Link is here: http://www.engadget.com/2009/08/25/microsoft-sucks-at-photoshop/ It seems this has been making the rounds on the internet since yesterday. I wonder why they didn't photoshop out the Asian guy while they were at it. And is that a Macbook I see?
Jesus. I heard about this. Is that the actual ad? I've done better photoshops of Brokeback Tex & Flow or Folsom Street Fair Anc and Tex.
"Mjnzrwckjwk Kcjnrzsw doesn't like black people!" Having said this.....are black people ready for Poland?
It's stuff like this that makes Lt. Mewa not want to come to Wordforge, IMHO! Also, what happened to that guy? He made one post yesterday, but hasn't been here in two weeks before that.
New Microsoft slogan? "Empower your people. Get rid of the black guys and replace them with white guys."
A link on Windows Live Today - "Microsoft Sorry for pic edit" Presumably this story, I don't wanna click on it.
This is like when George Lucas replaced the image of Sebastian Shaw with the image of Hayden Christiansen.
[url='http://news.cnet.com/8301-13860_3-10317763-56.html"]Its real.[/url] Its not like MS has had a lot of luck with their ad campaigns recently. The Seinfeld/Gates ads weren't very popular, and the one for Songsmith was positively wretched.
OK, I know it looks pretty bad to photoshop out the black guy and put a white guy in his place, but is it really all that wrong? I mean, if you want advertising to connect with people on a gut level, you show people who are similar to your intended audience. In the U.S., that means running ads with a diverse mix of people. In Poland, it probably means using white people. If they'd shot different photos with different models for different countries, and nothing had been doctored, there probably wouldn't be any controversy at all. A PR nightmare, yes, and somebody should have foreseen that the switch would be spotted. But it's a failure to realize what perception would be created, not evidence of any particularly bad intent.
Am I only one that at first glance thought the top picture was the one that had been photoshopped?!?! Didn't notice the hands, and to me the photoshopped head actually looks more the right size. Seriously, that black dude's got one huge noggin! That's a virtual planetoid. It's got it's own weather system!
Not seeing any Asians on that list. How's come Wong Fu there gets to stay? Agreed. And if they'd not done such a horrific job at the photoshop (the black hand and the lighting all wrong on the face), people might not have noticed it, either. To quote MS Tech Support, "Its not a bug, its a feature!"
Off topic, the actual photo is ridiculous. Who ever heard of a woman, a chink, and a negro running a business. Where are all the middle-aged white men? They should've photoshopped it dark outside, a janitorial cart behind them, and all of them wearing jumpsuits--after everyone's gone home, the cleaning staff pretends they're running a business. I'm so going to hell.
Man, what a sucky photo manip. Not only is the hand still black but the white guy's face is noticeably lit differently than everything else in the room. Talk about cheaping out.
And the windowsill, to the left of his head, doesn't line up. And yet that is a very easy thing to fix. The windows on the building behind the one they're in aren't quite right, either, another easy fix. Getting a head with the lighting just right would have been a bit more trouble, but should have been possible. If it had been tilted the same way, then the shadow of his head on his shoulder would also line up with the head. All in all, a quick and sloppy Photoshop job.
Speaking of "quick and sloppy" take a look at the corrected version of the ad. There's something not quite right about the text box.
Okay, seriously, who the fuck ever smiles or grins like they are HAPPY TO BE IN A CORPORATE MEETING??? If anything, half the people just nod and play with their iPhones and the other half dozes off.
Something occured to me tonight about this ad, there could be a number of legal headaches for MS over this, depending upon how the contract for the models was written. If they were paid a one time flat rate, no biggie, but if they were paid on a "per use" basis, and the black guy didn't get paid for the original version of the Polish ad, he might able to demand money, since his body and hand are obviously still there. Oops. The other models might be able to demand additional money as well, for the altered ad. Oops again. Wonder if he's going to get more work because of this SNAFU?
