InkyChick said:

August 25, 2009 4:39 PM PDT

Microsoft apologizes for race-swap photo incident
by Ina Fried


Microsoft apologized Tuesday for using photo editing techniques to change the race of a person depicted on the company's Web site.

In a photo on the company's U.S. Web site, three businesspeople--one black, one white and one Asian are shown as part of a pitch for Microsoft's business productivity software. In the same photo on the site of Microsoft's Polish subsidiary, a white head is placed over the black person's body, although the hand is not changed.

The move sparked controversy after it was noticed, quickly making the rounds on Twitter and various Web sites.

"We are looking into the details of this situation," a Microsoft representative told CNET News. "We apologize and are in the process of pulling down the image" from the Polish site. Microsoft also apologized on its corporate Twitter feed.

Here's the U.S. site photo (click to enlarge):

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13860_3-10317763-56.html

. said:

They don't have affirmative action nogs in Poland?

. said:

Pretty standard practice to edit photos. They just got caught by some holier than thou web tards. Would you expect blacks in an ad for Japan? The edits weren't really that noticeable to the majority of people.

InkyChick said:

The thing of it is, they are such hacks about it. All they did was just past a honkey head on the black guy, They even left his black hands in the pic.

They at least could have sprung for a few more models, or grabbed a few more guys at the office to sit in for the shoot, and had a few variations on the theme instead of the hacky cut n paste job.

That's what offends me, not that they changed the guy's race to meet their market's expectations. I realize that Poland probably only has about a hundred black people residing in the whole country.

. said:

Even his hands weren't really noticeable until you had a comparison. Standard crap job. Who cares?

InkyChick said:

As a former working member of the commercial photo industry, I care.

It's shit like that that destroyed the industry. Microsoft is a rich corporation, they can afford to toss out a few extra bones and do the job right.

just.askin said:

So do you blame Microsoft or the crappy ad agency they hired...or do you blame Microsoft for hiring a crappy ad agency?

InkyChick said:

I blame them all. The whole graphic art industry, with a very few exceptions, has turned into one giant pile of ugly shit.



jmo

InkyChick said:

The thing of it is, they are such hacks about it. All they did was just past a honkey head on the black guy, They even left his black hands in the pic.

They at least could have sprung for a few more models, or grabbed a few more guys at the office to sit in for the shoot, and had a few variations on the theme instead of the hacky cut n paste job.

That's what offends me, not that they changed the guy's race to meet their market's expectations. I realize that Poland probably only has about a hundred black people residing in the whole country.

. said:

Do you have any concept of supply and demand?

. said:

I was trying to take *them* to stylized flat color, tertiary colors, but they were still stuck on balloon animal fonts and drop shadows.

I hear ya

. said:

I'll be extremely surprised if she understands the point you're trying to make.

. said:

. said:

I'll be extremely surprised if she understands the point you're trying to make.

I know where she is coming from and I'll what really bothers her is the devaluation of the service. It used to take a team of 10 people to get an add like that out, now that add was probably done by a 20 year old who has no art training whatsoever. And thus goes an industry.

. said:

I know where she is coming from and I'll what really bothers her is the devaluation of the service. It used to take a team of 10 people to get an add like that out, now that add was probably done by a 20 year old who has no art training whatsoever. And thus goes an industry.

Exactly.

Well said, add dot

. said:

The industry is booming. They're doing whatever is selling - if it wasn't selling they wouldn't be doing it. They're not in it for the 'art', they're in it for profit and there's nothing wrong with that. Draw pretty pictures on your own time.

Spoken like a true bean counter

InkyChick said:

Spoken like a true bean counter