It looks like the racially charged Sony PlayStation Portable ads, that have been a popular topic of discussion, are getting more attention from the San Jose/Silicon Valley Chapter of the NAACP and California Assembly Speaker pro Tem Leland Yee.
Plus:
Extensive discussion at Crunk + Disorderly.
I’m sorry but i’m a little confused, are they really condemning the Sony ad or LOCOROCO (the game for the Sony PSP, http://www.prohiphop.com/2006/07/psp_white_is_co.html ). When I was reading the NAACP responds, it started talking about the “The minstrel show”. I thought the responds was for LOCOROCO than the Sony ad for Europe. Who knows???
According to the post at GamePolitics, the NAACP was responding to the PSP White ad.
The phrase “minstrel show” actually gets used quite a bit, for example, Flavor Flav has often been critiqued for providing a modern version of a minstrel character. So it doesn’t just refer to Loco Roco though it probably fits Loco Roco better than it fits these ads.
That’s exactly what this ad was designed to do-draw attention and subsequently give Sony free publicity. I can’t believe they even fell for this.
You’d think the results of a bad campaign would be punishment enough.