Posted on 07/11/2011 7:01:49 PM PDT by qam1
After launching a new TV spot in the vein of its popular "Russian Billionaire" ads, DirecTV has abruptly pulled the commercial from YouTube due to a flood of negative comments.
Posted for only a few days on DirecTV's official channel, the ad by Grey New York sparked heated allegations of racism, reverse-racism, and even elder abuse. As you can see in the clip below, the spot stars fictional boxing champ Tommy "The Truth" Thompson and his entourage, which includes a kid called "Half Truth." The ad might have passed as annoying at worst, were it not for the fact that the spot ends with the little boy sucker-punching the old white butler while everyone else smiles and nods.
YouTube commenters quickly erupted into a debate over whether the ad enforced stereotypes and advocated random violence. One harsh jab suggested, "We should be up in arms and boycott DirecTV because it's not acceptable."
When AdFreak noticed the ad had been pulled, we contacted DirecTV and received the following comment from a brand spokesperson: "The spot was removed from YouTube because the content of the associated posts was developing into an R-rated dialogue that had nothing to do with the spot itself. While we have received a handful of emails on the spot (which is normal), the vast majority of viewers understand that it is nothing more than a tongue-in-cheek comedy piece within the same campaign of other DirecTV ads featuring larger-than-life characters."
To that point, the spokesperson said, the ad's national TV flight "will continue to run as planned."
It goes without saying the reaction would be quite different if a little white boy punched an elderly black butler
I’ve seen the ad but never really paid any attention to it.
I saw this ad today and didn’t even notice the little kid punching the butler. I was fixated on the fact that the only white person in the commercial was portrayed as a servant. I remember thinking, if this was an all white cast with the exception of a black servant, the NAACP would be all over it.
Let alone the outcry if it was an all white entourage and a black butler, sans the punch.
You would think that people who could elect a joke like Barack Obama to the White House would appreciate the humor in ads like this.
Wow. Hyper sensitivity in action. Wow.
And that’s the truth.
Wow. Hyper sensitivity in action. Wow.
And that’s the truth.
I have seen the add. Until now I had not been aware they were selling DTV.
The ad still plays and is disturbing and “That’s the Truth”.
What disgusts me about the ad is that the entire “ebonics speaking” cast keep repeating the word “TROOF” instead of “TRUTH.” That, and the fact that they all seem to be wearing about 50 lbs. of bling each. They are typecasting everyone in the ad and it’s backfiring on them. I didn’t see punching the butler as racist. I saw it as completly disrespectful of the half-pint gangster (who also says “troof”) to punch an adult.
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