EMobile
Emobile is established by Dr Sachio Semmoto on January 5, 2005 as an auxiliary of eAccess, offering 3G/HSPA+/DC-HSDPA/LTE services. As they used to offer just data services they were not generally known, yet after collaborating with NTT DoCoMo to offer voice services, they turned out to be more popular. EMOBILE had an affiliate/virtual network arrangement with a few fixed-line ISPs including ASAHI Net. As of March 31, 2009 their site claimed 90% coverage of Japan's population.[1]
eMobile Change Advert
An ad for eMobile shows the firm's mascot, a monkey in a suit tending to a political convention in Japanese and surrounded by supporters waving placards with the word "Change". The apparent expectation is to convince supporters of other cell phone carriers to move to eMobile. In any case, the mix of the monkey, and the likeness of his message to the theme of Obama's campaign - "Change we can believe in" - provoked bloggers to blame the organization for making a bigoted slur against Obama.[2]
Controversy
EMobile has been halted because this ad as it depicts monkey as a political candidate after bloggers said the commercial was a racial slur against, then U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama.
Some bloggers said the eMobile ad was racist because it seemed to refer to Obama and his campaign slogan advocating change. Telegraph newspaper also ran a story saying the ad “apparently portraying Barack Obama as a monkey has provoked a new row about racial depictions of the Democratic candidate”.
Monkeys, while revered in parts of Asia, are viewed in the United States as a racial slur if used to depict African Americans.
Clarification
eMobile clarified that the firm never meant to malign Obama but, Sachio Semmoto, chief executive of eMobile, said the ad was promptly pulled once it was realised that some offence could be caused.[3] He also said that the advertisement, which he said was produced by WPP Group Plc's WPP.L JWT unit, had meant to underscore his firm's commitment to change.
“For two years I’ve been saying that Obama has the capacity to change America, the kind of capacity that Japan needs.”[4]
The company, which stressed it had used the macaque mascot in several other adverts, said it had never intended to insult Obama but had decided to pull the "Change" ad in response to criticism in the blogosphere.
"We had no bad intentions, but this is a cross-cultural gap issue and we have to accept it," eMobile's chief executive, Sachio Semmoto, told Reuters. "There are African-Americans in Japan, so we decided to take prompt action and shut down the ad."[5]
References
- ↑ Ymobile. Retrieved on December 26, 2020.
- ↑ McCurry, Justin (2008). Monkey advert 'resembling' Obama is pulled in Japan. Retrieved on December 26, 2020.
- ↑ General Japan News (2008). Japanese mobile phone firm pulls 'Obama monkey' ad. Retrieved on December 26, 2020.
- ↑ Reuters (2008). Japan firm scraps ad after racial controversy. Retrieved on December 26, 2020.
- ↑ McCurry, Justin (2008). Monkey advert 'resembling' Obama is pulled in Japan. Retrieved on December 26, 2020.