Washington Mutual Commercials: Funny or Racist?
Have you seen the new set of Washington Mutual (Wamu) Banking commercials launched on 3/13/2006?
The commercials portray a young black man (the good banker) and about 20 mature white men (the old school bad bankers). The white men are kept herded in a corral. The black banker asks the white banker's questions about incentives for customers and the white bankers scoff at his suggestions. In one commercial an oversized guinea pig water feeder is lowered down to the white men. In another commercial caviar is fed to the white men with a giant spoon. The commercial is funny on different levels, but what is disturbing is the fact that the commercials single out white men as pets, animals, and slaves. Also, the commercial seems to say that all bankers of importance in the past are white men. Why did Wamu choose to divide strictly by race color?
My message to Wamu: Not a good PR move to promote yourself with racism. Shamu on Wamu!
Here is what Wamu says about the new campaign under news section.
Another Link
Wamu Media Contact: Mary Kelley, 206-377-6878 mary.kelley@wamu.net
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Tags: TV Advertising Marketing Slavery Bigotry Prejudice "Race Card" "Micro Persuasion" "Steve Rubel" "Seth Godin"
posted by feedscott @ 8:01 AM
81 Comments:
I agree that the WAMU Washington Mutual commercial is racist. It is about time the non-black people stand up and shout as loud as the black people do where there is the slightest racial overtone made in the media. I take offense to it and will take my business elsewhere.
I agree that WAMU - washington mutual's commercial is racist. Non-black people need to take a stance as the black people do when there is the slightest racial overtone. Don't do business with this racist washington mutual company!
I agree that WAMU - washington mutual's commercial is racist. Non-black people need to take a stance as the black people do when there is the slightest racial overtone. Don't do business with this racist washington mutual company!
I agree, I just noticed this and I will definatly send this to the mass media and start a letter campaign.
The WAMU commercial I saw last night was the "banker pen" one. It is viciously racist in its presentation. I am offended and saddened that WAMU would promote itself in this way and I think it is viciously misleading for WAMU to try to cloak the principle of collective hate contained in the ad by rationalizing it as a claim they are doing it "for ordinary people." As a marketing strategy, WAMU's campaign is apparently a cynical and insidious leveraging of bigotry just to achieve market share and "cut through the advertising clutter." I came online to see if others were noticing WAMU's campaign and so I found my way here. Glad to know I am not the only one.
For the sake of common humanity, I feel morally bound to complain to the station or network when I see this ad again. WAMU is trying to increase its profit and attract a certain market share by advancing bigotry and associating its products with bigoted points of view, plain and simple.
I do not think it is good to financially support WAMUs potential success with this ad campaign. My wife and I had a favorable view of WAMU as a good bank prior to this. Until now, I had been regularly using a WAMU-issued credit card. Further, WAMU was on our short list for a mortgage this summer as our building in NYC is going condo. NO WAY are we even going to consider WAMU now. There is no shortage of other banks with attractive rates and fee structures that don't come with the racist baggage that WAMU has now inserted into all transactions one might undertake with them. Further, my WAMU-issued card will see no more use until I read that WAMU withdraws from this campaign with apology. I've just now taken my card out of my wallet.
Whether you are a customer, employee, or a shareholder of WAMU the moral philosophy behind WAMU's new campaign should be seriously questioned and called to account for itself.
COME ON...aren't you all taking this a bit too seriously? For God's sake, it's a commercial...wouldn't you be shouting just as loud if WaMu had dressed up a bunch of black actors and put them in the commercial as the old school bankers and had a white actor with the megaphone yelling at them? I'm so sick and tired of people trying to FIND something to gripe and complain about. Take it for what it is: a funny commercial.
Re: You're taking this too seriously!
Here are some more...
Just a small party (Nazi)
A small leak (Titanic)
A small burglary (Watergate)
A small wind (Katerina)
Etc, etc, etc.
What if the roles were reversed?
I'm fairly sure I'd be equally offended, but I'm absolutely sure the NAACP would be marching/rioting on WAMU's corporate campus right now.
In any case, I've decided to close my accounts at Wamu and find another
bank.
I noticed the racism the thrid time I saw the commercial. It hit me like a brick wall. The only reason I didn't notice it sooner was b/c I try not to watch commercials and say "oh oh! racism!!"
But when I realized what was going on, I said to myself "what would happen if there was a bunch of black people herded together in ropes and a white guy questioned them?" Gee, I would think racism flags would be flying up left and right. This reverse racism shit is getting out of control and further more I can't believe racism is still around. We're in a civilized age (or so I think we are). I think hating someone b/c of their color is beyond stupid. I was brought up way better than that and if I'm gonna hate someone, its gonna be b/c of the way they act, not the way they look.
Wamu, you guys need to stand back and think "what kind of message am I sending with these commercials? Why is there an obvious lack of diversity? Why did we choose all white guys as 'the bad guys' and someone of a different race as 'the good guy'?"
You had a great idea with your commercials until the lack of diversity came up. And in the end, you're not only obviously hurting your business, you're making a lot of enemies.
Thx
Greg
22 yr old from Iowa
racist yes. but also ageist!
being an older person I see the
generational divide here. why is the older people are always wrong!?
Here's the email I recently sent to
Wamu's media person, according to
leoburnett.com -- the ad agency.
Ms. Kelley,
If you wanted to "shake up" the banking industry with your new TV advertisment series, you certainly have, but not in the way you would have wished or expected.
I find your advertisements far from funny, and, in point of fact, I find them to be racist, sexist and geist. In short, I am deeply offended by them, and I am --correction -- WAS a customer as I have taken steps to close my accounts and move my money--many thousands of dollars --to another bank.
Your bank certainly had an explicit fiduciary duty to me, but I believe there is an implicit duty for your company to uphold the best civic values, and in this regard I believe you have failed.
Sincerely,
I agree the commercials are racist, WM's new ad campaign is targetted at minority populations -I am offended by their ideas of what they think would appeal to me! insignificant flashy free offerings and jabs at the white mans' established banking industry!? This insults the intelligence of thier customers and intended audience.
What would people think if Kentucky Fried Chicken had a commericial of rounded up older African-American men in a rope, and taunted them about fried chicken? The streets would riot.
RACIST COIMMERCIALS!
I cannot believe the insulting and derogatory WAMU commercials are still playing. BOYCOTT WAMU!
I searched google for a comment on the Wamu Bank's racist commercials. I've been wondering for weeks whether or not people have noticed. I agree that if the roles were reversed we would experience an outrageous number of complaints as well a field day for news media. What I wonder is why white people have been bending over backwards and tiptoeing around anything that could be taken as a slight offense to black people. My family came from Italy in 1920 never having been to America or owned any slaves. So, why must I be abused when never did I nor my ancestors abuse black people?
You people are the real racists. The truth is most banks and financiai institutions are owned and run by fat old white men.
The Ad company was using a black man a a representative of the common people. Those of you who can't seem to get past the shallowness of a persons skin tone are the only ones up in arms.
If there had been one fat old black or hispanic banker
thrown in the mix, you'd you still feel the same way?
You finally get to play the race card, feel better now?
I never noticed the racism in these ads, mostly because I kind of tune them out and don't pay attention in detail.
But yeah, racism against whites pretty much gets no attention. I think a lot of that comes about from the mindset amongst liberals that blacks can't be racist because they lack access to power. Of course the access of power has no relation to whether or not one can be racist, but many a liberal has trotted out that tired rationale to me in the past, so it's obviously a widespread belief.
Re: “You people are the real racists. The truth is most banks and financial institutions are owned and run by fat old white men".
Thank you for finally saying something coherent when it comes to the race issue and this commercial!! How many bankers over 50 are black? Lets just compare how many we actually know now- im not tryin to get out of hand here, i'm just confused as to what we think racism is.
IT doesn’t matter when or where your "European" ancestors came from, the fact is that whites have historically owned and controlled the institutions that this country runs on. Racism started with slavery, then segregation and survives today in the fact that you whites believe you aren't "responsible" for their fair-skinned predecessors' actions. No you may not have driven the whip or said an epithet, but you benefit from a system that has prevented people of color from access to the institutions that you control.
I'm sorry my friends, this is not 'liberalism' it is sheer hard facts. Your not a bad person for being white, your bad for not DOING anything about it. So Take Your Stand white people, and stick up for all your oppressed fellow men, and... when you sit back down on that plush couch, in your lily-white suburban neighborhood, just ponder why it is that it took a bank's slightly-edgy commercial to make you think about race.
Dear Washington Mutual,
I can see by your T.V. commercials that you are trying to pander to people of color by making racist jokes about white people.
As a person of color, I think that you have seriously misjudged us. You see, people of color went through a similar experiences not long ago, and we do not find it funny when you do it to another group.
Sincerely,
Joseph
The worst racists are those who look for it around every corner.
Why no asians? No women? No "native" Americans? Are blacks and white the only races? Quick...protest more!!!
These commercials portray the old way of doing business versus the new. Old bankers...young bankers. Stop reading more into the commercial than is there, stop being a racist.
(If you want to keep in in the historical reality, do a bit of research, most bankers who have been in the field over 40 years are white! Other races are rising into positions of power in the last couple of decades. Reality bites!)
It's very simple. They aren't getting my money.
If you're wondering who the actual executives are at WAMU, look at this link:
http://investors.wamu.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=101159&p=irol-gov
ALL of them are older white men except 2 older white women.
So where's the young, hip, in-touch, down to earth black man that's calling all the shots?
Wow, Wamu is racist and ageist and sexist, all in one ad. Talk about ethical problems!!
Why don't they take it a step further and slap a few yamika's on the old white guy's heads? Let's face it, a lot of "old, fat, white bankers" are Jewish. Would it be legitimate to call it racism then? These commercials are very racist and I find them disturbing. I am closing my accounts tomorrow.
When you go to the WAMU website and try to send them a comment, tehy seem to filter on the word racist. When I entered the following:
I am disgusted every time I see one of your ads. Why do you think it's ok to put elderly white males in a pen controlled by an African American male? You have several of these ads that air constantly. They are not cute, funny or amusing. In a word, they are RACIST.
I have an idea that you can use, free of charge, for your next ad. Why not have the old white guys in the pen dreaming about the days when they owned slaves (they wouldn’t be old enough). Let them look fondly on the days of shackles, like being in a pen, begging for food, like caviar, or champagne through a hamster’s water bottle. I think you get my point.
No matter how you try to defend these ads, they are RACIST. Why not change the African American male to a young white woman. I guess it wouldn’t have the undertone you were looking for.
When will the RACIST ads stop?
Thank you for your time.
WAMU responds with:
Some of the information you entered is missing or incorrect. Please check all highlighted fields below and re-enter the data in the format shown.
The comments / inquiry field should contain only valid characters. The following special characters are not allowed: < > " &
Any idea why they might do that???
Lacie Charborne said....
"The worst racists are those who look for it around every corner."
Sounds to me like you're talking about the N.A.A.C.P., ACLU, and the hundred or so other Racist
organizations blacks and other minorities have at their disposal!
(And let's not forget about the blacks, who wouldn't know what to do without the whole racism ideology.)
Lacie also said...
"Why no asians? No women? No "native " Americans? Are blacks and white the only races? Quick...protest more!!!"
They're there, you just choose to look past them. Although, White men
are the brains behind this and every other properous country.
You need to prove yourself without
the help of others. Affirmative Action won't cut it here! We put you in with that and you will destroy what those "old White men"
have built with their sweat,blood, and tears! Generations of expertise and knowledge! More than likely, those "old White men" have
forgotten more than you will ever
know!
Lacie also said...
"These commercials portray the old way of doing business versus the new."
There are always going to be variations to banking operations
and offers to attract new business. Although, for the most part, it's all been done before.
There is nothing new here.(except
the degrading of Whites)
Lacie also said...
"Old bankers...young bankers. Stop reading more into the commercial
than is there, stop being a racist."
The funny thing about your statement is, no one is reading anything more into it than is there! It's blatant and in our faces! We watch a bank put on a
commercial that is racist at it's core, and you tell us to "stop
being a racist."?
Lacie also said....
"If you want to keep in historical reality, do a bit of research, most bankers who have been in the
field over 40 years are White!
Well, Lacie, why do you think the banking institutions have run so smoothly, for so long? Yeah, you know..those old White guys. By the
way, where did you,"do your bit" of research? Let me guess. At "Old
White bankers.com"? maybe..ah..
Lacie also said...
"Other races are rising into positions of power in the last couple of decades. Really bites!
Of course they are. It's been more than a couple decades that it's been happening. The only thing that "really bites" about it, is
that if minorities are ever allowed to have any kind of majority control in the banking world, it will certainly not be
in the best interest of the field,
or the country! We can placate for only so long.
Well to those of you who feel it's racist.
Can you tell me how many blacks had a prominent banking role in ANY bank in America?
Historically speaking that is.
If you can provide proof of substantial numbers of blacks historically having leading roles in the Banking Industry, you MIGHT have an argument to stand on.
If not, you're just making a mountain of a molehile, because I don't think race has ANYTHING to do with this campaign.
I looked this up on Google because I also find the item racist. I also happen to know that my bank, a rather large one, Bank of America, is owned by the Japanese. My Daddy was an older, white man. He gave years of his life to fight Hitler and ancestors of people who own my bank! He was by no means wealthy. I would never go to Wamu now. Age 47, F, California, BSIT. Thanks.
I have had accounts with that bank for 24 years (WaMu bought Home Savings). The message the commercials send is VERY clear. Went into the branch and told them that their ad indicates I am not there target customer and closed my accounts. The bank employee did not seem interested, it was the right thing to do. Was disappointed that they were not interest in the least, especially since I banked with them so long. They are not interest in my business. Have suggested to friends that they close accounts too. Hope others do the same!
I have had accounts with WaMu (previously Home Savings) for 24 years which I have closed. Upsetting to me after such a long banking relationship. I encouraged my friends to do the same. When I closed my accounts I told the bank employee that from the commercials I am no longer the bank's target customer--no response or interest. I am glad I took action and will not support this company.
This is not even scratching the surface. The liberal media, for the last several years, and at an accelerating rate, has practically declared war on white males with its representations. Here is a very long thread about it that I posted in a discussion forum - it includes hundreds of examples, and shows the broader picture including movies.
http://www.itsallpolitics.com/anyone-besides-me-tiring-of--vt12811.html
I emailed them the first time I saw one of their bigoted commercials. They gave me a million excuses as to why they feel it is OK to promote hatred of white males, but offered absolutely not one hint of remorse for having completely alienated me as a customer. I will never do business with them for any reason.
The Washington Mutual racist commercials have changed my image of WAMU from good to bad. I will never do business with WAMU based on their poor judgment regarding these racist commercials.
The Washington Mutual racist commercials have changed my image of WAMU from good to bad. I will never do business with WAMU based on their poor judgment regarding these racist commercials.
Yes, most banks' higher-ups are all white.
THAT INCLUDES WAMU!
http://www.wamu.com/about/corporateprofile/executivesandmanagement/default.asp
Which to me makes this even stranger.
Here they are, a bunch of rich white bankers, targeting their TV ads at non-whites (or at least the non-rich) in an attempt to convince them that they, the rich white WaMu bankers, are not like the other banks' rich white bankers. How do they differentiate themselves? By using a black man to represent their white behinds.
Where's the NAACP?
WaMu is no better than other banks...
Look how they treated minorities in the Bronx...
http://www.innercitypress.org/wamu.html
Of course it's racist, but it doesn't matter because it's about white men. In most commercials White men are the "idiots". From now on when you see a commercial ask yourself who is the "idiot".
Also "Red Stripe" is guilty, they still play the commercial where they say "Red Stripe, helping are White friends dance for over 20 years". Could you imagine if they had a commercial with a Black man swimming after a "Red Stripe" in a pool and then they say "Red Stripe, helping are Black friends swim for over 20 years". I didn't think so.
How come these things are not considered racist?
BET (black entertainment)
Black Miss America
African American Golf Digest
What if we make them white?
WET (white entertainment)
White Miss America
White Golf Digest
How come when we simply change a color of something it becomes racist?
Sure most commercials are racist, but don't forget about movies. How come when a white person punches a black person it's racist, but when a black person punches a white person it's funny?
Only a RACIST would see this as RACIST ploy... You think WAMU is owned by blacks? You think WAMU is owned by whites just selling out for $$$? Maybe the real racist color here is green! Not black, white, yellow or brown....
After being offended by these commercials for months now, I finally emailed Wamu to complain. The wamu employee who responded to my complaint told me that minorities and women rate Wamu as a great place to work. They apparently don't care if white men like their commercials.
this seems to be one of the most ignorant blog i've seen in some time. it's amazing to see the outrage from one set of television commercials aimed at the stereotypical white male in controlling banking positions. I wish some of you would actually take the time to research the banking industry and its history. You should also know, there are several existing major banks that has compounded income off the backs of blacks from slavery. But still these banks thrive and there seems to be no blogs on the issue from the NAACP, ACLU or others. I think the commercials are very funny. Bank board members are indeed mainly white, male and have been taking advantage of the working class for years. Have any of you bloggers checked your mortgage statement lately. Have you looked at your banking fees lately. Banks carry an adhesion contract, take it or leave it. And most of us take it. Sure, start a movement to boycott and close your account after 25 years. I'm sure WAMU has made enough of your money and will welcome the young open minded accounts being open daily from this hilarious promotion.
This commercial has some offensive nature in it, but racism is not one of them. The older bankers being white is not that far of a stretch. If one person that is deeply offended could post a name of a minority major bank owner I would agree with you. Truth is old bank owners on the WAMU level were white men.
I do not agree with some of the things that they are the men doing in the commercials, but I would disagree with that no matter what race the men were.
Look at most commercials these days. The idiot is almost always a white male, over 30, slightly bald, slightly overweight and unable to do the most simple tasks. He can't intall a modem or search online for vactions. There is always a woman or minority to show him the way, or show him up.
It's the last racsist target you can throw on air and nothing is done. If you want respect, show respect to all. If It's Ok to slam white guys, then everyone and every stereo type goes back on the table.
Doesn't feel good seeing the shoe on the other foot hunh? That's how AfriKans in AmeriKKKa feel every day time 20. Get over it, you still have and benefit from white privilege and a racist white supremist system.
Washington Mutual's commercial are racist. I am an old white guy and will be moving my hard earned money out of this bank.
Come on! it's a joke! Is it rascist to observe that in the past bank executives have been primarily middle aged white guys? No, its history.
*IF* the country wasn't so stubbornly politically correct for certain races I wouldn't care about this commercial.
What bothers me is the doublestandard. If Brinks home security were to air one of their commercials with a black man breaking into a white person's house we'd see public outrage! In fact, we did. I remember when some member of the British Royal Family (Fergie?) wrote a book for young children containing lots of pictures. One of the pictures had a burgler who was black and all hell broke loose. I think it was actually a pair of burglers where one was even white (but that didn't matter).
I'm also amused by the posts in this thread coming to WaMu's defense. One mentioned "how many black bankers do you know", well, since I bank online I don't know any bankers! You also have to keep in mind this little thing called MATHEMATICS. Black people are a minority and that means they account for something less than 50% of the population. Last I heard it was 12%-13%, so mathematics forces people to know fewer black bankers than other bankers!
We also had the mandatory "White people have all the power" argument. That racist little concept called mathematics again rears its head, but aside from that this argument is false. If I had to cite the names of people with more wealth than me I'm sure I could come up with dozens and dozens black individuals. This "power" argument is something that falls apart when confronted with this evil little thing called logic. First of all, no one here was a slave or a slave owner because they're all dead. Second, the bankers are presented as greedy but here we're told they're racist. So let's assume an intelligent black person applied for a job at their bank. What would the evil white banker do? Work with the black man to feed his lust for money or hire a less qualified individual to feed his lust for white power? I could go on and on with the stupidity of these "whitey has all the power" arguments but I have to get back to work.
I think it's exceptionally weak-willed and tragic that in this age of EXTREME sensitivty for diversity of all kinds, it's still OK in the minds of media, big business and others to target white people for racial cariacatures. They're probably doing so with the assurance that white folks would be the last group to speak up for themselves because of fear of reprisal and liberal guilt. SHAME ON YOU SCUMBAGS!
I just ran across this blog while doing a project for class. For those of you who are closing or refusing to open accounts with Washington Mutual, please stop over reacting. The commercial is racist in that they used a young "hip" Black man to try and draw in "Ethnic" business. I agree that it is racist in that aspect. However when you take the commercial for what it is, the old white men represent those who have historically and traditionally ran and controlled America's banks. Its just that. The point of the commercial is to say that Washington Mutual is breaking from those stereotypes. I'm not arguing that they went about doing so in a P.C. way. But I am really bothered by the comments I've read by some bloggers. WAKE UP. AMERICA IS WHITE. It will take centuries for this country to break from that. Institutionally those who structured this country were upper class White males and they tailored every aspect of America to function acordingly to their views. Regardless of how much other Ethnicities are a part of this country, WHITE people are still the most priveleged. That is just the way of our nation that is embedded in the soil. Our generation is the most progressive but we still don't have the power to rub out the institutionalized racism that lies under the very foundation of the U.S. I pray the generations that follow us can get the job done. I don't want my children growing up in a world like this.
They are extremely racist. The one with the pen of the bankers' wives also bordered on anti-semitic as well (the women were all dressed/made up in gross charictiture like mike meyers middle-aged jewish character Linda Richman on Coffee Talk on SNL).
The real funny thing, though, is that WaMu's executive leadership is all middle-aged, all white and mostly male(10 men and 2 women).
http://www.wamu.com/about/corporateprofile/executivesandmanagement/default.asp
They are a disgusting company on all fronts.
Definitely racist! Can you imagine what would have happened if the scenario were reversed?
ACLU would be all over this.
What is the white middle class male version of ACLU?
I contacted WAMU about this rascist commercial several weeks ago, and got a lame excuse. This is the most rascist commercial I have ever seen!!!I know now what it must have been like to be a jew in 1930's Berlin , trying to decide when to leave Germany. I am a white male Christian and i have those same concerns about America today. A friend of my mine's son got 2350 out of 2400 on his SAT's, had a 4.7 GPA, went to one of the top high schools in the world,(Loyola high School in LA) but was denied access to an education at the best schools in America, while the hispanic mayor of LA's son who got a 2.7 GPA got into Princeton. The handwriritng is on the Wall!!
This is really not new. Have you ever seen an ADT or Brinks commercial with anyone other than a white man breaking into the house? Ads have been portraying white men as crooks and idiots to sell their products to women and minorities for years. It must be working. Soon they'll just say "We think white men are stupid too. So buy our product".
why do they allways show diversity when it is showing somthing postive.but when they shown somthing negivite like a bunch of greedy bankers.they are allways the eveil white mail.i will never bank there unless they show other races. there should be a law suite cause its really rude......brandy browning
The WAMU commercials are obviously racist and part of the double standard going on in this country by the media that targets white males as either stupid or evil. As far as I'm concerned, Washington Mutual is the last bank I would ever consider doing business with.
all I see here is a bunch of cry babies. The messege WaMu wants to portrait is Historicaly correct. Whites started the banking system here in America which by the way it sucks!! the Feds and the government got together to really ruin our economy. "whites" are used to the old banking ways, which to everybodies surprise its changing little by little look at europes economy, we should be ashamed. I don see nothing racist, just politically correct. Im color blind because my parents raised me right. I get the humor in it and moved on. IF you are going to sit here and analize every little detail on race, YOU are the racist one. I only see Green here. We associate white man as bankers, like we associate blacks with basket ball, orientals with martial arts, hispanics with Tacos and burritos. SO what? its funny and its true. The only messege I see is that Wamu is diversifying the banking industry and getting rid of the old baking ways. I love WaMu Im not black, Im not a minority. Im a US citizen that fought for this country and know when racism crosses the line and that my friends has not. So get a life. Life is to short to be trying to cry...and another thing its white man creating this commercials not blacks so you white men are doing it to yourselves. And if every white man wants to close teir checking account, so what you are a small piece of the pie. Stop trying to always take credit for eeverything and stop racism. I love whites and blacks and hispanics and asians and we are a melting pot and Im happy. CANT WE ALL JUST GET ALONG?? LAUGH IT UP. I AM AND SO ARE ALL MY WHITE FRIENDS, THEY WERE THE FIRST TO LAUGH AT THAT COMERCIAL...
"If you're wondering who the actual executives are at WAMU, look at this link:
http://investors.wamu.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=101159&p=irol-gov
ALL of them are older white men except 2 older white women.
So where's the young, hip, in-touch, down to earth black man that's calling all the shots?"
Thank you. The bank is white run, the ad agency is white run. Looks to me as if you all have a beef with some other white people. Somebody here even said the ad is targeted at blacks. What? This is WAMU's main ad campaign. You think they are directing it at less than 15% of the population?. Come on, now. As I said, you don't have a beef with blacks here. However, if some of you want to want to waste time and energy by focusing it on the wrong target, have at it. Not my problem.
I was also wonderng if wamu commercials were offensive to other people or not. I had a good view of washington mutual but after the bullshit they have been putting in their commercials I will not be doing ANY business with them. I am a REALTOR and I have a big impact on where my clients go for their loans. I will recommend against WAMU for all my clients. It's not just the fact that they are all white and the good guy is black, it's the fact that they make the white guys look like complete idiots and morons as well as "bad bankers". It's wrong and I want a formal apology on national television, or I will take this to the supreme court as a civil librities violation and as a hate crime, which it is, deliberitly singling out a race and attacking them on many levels on national television.
There is a VERY similar ad from Intel that was to air this year but was pulled because it had 6 black in a kneeling position around a white man. That ad was pulled because it was considered racist yet the WAMU ads go on as its no big deal. Why is racism a one way street? The WAMU ads are CLEARLY as or more racist than teh Intel one.
This commercial enrages me! It is definitely racist. For those who don't think so, just imagine if it were reversed....Imagine a corral of black bankers herded together and 1 white banker addressing them in the same manner as the young black banker does in the ad. If this version were aired, there would be a flood of controversy and it would be pulled.
Stop reading more into the commercial than is there, stop being a racist.
You people need to quit whining. Don't you know you have no right to? Only those I agree with have the right to speak out. When we come into power you will all be in the Gulag or the killing fields.
I would never consider banking with WAMU due to their stupidity in thinking these commericals are good marketing. They are very racist. I don't care if the owners of the company are black, white, or yellow... these commercials are offensive to white people. I hope this kills WAMU's business... they deserve it for making such a bad call.
Come on everyone there is Racism on absolutely everything if you look hard enough!! Have you checked out WAMU products, have you gone beyond just complaining?? I have had accts at several banks and can find none that is more reasonable. If you don't have an acct then my guess is that you weren't planning on having one anyway, so your boycott will not be a problem. Go ahead get an acct at another bank. They will love to have your fee income, I guess you showed WAMU!!!
I wrote WAMU about their racist commercials and all I got was a feeble explanation that their commercials were targeted to a
"youthful demographic..." It should have read "ignorant demographic,"
as in the young good student masses being indoctrinated daily that every evil in the world comes from straight, white, patriotic, Christian males..Beyond the lame explanation, I am now on their damn mailing list...which, since they know my stance regarding their company, seems a bit like harassment...Look at it like this:
Let's say the roles were reversed and a black guy was offended by a racist commercial...Would said black guy wish to receive a bombardment of mail from the racist company that offended him? Could he not then take the offending party to court and successfully win a lawsuit? I believe HE could...Meanwhile, "Mr. Evil" whitey me still gets a mailbox full of WAMU garbage each week..Double standards will NOT change the racism game...
you people are a bunch of morons your reading into a commercial as if it was an Oscar nom by Tarantino for the hidden message the "old white guys" are a focus group, if they don't like it its a good idea how racist do u have to be to conger up the conclusion you drew to the commercial? if the "good banker" was Hispanic or Asian would you have said the same? i bet ya wouldn't and lets say that they secretly put the black guy in there to in some slight way "stick it to the man" white people enslaved black people for most of history so if they wanna poke a lil fun in the form of a silly commercial so what grow up people stop being racist because if u continue to be so i your kid will bring home what ever prejudice you have and just so your not questing it I'm 100% Caucasian.
I have moved my accounts. I dont need my bank to be discrespecting me and my family.
I can't wait for the day when we can make fun of blacks again.Im' sorry African Americans. And to be fair, all the races' right now its only pc to make fun of white people. Heres some things you should know. If there's a commercial on t.v. with a man and women, the man is the idiot. If it's a man women and small child, it can be the child is a genius and the parents are fools, or the child and mother snicker at the pityfull father. The rate goes' way up if it is mother daughter against father! The female can be made foolish if the man is of color however ,this is rare. Just remember guy's(1. white man = evil, stupid, bad .(2. Women(no kid) = smart, crafty, good. (3.People of color = hip, modern, in the know, smarter than all white people male or female. Even little genius white kids that roll their eyes at there idiot father! You can't go wrong with this formula. Wait until you see the next commercial of a white guy rapping and see if it's done in a favorable light.
January 17, 2008
WaMu Swings to $1.9B Loss
WaMu is paying the price for their racist commercials that were thoughtless. Most people want to do their banking with reliable companies that are NOT experimenting with racist commercials.
Please take your white supremecy comments back to west virgina and tell your mother who happens to also be your sister to see if she cares. because 99.99999999999% of people who watch these commercials see no racial overtones.
I'm glad I'm not the only one who noticed the racial biasing. Black actors are ALWAYS portrayed as the one who made the better product decision or the one who maintains compusure while whitey looks like an idiot, etc. A few examples:
KFC: white mother jealous of black neighbor because she can get her family around the dinner table for quality family time.
McDonald's: Well-dressed black roommate getting ready for work while lazy, sleepy, sloppy white roommate asks "what's work?" referring to him not having a job.
Ford: Silly, sloppy, fat, nude white guy telling his window blinds to "shut." They don't close of course and he's caught in an embarassing situation by his black next door neighbor who just shakes his head in disapproval.
Kodak: White and black girl friends go to Rome and of course the black girl was the smart one who chose Kodak film. The white girl's photos came out blurry.
Staples: The white office worker is freaking out because they ran out of copier toner. The black office work calmly nods to the white woman to hit the Easy Button. The white guy dissappears behind the rotating wall and is replaced with a black, helpful Staple's associate who hands the toner to the white woman. The wall rotates 180 again and the white guys return. All is back in order thanks to the two black guys and one white girl. The nerdy white guy can calm down now.
Travelocity: A white female boss breaks the news to a white male that he is being replaced by their colleauge (a black guy) for an important business trip. The white guy is portrayed as a complete moron. There is a variation of this where the black male boss tells the white guy he's being replaced by a white woman for the trip. In both cases though, it's the white guy who is getting passed over.
Please, I can go on and on and on and on. I do realize how this sounds...but now that I have brought it up, if we are truly supposed to be colorblind, why is it that advertisers make a conscious decision to always portray blacks making the better decision or choosing the superior product, etc? If we are supposed to be color blind, wouldn't the outcome be random and come out close to 50/50? You'll say I'm racist, but you too will start noticing this from now on. Think about it. The advertisers are consciously making sure blacks are portrayed as smarter and whites as stupid or idiots and that is what is truly racist. So, in effect, they are consciously making their marketing decisions based on race. How is that colorblind?
ummm... has anyone considered that this a commercial, aimed at people... using people... what if color doesn't matter? what would America do if racism didn't exist? We'd all kill eachother!!! this WaMu commercial uses a young, charismatic man(who happens to be black) to appeal to new potential customers in the college age group, people who have the same views as you! except the expect people to have more of a sense of humor and less of a conspiracy complex. its that simple.
I agree they are racist. But then when ever someone needs to look like an idiot on a commerial, it is always a white guy. You might disregard this out of hand but if you actually pay attention you will find it is true. Here is a test for you. For one week pay attention to all the commercials you watch. Notice notice every commercial when someone looks ignorant or idiotic and take note of there race and sex. Tally them up at the end of the week and you will see the white male wins hands down.
Have none of you worked in the banking industry, or know nobody in the banking/investment world? The fact is that the power brokers at the banks and brokerages are NOT all white men. There are lots of women, lots of asians, lots of middle easterners, and a few black people. This point is directed at the apologists who seem to think these WAMU commercials aren't racist because they depict "reality." Well, they don't. I live in New York City, the banking and brokerage capital of America. Citigroup's new CEO, for example, is Vikram Pandit, a man of Indian descent. The apologists here have no clue what they're talking about.
You're retarded because while I hate WAMU, your remarks are utterly stupid. You poor poor white people have so much going against you don't you you poor poor dears. Who the f--k is buying that bull S--t the whole country is run and owned by whites dick head.
Well the laugh is on WAMU, today they sold to JP Morgan, after the feds seize control and sold them. This bank acted like a minority owned bank and the advertisement was similar to all the Church's Chicken, TV ads, also a minority owned company. I suspect that the ad agency that put together their ads were attempting to appeal to the executives of WAMU. Hence the style of ad.
Hollywood, the left wing media and the advertising executives are nearly ALL left wing extremist Jews, atheists, homosexuals and other freaks of nature. They hate white males, especially conservative white males from the South. As long as these bastards hold all the cards in Hollywood and New York, racism against white males will go on.
So delighted this led to WAMU's downfall and that now they are owned by Chase. The commercial played a big part of it, nothing else. I hope the sarcastic little man who was spokesperson for the Metro PCS commercials too will never speak in another commercial. He should not. And for those of you black racists that call people morons for thinking this is racist, you yourselves are racist, leading tunnel-visions lives that don't go past the borders of your own race. That is truly mornoic.
All we have to do is start costing the Brinks/Broadview company money. Just call 'em up. Act like you're interested. Keep a guy on the phone for a half-hour or so. And then abruptly change your mind at the end. If you really wanna cost 'em money, have a sails rep out to your home for a few hours, listen to his spiel, then (all of the sudden) "NO SALE. I canged my mind." If 1000 folks a day wasted that much company time for no financial gain to the company, I'll betcha dollars to doughnuts they'd make more racially balanced TV commericals. After-all, why must my children, which I went off & fought for in Iraq, grow-up feeling ashamed of themselves for the 'crime' of being born white?
Karma Killed WaMu
Did anyone notice that WaMu got what they deserved? All those no-income mortgages came back to bite. Maybe the old white bankers SHOULD have been in charge. HA HA HA!!!
It’s actually very funny to me, regardless of what color I am even if one parent was non-black and the other was. If you think about it, who started the banking system? Who ran the whole thing up until African Americans were actually allowed to work with the money instead of cleaning out the bathroom? Oh well just a thought…
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