Raffi - my official artist profile -alivenotdead.com

Racist Nescafe Ads in Hong Kong Subway?

Update: 12/10/10: According to my sources, these ads have been changed already! I guess i'm not the only one who brought this up! :-P

Here's the revised version, with raciam overtones removed -

Original Blog: 12/07/10:

Now that I do a lot of work in the marketing field, I notice ads a lot more than I used to... this one caught my eye when I saw it a few days back. and not in a GOOD way.

Ghost Style blogged about this yesterday but I decided to snap a few pictures on my way home tonight to shed some more light on it....

Its a new promotional campaign by Nescafe that is currently all over the inside of the MTR featuring a black man in a white suit with a very strange wide mouthed expression touting the new Premium WHITE Nescafe Coffee...

Get it? a black guy wearing a white suit... just like your coffee! ( ugh...)

Am I just being overly PC? Making something out of nothing? No I don't think so... I can't think of the last time I saw any black actors or models used solo in any local campaigns in HK or China.... (who weren't in the NBA at least).

Racial insensitivity in Asia is not really a news flash... after all, this is the land where 'Darlie' toothpaste is still popular (for those who don't know, it was formerly known as 'Darkie' and still called 'Black person toothpaste' in Chinese -- read all about it here on wikipedia)

So I shouldn't be too surprised... I actually can't blame the marketing people that much, if they're local they probably didn't even really think about the racial overtones of their campaign, but I guess the disappointing thing is that Nestle is an international brand, so someone in the chain of command should have known better...

Apparently i'm not the only one who disapproves, this particular instance was defaced with a sticker... which I think is the FIRST time I have ever seen any thing like this inside of the Hong Kong MTR system... ironically it was a Chinese G0dess of Dem0cracy sticker!

almost 14 years ago 0 likes 24 comments 0 shares

Anton Wong

perhaps this is telling us that having a punchline / a joke that's race-based really isn't and shouldn't be a big deal. i know it's a slippery slope, but in a land where people (with a history of thousands of years) had no history of mistreating others based on skin color, it's a bit farfetched to impose on them the western world's standards?

almost 14 years ago

Chung Tsang

We live in a city of inequity.

almost 14 years ago

Sean Tierney

"in a land where people (with a history of thousands of years) had no history of mistreating others based on skin color." For most of that time, there _were_ no people of other color (i.e. non-Chinese) in China for them to mistreat. To a large extent because China didn't allow them. The Chinese tought (think?) the rest of the world were (are) unenlightened barbarians who were best kept at arm's length. In the case of Australia, they were right ;P So they never mistreated people because there were no people of other color to mistreat. But in Hong Kong, non-Chinese people (except gweilo) were and are mistreated as a matter of course. I have heard Chinese people say some amazingly racist things, and what strikes me as funny is that while these same people (because I ask them about it) are indignant at anti-Chinese racism, they feel that their own prejudices are justified, that th other people really are that (racist) way. Chinese poeple's negative view of Malaysians, Indonesians, Indians, Africans and Filipinos often manifests itself in denigration of skin color. I don't think this ad is implicitly or intentionally racist. I just think it's in bad taste. Kind of like when Akon came here for the White Show.

almost 14 years ago

David Lee

It is bad taste! It is racist!.....and very simply bad marketing/advertising!!! The whole objective was to say we now have white coffee, you must buy it and try it, its so good!?? Instead, yes i know about it, but it have zero desirability factor and a negative impression!

almost 14 years ago

Raffi

anton - basically i'm not holding the local people to the western standards, because i don't expect them to know better, if for no other reason, but someone in Nescafe World Headquarters in the Swiss Alps probably should... :-P

almost 14 years ago

Desmond So

TALK about an ad campaign does not necessarily translate into sales. I, for one, will not try this new "White Coffee" but not because I think the ad is racist. It's more because (i.) all-in-one coffees tend to be fattening; and (ii.) I think the ad campaign is STUPID (I'm punishing Nestle for stupidity rather than offensiveness). What is sad is that I think many HKers actually think the campaign is funny. I heard some high school kids pointing at the ad and giggling at it the other day. Maybe the joke's on us and Nestle's ad company knows its audience better than we think? I am sure the ad is not aimed at gwielos and the few of us who spent time abroad. It's HK's natives and mainland brothers they're after...

almost 14 years ago

Raffi

Desmond - yes, I saw the same kind of reaction... and yet at the same time, the Government is spending money on PSAs reminding everyone not to discriminate against people of other races (they have one ad featuring James Stewart marrying a Chinese girl and being accepted by her parents...)

almost 14 years ago

Chung Tsang

Did you read in the news the KKK or some neo-nazi group was bidding to buy a company from the YUM! brands? We may get more of these ads if it goes through.

almost 14 years ago

Raffi

chung - i'm guessing its not Taco Bell?

almost 14 years ago

Anton Wong

Nestle is a Swiss company. I just ran this story by one of my Swiss colleagues. Her reaction is "Switzerland is such a racist place it's embarassing. I've seen much worse..." Sad

almost 14 years ago