Hard Rock Removes Ad After Accusations That a Guitar-Playing Orangutan Is Offensive

National Review ^ | April 21, 2015

[Steelfish]

Hard Rock Removes Ad After Accusations That a Guitar-Playing Orangutan Is Offensive

Inset: Hard Rock's offending ad

by KATHERINE TIMPF April 21, 2015

Ad was intended to promote new location in Malaysia. Hard Rock Cafe has ended a promotional campaign featuring a Photoshopped picture of an orangutan playing a guitar after facing accusations that the picture was outrageously offensive because the orangutan was playing a guitar.

The ad was intended to promote the chain’s new location in Kota Kinabalu, the capital of the state of Sabah in Malaysia and home to a famous wildlife refuge for the endangered animal. Seeing as Hard Rock Cafe’s symbol is a guitar, and Kota Kinabalu’s symbol is the orangutan, the marketing team probably didn’t think twice about combining the two. After all, they’ve done similar things before — like a raven-guitar combo for the Baltimore location and a bear-ukulele combo for Maui — without having any problems.

[PieterCasparzen]

I mean, really, if a couple of orangutans want to dress up, play guitar and vocalize, I mean, who are we to stop them ?

[BigEdLB]

Yes. Offensive I really see it. /s

[dfwgator]

The guy on the right looks just like Silvio Dante.

[PieterCasparzen]

I once taught a few earthworms how to fish.

[PieterCasparzen]

I once had an orangutan named Bachagaloop. I taught him to say “How YOU doin’” every time I asked him “How you doin’”.

[HerrBlucher]

Orangutans are skeptical
Of changes in their cages

[PieterCasparzen]

You actually can get orangutans to put on glasses and sing, by training them that money is good and then rewarding them with money.

[SaveFerris]

He should be playing a Stratocaster!!!

[RginTN]

if evolution is a fact then why are those who believe in evolution the ones offended to be equated to an ape???

[ApplegateRanch]

♫♪♫Ooook! ♫♪♫ Ook-oook-OOK♫♪♫

Looks like The Librarian paid Hard Rock a visit, and it upset some speciesists.

[Liberty Valance]

[chris37]

[SaveFerris]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=293Irm-vxtE

[cynwoody]

That is offensive. Orangutans generally play the keyboards.

For a keyboard, you need an elephant.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hjsu3SGAdLs

[Bob434]

[[Hard Rock Cafe has ended a promotional campaign featuring a Photoshopped picture of an orangutan playing a guitar after facing accusations that the picture was outrageously offensive because the orangutan was playing a guitar. ]]

Lemme see if I understand this correctly, NY supreme court just granted human rights to some chimps- and this company hard rock shows an orangutan doing human activities, and they find it offensive? Lol- I guess the court tells the chimps “You are now human, just don’t human things or we’ll scream our heads off about it being offensive

[Bob434]

I guess they don’t like Orange “People”

[Slings and Arrows]

As a musician, I am offended. His fingering is terrible.

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[Gene Eric]

>> the picture was outrageously offensive

Outrageously offensive!!! /sarc

I see a primate. What exactly do the Liberals see?

[Berlin_Freeper]

Equal Pay for Monkeys

[Mr_Moonlight]

OK ... so then what's the excuse for this ???