Why Did Microsoft Alter a Man's Race in Their Polish Ad?

AI Thread Summary
A Microsoft advertisement intended for the Polish market controversially replaced a black man with a white man, while an Asian man remained in both the Polish and U.S. versions. This sparked discussions about the effectiveness of localization in advertising, with some participants humorously critiquing the poor quality of the Photoshop work. The conversation included animations created from the images, with varying opinions on their effectiveness depending on the browser used. Participants noted the lack of attention to detail, such as unchanged hands in the edited images. The incident was expected to gain national media coverage, highlighting the challenges brands face in culturally sensitive marketing. Some argued that the goal of advertising is to resonate with local audiences, questioning the backlash against the ad's changes.
Math Is Hard
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ruh roh

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/08/26/microsofts-ad-in-poland-p_n_269366.html

A black man was replaced with a white man in a Microsoft online advertisement intended for use in Poland. An Asian man in the ad apparently made the cut, and appeared in both the Polish and stateside versions of the ad.

I couldn't resist making an animation from the 2 images.

d73d0819c4091c3dbc6b4f7febe024c3.gif


Now if I could just make the heads morph...
 
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The Canadian version

canada-1.jpg
 
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Math Is Hard said:
I couldn't resist making an animation from the 2 images.

Maybe you should have resisted. All that's showing up is the same picture flashing on and off. :-p
 
Lol... cute.
 
hmm.. It seems to work in my Firefox browser.
 
Math Is Hard said:
hmm.. It seems to work in my Firefox browser.

That might be the problem; I'm on Safari.
 
The photoshop is so bad too!

MIH's picture looks more natural than the Polish picture.
 
Yes! I love it when they use Canadians in advertising.
 
Pinu7 said:
The photoshop is so bad too!
So funny that they didn't bother to change the hand.

MIH's picture looks more natural than the Polish picture.
That's because I spent more time on mine that the Microsoft artist did. :biggrin:
 
  • #10
Hah! I didn't even notice the hand. That's wonderful!
 
  • #12
The Canadian version is awesome. You need to add a cloud so he can be saying "Hey Buddy!"
 
  • #14
I don't understand what the big deal is... I thought the point of advertising was to appeal to the area you're advertising in...
 

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