The Japan-based electronics manufacturer Toshiba was recently accused of releasing an ad that seemed to depict a racist stereotype associated with Asian culture. The ad featured two slanted tablets above the phrase “Thin Japanese Tablets.”
According to the website Mic, the ad has only been released in Croatia. But it has received considerable backlash on Twitter.
Mic reported that Toshiba’s Croatian creative agency, Señor, said the ads were meant to honor Japanese technology.
“Toshiba is the only Japanese tablet brand currently present on Croatian market,” Señor wrote in a blog post, according to Mic. “Why not remind people of this fact and evoke all the positive emotions Croatians have about top Japanese technology.”
Toshiba has yet to release a statement about the response to the ad.
Clever…I see an unvisualized smile as well but then I’m not hunting for a media bubble issue.
Please pass the Gestalt…
Maybe Toshiba is pimping this non-story as part of a marketing ploy?
Is English more common in Croatia than Croatian?
I would be troubled, but it was released in Croatia, a country without any discernible history of fascism, racism or ethnic conflict.