"utterly moronic racist nonsense" - Strutt & Parker Notting Hill estate agents advertising

[ViolentPanda]

Long way from being a RESPECT member to here eh Joe - what happened?

George Galloway?

 

[ViolentPanda]

Do you think when planning this advert they intended to 'produce a myth'? If they were using stock images there might be some mileage in the argument. However it's not just a random black/white person. It's specifically the artistic director of a local dance charity and a local estate agent who happen to be black and white. I really don't think that they chose the dancer because he was black and they didn't have much choice in using a white estate agent.

So the point I was getting at was that they could have gone out of their way to find a different person to represent the dancer or estate agent thus avoiding the backlash but surely that would have been more offensive then showing a locally successful dancer and an estate agent who just so happen to fall into the stereotypes of those taking offensive of being black and white.

With regard to "planning the advert", if they used an agency, the staff there would be absolutely au fait with the concept of semiotics, and the use of signifiers.

 

[littlebabyjesus]

You don't need a cse in sociology to see what that ad's about.

 

[ViolentPanda]

its basic semiology, and intent doesn't change meaning.

Yup. The sort of stuff that every fucker who does Media Studies or an advertising-related post-grad course will learn very early on.

 

[ViolentPanda]

You don't need a cse in sociology to see what that ad's about.

Do you mean GCSE, or are you showing your age?

 

[littlebabyjesus]

One step down from O-level, so seemed appropriate.

And yes.

 

[Orang Utan]

PC-brigade. House!

 

[joe_infinity]

No he isn't, bird-brain.

you are claiming that he willingly participated in a racist advert, allowing his image to be used for racist purposes (even profiting from it)

ie, you are claiming that he is guilty of complicity with racism

 

[joe_infinity]

Hopefully he'd feel, if he had any wit at all, a sense of shame that he'd allowed himself to be used by cunts.

You hope that this black man should feel ashamed because he participated in this advert. You think that he should not have done the advert, and that his participation was a shameful act of complicity with racism.

Interesting, it is clear who the real racists are

 

[ddraig]

You hope that this black man should feel ashamed because he participated in this advert. You think that he should not have done the advert, and that his participation was a shameful act of complicity with racism.

Interesting, it is clear who the real racists are

wow! proper full house!

 

[Treacle Toes]

you are claiming that he willingly participated in a racist advert, allowing his image to be used for racist purposes

ie, you are claiming that he is guilty of complicity with racism

Complete strawman.

How can we know what he thought and how he thought the image would be used?

 

[butchersapron]

You hope that this black man should feel ashamed because he participated in this advert. You think that he should not have done the advert, and that his participation was a shameful act of complicity with racism.

Interesting, it is clear who the real racists are

Yeah. It is. Painfully.

What broke you from your anti-racism btw?

 

[littlebabyjesus]

You hope that this black man should feel ashamed because he participated in this advert. You think that he should not have done the advert, and that his participation was a shameful act of complicity with racism.

Interesting, it is clear who the real racists are

What are you saying? Because he's black, he can't be criticised?

I hope he's really embarrassed. But he's probably a jobbing actor who was glad of the cash, and may well not have known exactly how the ad would turn out, I don't know. My scorn is mostly reserved for those who commissioned, conceived and executed the ad, not the hired hands, and that includes the other actor in it, who I also hope is really embarrassed.

 

[Treacle Toes]

You hope that this black man should feel ashamed because he participated in this advert. You think that he should not have done the advert, and that his participation was a shameful act of complicity with racism.

Interesting, it is clear who the real racists are

Don't push your luck. You are seriously not clever or informed enough to play this game.

You are focusing on him, why? Because you don't have anything useful to say in defense of that advert and the people responsible for making it...your focus on the morals/ethics of Mr Elie is very telling, your insistance that we are attacking him and his decisions is a classic shift too, awarding him the burden of responsibility and accusing us of doing that...that's right, you are text book.

 

[salem]

But he's probably a jobbing actor who was glad of the cash, and may well not have known exactly how the ad would turn out, I don't know.

Have you read the thread?

http://www.portobellodance.org.uk/artistic-director/
http://bbo.org.uk/news/29/

He isn't just some actor or stock photo model. I'm sure he'd appreciate being called a "jobbing actor who was glad of the cash" though.

 

[littlebabyjesus]

Ok. That doesn't change much, tbh. He's a jobbing dancer in need of the cash. Rutita's right - why are you making this about him?

 

[Treacle Toes]

Rutita's right - why are you making this about him?

Divide and conquer, same as it ever was.

 

[ViolentPanda]

you are claiming that he willingly participated in a racist advert, allowing his image to be used for racist purposes (even profiting from it)

Except that I haven't claimed anything of the sort. The above are words you're putting in my mouth because you're unable to argue your case on the facts.

 

[salem]

Ok. That doesn't change much, tbh. He's a jobbing dancer in need of the cash. Rutita's right - why are you making this about him?

Well she said that to someone else, but I think it's relevant because he's the guy whose been chosen to feature in the advert.

I'd think he was chosen because he was an interesting counterbalance to the estate agents, a dancer catches the eye, he's a locally successful bloke who seems to be pretty well respected etc.

You seem to think he's been chosen because he's black and to make some kind of point about black people being good at dancing and white people being natural estate agents or something. Oh and he's a jobbing actor in need of some cash.

 

[ViolentPanda]

You hope that this black man should feel ashamed because he participated in this advert. You think that he should not have done the advert, and that his participation was a shameful act of complicity with racism.

No, I hope he'll feel ashamed when he sees the use to which his image has been put - a sense of "shit, I should have checked out what they were going to do with it first".
The bulk of the above that you've written is about your own inability to see racism. Not about Mr. Elie, or about me. About you.

Interesting, it is clear who the real racists are

Only if you're wearing blinkers or are pigshit thick, Joe.

 

[butchersapron]

Well she said that to someone else, but I think it's relevant because he's the guy whose been chosen to feature in the advert.

I'd think he was chosen because he was an interesting counterbalance to the estate agents, a dancer catches the eye, he's a locally successful bloke who seems to be pretty well respected etc.

You seem to think he's a jobbing actor chosen because he's black and to make some kind of point about black people being good at dancing and white people being natural estate agents or something.

How on earth would anyone get that idea?

 

[littlebabyjesus]

I (wrongly, it seems now) assumed he was a jobbing actor because that is what most people in adverts are. And it's a massive source of income for a struggling actor. It can net a couple of grand for a day's work.

But that makes no difference to anything.

 

[salem]

I (wrongly, it seems now) assumed he was a jobbing actor because that is what most people in adverts are. And it's a massive source of income for a struggling actor. It can net a couple of grand for a day's work.

But that makes no difference to anything.

So you don't think it's relevant that they've put up a local dancer / estate agent rather then just picked a random picture of a black person to illustrate the advert. The fact that they've chosen the artistic director of the local dance academy who happens to be black rather then specifically chosen a black actor/stock photo person makes a huge difference IMHO.

And a couple of grand to appear in a poster for a local branch of an estate agent. You've got to be kidding me right?

 

[stethoscope]

You hope that this black man should feel ashamed because he participated in this advert. You think that he should not have done the advert, and that his participation was a shameful act of complicity with racism.

Interesting, it is clear who the real racists are

I don't even.

 

[butchersapron]

So you don't think it's relevant that they've put up a local dancer / estate agent rather then just picked a random picture of a black person to illustrate the advert. The fact that they've chosen the artistic director of the local dance academy who happens to be black rather then specifically chosen a black actor/stock photo person makes a huge difference IMHO.

And a couple of grand to appear in a poster for a local branch of an estate agent. You've got to be kidding me right?

The main thing is that they don't look like massive racists.

 

[littlebabyjesus]

So you don't think it's relevant that they've put up a local dancer / estate agent rather then just picked a random picture of a black person to illustrate the advert. The fact that they've chosen the artistic director of the local dance academy vs chosen a black actor/stock photo person makes a huge difference IMHO.

And a couple of grand to appear in a poster for a local branch of an estate agent. You've got to be kidding me right?

You might be surprised by the budgets for ads. Actors have to agree not to appear in anything similar for x period in time, so they can get a lot of money. In this case, I'll have a little wager with you if you like - see if you can find out - I'll wager he was paid at least £1,000 to do this.

 

[Treacle Toes]

Even other notable residents of Notting Hill? Why does this guy epitomise one of the locals?

 

[Blagsta]

So you don't think it's relevant that they've put up a local dancer / estate agent rather then just picked a random picture of a black person to illustrate the advert. The fact that they've chosen the artistic director of the local dance academy who happens to be black rather then specifically chosen a black actor/stock photo person makes a huge difference IMHO.

And a couple of grand to appear in a poster for a local branch of an estate agent. You've got to be kidding me right?

And then they've said "some people are born to..."

Join the fucking dots

 

[butchersapron]

Even other notable residents of Notting Hill? Why does this guy epitomise one of the locals?

Exactly - what questions need to have been asked well before this point, to say, what reps this community and how can we rep it?

 

[littlebabyjesus]

Anyway, fuck it. Salem's making me make this all about him. @ self.