Wednesday, September 30, 2009

What the?!

I just received this flyer in the mail.


I seriously cannot believe a company in this day and age would be so blatantly racist. I've sent them an email to tell them so.

28 comments:

Anonymous said...

Is he holding the phone up so the camel can talk?

Ramon Insertnamehere said...

Puss, I think you'll find casual racism, like casual stupidity, is rampant in the advertising industry.

Puss In Boots said...

It looks like it, doesn't it Alex?

I don't think that makes it ok though, Ramon.

Perseus said...

I don't get it.
Are they saying, umm, the camel isn't helpful? Or is the camel phoning the man, and he's not helpful?

What?

What's racist?

Confused.

Ramon Insertnamehere said...

They're saying - "our call centre isn't staffed by ignorant wogs" Pers.

Anonymous said...

They're saying - "our call centre isn't staffed by ignorant wogs" Pers.

My take is that they're trying to play on the fear that many people have of reaching a call centre and speaking to someone with an accent so thick that they are incomprehensible. Since a thick accent is hard to portray in a picture, they've got a sort of exotic looking bloke letting his camel answer the phone.

They might also be playing with the anti-Arab/Muslim paranoia that's popular at the moment, but it's hard to say.

Perseus said...

I dunno.

I reckon the guy in the turban is ringing the camel.

I think the ad was made overseas, and they are saying, "We don't employ camels."

It may just be accidentally racist here.

Anonymous said...

I reckon the guy in the turban is ringing the camel.

I think the ad was made overseas, and they are saying, "We don't employ camels."


Then shouldn't the camel be wearing a headset?

Melba said...

Does the small print say "Fleet Management?"

Might be a clue. Ie dude, although tech savvy with mobile phone, rides a camel and wears a turban. Still needs a help desk because of the camel fleet.

I don't think it is a reference to help desks being manned by "foreigners." It looks like the kind of ad you might receive overseas, say Dubai or somewhere; a little tongue-in-cheek take on traditional/modern car fleet needs.

Is it racist? Depends on the context, but doesn't look like it to me.

I think you are jumping at shadows here.

Anonymous said...

They seem to be an Australian company that provides fleet management for printers and photocopiers. the website is here if you want to check it out.

Puss In Boots said...

The flyer says 'Save up to 40% on printers and photocopiers'. And then goes on to say they have local helpdesk support. It is not about fleet management at all. It is directly targeting outsourced helpdesks (particularly those based in India).

I've sent it to a few friends who agree with me they thought it was racist. I don't know how any of you can be justifying it.

kitten said...

Not racist but perhaps a bit xenophobic. But then what's the difference between an ad poking fun at overseas call centres and a "buy Australian made" type campaign?

Ramon Insertnamehere said...

As always Kitten, your bone-headed stupidity never ceases to amuse and astonish.

Mr E said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Mr E said...

i think it's a particularly ineffective piece of advertising.

I won't go into the details now, as I have a uncontrollable need to get down to the shops and buy some cigarettes and a curry.

Fad MD said...

i think it's a particularly ineffective piece of advertising.

But look at all the Photoshop expertise that has gone into it!

kitten said...

Ramon, instead of just insulting people why dont you try presenting an argument?

The "Buy Australia Made" campaign is based around getting people to buy into the whole anti-immigration, anti-offshoring, "dont let THEM steal our jobs" xenophobia so well promoted by Pauline Hanson and the like. What other reason does the campaign promote for buying Australian made products? Price? Quality? Name one thing? If the goods were actually better and cheaper then there would be no need for a buy Australian-made campaign at all.

You are the stupid one if you think that there is nothing xenophobic (translated as meaning scared of foreigners for your benefit) about that campaign. Its all about not sending jobs to other countries - hence exactly the same as the ad under discussion.

Perseus said...

Yeah Ramon, you evil bastard cunt cunt wanker pinko. Present your arguments thoughtfully and name your sources or we'll have to dock your TSFKA income!

Ramon Insertnamehere said...

The point I'm trying to make, Kitten, is that there's a difference between a "Buy Australian" campaign - which doesn't necessarily mean hatred of foreigners - and an add which strongly implies that overseas based call centres are full of ignorant wogs.

And I'm not a big fan of "Buy Australian" campaigns anyway.

And I known what xenophobia means, dickhead.

patchouligirl said...

The camel implies they are primitive - although if it was a buy Australian ad we would consider a stockman on a horse patriotic. How much is in the ad and how much is in the interpretation?

kitten said...

I don't see where "ignorant wogs" comes into it at all - the ad refers to being "unhelpful". If the picture was of a French woman with a poodle would you still think it racist? Or an English person with a horse?

I think the ad is xenophobic because it targets Indian-based call centres - but not racist as it does not imply that Indians are inferior people because of their ethnicity. At worst, it implies that Indians are merely unhelpful.

Melba said...

I don't know. I don't think that the camel and man are connected to someone operating a help desk who is Indian or foreign (to Australians). But it's clearly a shithouse ad because none of us can be sure what it all means.

My feeling is that the dude with the camel is the client, and his help desk is so useful that they've gotten him a piece of technology (the phone) which ironically maybe he needs in this day and age, but he still uses a camel in this day and age. You know that thing about everyone having a mobile phone, even a man with a camel. And of course the man has to be "foreign" because I haven't seen any Anglos with camels.

I still think you've missed the point, even though it's nothing to do with fleet cars.

But I'm confused about the connection between the phone and printing solutions, and a help desk and printing solutions, and the man and printing solutions, and the camel and printing solutions.

Wow, so good to spend some quality analysis here. So useful for my life.

I need a camel.

kitten said...

Perhaps the man is a multi-cultural Australian, who lives in WA or the outback where there are camels (and quite a lot of them I believe). The assumptions we make about him and his camel are our own.

Puss In Boots said...

If that's the case Kitten, why do they make a point of saying they offer a local help desk on the back of the flyer?

Clearly, the person on the front is meant to be working in a foreign call centre in that context.

kitten said...

Its targeted at all those Tasmanian call centres :-)

Melba said...

Oh goody this is still going.

Are you overseas Puss or are you here?

I can't keep track of everyone.

You're here? And you got that flyer in the mail here? Then yes it's racist and offenive.

If you're in Dubai though, then I'll keep arguing.

Puss In Boots said...

I'm back now Melba. I got back in June. I received that flyer in the mail in Brisbane.

Melba said...

Well then, I guess I have to agree, you were right.