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Sony pulls controversial PSP ads
Depicting a white woman grappling with a black woman, a recent series of Sony PSP ads in the Netherlands have caused many to engage in some grappling of their own, mostly with issues and allegations of racism. After defending the images and claiming that they had "no other message or purpose" besides flaunting the white PSP, Sony has now confirmed that they have yanked the ads and banished them to a mysterious marketing misfire graveyard.A Sony representative informed Gamespot that the decision was made based on the global reaction to an ad that was largely aimed at a specific country. The representative goes on to say that Sony "further recognize[s] that people have a wide variety of perceptions about such imagery and we wish to apologize to those who perceived the advert differently to that intended. In future, we will apply greater sensitivity in our selection of campaign imagery, and will take due account of the increasingly global reach of such local adverts, and their potential impact in other countries."Interestingly enough, Sony claims to have only received a single complaint from within the Netherlands. It's unclear as to which is the more important lesson to be learned from all of this: Is it that marketers should wear gloves when handling potentially explosive material? Or perhaps it's that the internet always has a global eye on the moves of a large and popular corporation?[Thanks evilmax17!]
Ad critic: Sony's racially charged PSP ad [update 1]
We've decided to run ad critic early this week after this one landed on our doorsteps. The latest in a long line of questionable marketing decisions by Sony, this ad -- gracing the streets of Amsterdam and the Dutch PSP site -- promotes the upcoming white PSP with the racially charged image of a white woman grabbing a black woman's face. Other images on the website (embedded after the break) offer additional avenues of interpretation. While we think it's hardly debatable that the ad is offensive (debate ensues), why would Sony -- and their "disruptive" advertising partners at TBWA -- think this ad appropriate? Any Dutch readers care to offer a regional point-of-view on local racial mores? Any black readers, both in the Netherlands and elsewhere, want to offer your initial reactions to the image? Perhaps most importantly (this is an advertisement after all), will this fulfill the contention that generating word-of-mouth is the metric by which to gauge the success of an ad, no matter the method?Please keep the debate friendly, respectful, and well-mannered. It is possible to express your opinion on sensitive issues like race while doing so.See also: Ad critic: Superman, Ad critic: Auto Assault, Ad critic: Oblivion , Ad critic: Tomb Raider, Ad critic: Hitman.[Thanks to everyone that sent this in!] [Update 1: Sony has come to the defense of the controversial ads, telling Gamesindustry.biz, "All of the 100 or so images created for the campaign have been designed to show this contrast in colours of the PSPs , and have no other message or purpose." We'll gather up some of the best comments from this thread (thanks for keeping it on track everyone) and follow up later in the week.]
White PSP in Europe next week
While everyone's still reeling from the PS3 price announcement, UK gamers who want some shiny new Sony hardware before the PS3 launches are in luck. Sony has announced that the Ceramic White PSP will finally be released in Europe next Monday (May 15), with an expected retail price of £179.99 in the UK (€249).As of June there will also be a range of Platinum UMDs, with titles like Everybody's Golf available for £19.99 (€24.99). As if that's not enough, a range of Lonely Planet-produced city guides, to be called Planet PSP, will arrive this autumn; also, in the near future we'll see PlayStation Spot appearing in Europe.
