A second genner does that fake, bad Indian accent which gets ad directors all hot and bothered. Watch clip one, two. Here are two more without the desi guy: three, four.
This T-Mobile campaign aimed at Boost is called ‘Poser Mobile.’ Hyphen has the scoop:
The three caricatures of a smoked-out Latino, slit-eyed, grinning Asian, and fat, pimped-out white guy are a new, interesting spin on using racial stereotypes to sell product. Instead of selling mainstream whiteness a la Aryancrombie and Fitch, T-Mobile is itself clearly trying to sell black hip hop cred. The implication of the ads is that whites, Latinos and Asians are not really hip hop, not really street, not really trustworthy. [Link]
I actually think the campaign is pretty funny (fake Ali G = parody of a parody), but the desi accent is incredibly bad, and the Asian caricature treads close to racism. Fer chrissake, get yer ethnic mockery right.
This is a clip from the Colbert Report. Colbert Report is of course damn funny, but where exactly is the brown accent dude ?
It’s an ad campaign running on Comedy Central. Try the link now.
They’re a little insulting but also sort of funny.
I dunno about the selling to the African American crowd thing, both T-mobile commericials have an “average Joe” white guy as their main character who calls the other guys “posers.” I don’t remember seeing any African Americans in the ads. To me it just seems like the ads put down minorities, saying white people can’t trust them.
This one has a black guy as the main character.
It’s apparently a parody of a hip-hop-flavored Boost Mobile ad campaign.
watched the black guy ad- now i think they’re just trying to put down “foreigners”
that ad confuses me though, because they’re making fun of asians (indian and chinese), but then the girl is an asian herself…. whatev
Black guys, Asian girls and white guys who ‘act white’ are cool.
Asian guys, Hispanic guys and white guys who ‘act black’ are posers.
We here in South Africa love to laugh at ourselves and people don’t really mind it and don’t take offense of it. We, not so long ago had a series of ads that were brought out by an ISP . It ripped off the different races in SA. The indian one was brilliant. It used proper indians with their SA Indian accent’s (which are hilarious btw) and then they did the african accents which was also very good, there were many others such as Greek, Italian etc etc. The campaign was a success. My company did the market research on 500 people concerning their opinion of this ad, and it came back with a astoundingly positive feedback. People were able to relate.
If an advertising company are to do something like this, they have to do thorough research on ethnic backgrounds, otherwise it ends up a flop.
The desi dude look like a rip from Kal Penn’s character in Malibu’s Most Wanted with Jaimie Kennedy.
Just laugh at it and move on. It’s a T-mobile commercial for crying out loud; nothing to call the ACLU over.
Much respect, but I think your implications are false. Sure, not one member of the Poser Mobile Krush Crew was black, and none of the ‘cool’ customers were Desi… but c’mon, who in their right minds (regardless of pigmentation) would subscribe with T-Mobile in the first place?
You mean Hyphen’s argument, not mine. It is an interesting argument though.
Yes, sorry. Hypen’s argument. But on further reflection, my argument isn’t very good either… much less coherent. I was just being silly. I do think it’s weak that people are cast with cheesy accents. But I wonder how people would feel if a smooth and hip Desi couple waltzed into a T-Mobile shop and was accosted by the Poser Mobile guys? Would it be the best ad spot ever? I don’t know. But I’m sure they’d at least get a frame grab up on this site. 🙂
I’m not objecting to the desi accent in this particular ad (the focus of the humor here isn’t ‘how stupid that foreigner sounds’). I’m objecting to it done badly by a second genner who doesn’t actually have the accent and does a bad impression of it.
And I’m objecting to it usually being requested by American directors– ‘no, don’t do a real Indian accent, do the one Americans think is an Indian accent because of Peter Sellers.’ That’s just a Step’n Fetchit routine with a nicer name.
Call me crazy but I understand both points of view but I have to say lighten up aboutthe commercial. Yes the desi accent is overboard and “step-n-fetch” but no one is saying anything about the notion that “only silly hip-hop loving negroes should use boost mobile” (the victim(s) of the parody)and that any person with common sense shouldn’t use it. Thus saying that anybody else (25 cent Chang and the gang as representatives) are idiots. Call me crazy but I am black ,at least the last time the cops told me when they ordered me out of the car. Is it messed up that about the potrayal of asians and latinos in the commercial? yep. Is it anything new? Hellno. everybody gets it including whites people.
Blacks has been feeling it too as defendants,snitches,pimps,hoes, skeezers, skanks, skallywags,gang-bangers, sports players that can only play “street ball”, and the occasional bad boy cop that learned the ropes “surviving on the hard streets of (insert urban area here),bad ass students that learn to survive in the “real world” by being taught by some caucasian guy who wants to save these poor inner-city kids from a life of drug ,teenage pregnancy, and gang banging. So an asian person isn’t being depicted as a member of the triads, yakuza, martial arts teacher,doctor, or whatever stereotype that is popular today. Oh let’s not forget, brainy math student that is trying to get into MIT. Oh,let’s not forget terrorists. There is no such thing as a white terrorist cough Timothy McVeigh (sp) cough Oklahoma bombing cough. Oh and as the usual stereo typeof whitepeople, they have no rhythm, their food is bland, the let their kids get away with anything, they all have houses, they always get the job you didn’t get, and yadda, yadda, yadda. What is the solution? Make your own damm movies and shows! If you have no acting skilss sponsor and acting troupe or write a short story. do something other than cry like a little bitch with a skinned-knee. If you really wanna bitch, don’t use t-mobile and go into advertising or at least sleep with someone in advertising and convince them to change their tune.
Congratulations. You just grasped the point of this blog 🙂
You mean like the BBC comedy Goodness Gracious Me ?
“I’m not objecting to the desi accent in this particular ad (the focus of the humor here isn’t ‘how stupid that foreigner sounds’). I’m objecting to it done badly by a second genner who doesn’t actually have the accent and does a bad impression of it.
And I’m objecting to it usually being requested by American directors– ‘no, don’t do a real Indian accent, do the one Americans think is an Indian accent because of Peter Sellers.’ That’s just a Step’n Fetchit routine with a nicer name.”
Couldn’t agree more. When I watched Sarah Jones’ “Bridge and Tunnel”, in which she did a Pakistani accent, I so wanted to get up and beg her to hang out with some desis to get it right. Don’t even get me started on that stupid head wobble she did.
Interesting you say that..there is a sort of generic term for abusing any Asian here in the UK and its called ‘Paki’. I find it annoying most of the times when I see stereotypes of race, gender and religion. But on the other hand I also find other people’s ignorance..mighty amusing really. I find myself in a place which I call the self indulgent superiority complex zone! And the only reaction that comes out of me when I hear Ignoramus(es) talk is a thought bubble “F***wit” without the exclamation marks. I cant waste energy on stupid people..:) Nice post..