Libsmasher
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Jan 9, 2008
- Messages
- 3,151
Most people on the west coast have seen the "WaMu" racist TV ads. If you haven't, here are two examples:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZnPvOn0jz8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ha0cg7LkQ2w&feature=related
This was a series of at least ten "stodgy banker" ads run by Washington Mutual Bank (they shrank it to "WaMu" because they were after minorities business in the last five years, and figured those folks would have a hard time getting their mouths around "Washington Mutual") in which a hip young with-it black male banker gives lectures to about 30 old stodgy bankers, every last one a white male, who are made to look foolish. This was just a recent example of what I've seen for the last several years not only in TV ads, but print ads, TV shows, and Hollywood - white males are made to look old, clumsy, out of it, asexual, unfashionable, and stupid, etc. Black males, on the other hand, especially, are shown just the opposite. I am not talking about every single media occurrence - but I am talking about the overwhelming majority.
The Wamu stodgy white bankers ads stopped after Wamu nearly collapsed, because its stupid lending practices (a very large amount for subprime loans to minorities) ended up with it closing many branches, firing thousands of workers, dumping its CEO, and nearly being acquired by JPMorgan (which is REALLY being hoisted on their own petard - there is no more stodgy bank
).
Apparently they didn't mind appearing racist before, after they didn't want to look foolish.
Here's a few recent TV "gems" you may have seen:
Mastercard:
In a revival of their "priceless" schtick, they show a white guy biking down a hill flip upside down and crash - a black guy with a white female look on sneeringly. Then it shows the guy upending a sailboat, and finally in a dude ranch being thrown by a horse.
24 Hour Fitness:
It shows three people and shows how they've been improved by going to the gym (approximate narrative):
Voiceover: "Enrico can do more pushups."
Shows a young hispanic male rapidly whipping out pushups.
Voiceover: "Jennifer is back to kayaking."
Young white woman kayaking expertly down a river.
Voiceover: "George can tie his own shoes."
Shows a fat slobby older white male in an easy chair grinning.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZnPvOn0jz8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ha0cg7LkQ2w&feature=related
This was a series of at least ten "stodgy banker" ads run by Washington Mutual Bank (they shrank it to "WaMu" because they were after minorities business in the last five years, and figured those folks would have a hard time getting their mouths around "Washington Mutual") in which a hip young with-it black male banker gives lectures to about 30 old stodgy bankers, every last one a white male, who are made to look foolish. This was just a recent example of what I've seen for the last several years not only in TV ads, but print ads, TV shows, and Hollywood - white males are made to look old, clumsy, out of it, asexual, unfashionable, and stupid, etc. Black males, on the other hand, especially, are shown just the opposite. I am not talking about every single media occurrence - but I am talking about the overwhelming majority.
The Wamu stodgy white bankers ads stopped after Wamu nearly collapsed, because its stupid lending practices (a very large amount for subprime loans to minorities) ended up with it closing many branches, firing thousands of workers, dumping its CEO, and nearly being acquired by JPMorgan (which is REALLY being hoisted on their own petard - there is no more stodgy bank

Apparently they didn't mind appearing racist before, after they didn't want to look foolish.
Here's a few recent TV "gems" you may have seen:
Mastercard:
In a revival of their "priceless" schtick, they show a white guy biking down a hill flip upside down and crash - a black guy with a white female look on sneeringly. Then it shows the guy upending a sailboat, and finally in a dude ranch being thrown by a horse.
24 Hour Fitness:
It shows three people and shows how they've been improved by going to the gym (approximate narrative):
Voiceover: "Enrico can do more pushups."
Shows a young hispanic male rapidly whipping out pushups.
Voiceover: "Jennifer is back to kayaking."
Young white woman kayaking expertly down a river.
Voiceover: "George can tie his own shoes."
Shows a fat slobby older white male in an easy chair grinning.