise flummoxed by- The examples of colored discrimination here are not black, yellow, white, or brown… they are all green. It’s true that these Corporations don’t discriminate based on race- they only see green. They are fine discriminator’s of profit.

[Zoe]

reply: I have to admit, though, that racially-targeted anything typically gives me a “whoa” moment at first; I’m too used to the faux-colorblindness I normally experience.

Is it possible that ads with white people in them are also racially targeted? When you see a white person in an ad, are you instantly conscious of his or her race and thinking, “The person in this commercial is a white person”? Or does it take a non-white person making an ad before the ad is, as the OP says, “racial”? Is that what you mean by “faux-colorblindness”?

Concerning the Asians and the dollar menu: Maybe marketing research shows that many Asians take pride in being thrifty. Maybe this trait is seen as a positive value in some Asian cultures. (Just taking a guess.)

Would it have offended any whites for the dollar menu to show up in a commercial with a white kid? Would you have taken that as a commentary on white people?