BREAKING - Sony Pulls PSP White Ad Campaign Over Protests
According to California Assemblyman Leland Yee, Sony has pulled a controversial European ad campaign for its upcoming PSP White. The electronics giant also issued an apology to those who may have been offended by the ads, one of which, posted on a billboard, portrayed a white woman squeezing the face of a black woman.
In a statement, Nick Sharples, Sony's Director of Corporate Communications in Europe, said, "We... recognize 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."
Yee congratulated Sony for its response to the ad controversy.
"I am pleased to see Sony taking responsibility for their racially-charged ad and appropriately pulling it from the marketplace, he said. "Sony did the right thing by recognizing their insensitive mistake and apologizing for offending many of their customers."
Rick Callender, President of San Jose NAACP Chapter, seconded Yee's remarks.
"Sony has done the honorable thing by owning up to the fact that communication and ads in today's global market have a much further reach than in the past, said Callender. "Their attempt to contrast colors clearly created controversy and sparked painful feelings in the global community. Hopefully in the future, Sony will employ a better litmus test to their ad campaigns to determine if they will be sour to the taste of worldwide consumers. I commend them for their actions."
UPDATE: Reuters is now confirming this story. Remember, you read it here first!
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