woke up this morning shocked and embarrassed by this photo. i’m deeply offended and will not be working with @hm anymore... pic.twitter.com/P3023iYzAb— The Weeknd (@theweeknd) January 8, 2018
I believe little kids of all races/ethnic groups should be able to be referred to as "little monkey" with the same amount of (zero) controversy. I don't lose it over controversies like the H&M ad b/c all I see is a black boy with a jungle theme sweatshirt, not automatic insult.— Roy L. Pickering Jr. (@AuthorofPatches) January 8, 2018
Obviously once historical context is considered, I get the whole "blacks were insultingly called monkeys/apes/etc. by racist whites for YEARS" thing. And of course there are bigots who continue to do it to this day. H&M should have known this & acted accordingly. Swap kids/shirts— Roy L. Pickering Jr. (@AuthorofPatches) January 8, 2018
But that's merely putting a band-aid on a direct hit gun wound. Rather than H&M and other advertisers having to tip toe over which kid it's ok to call a little monkey & which one will result in angry think pieces, I'd love for kids to just be seen as differently shaded kids.— Roy L. Pickering Jr. (@AuthorofPatches) January 8, 2018
People should be able to comfortably refer to any kid they want as their little monkey if that kid happens to spend a bunch of time hanging from jungle gyms at the park. It's a standard operating procedure childhood activity with no racial distinctions. Just go to any park & see.— Roy L. Pickering Jr. (@AuthorofPatches) January 8, 2018
That's my own personal version of MLK's Dream. I'm old enough to remember when Howard Cosell got himself in big trouble describing Alvin Garrett. I never believed that Cosell had malicious intent & I'm not about to yell at H&M either.— Roy L. Pickering Jr. (@AuthorofPatches) January 8, 2018
Cosell's remark was a slip of the tongue that couldn't be retracted once released in spur of moment. H&M had the benefit of all the time in the world to decide which kids would pose with which messages on which hoodies. They did what they did anyway. I wonder why. On purpose?— Roy L. Pickering Jr. (@AuthorofPatches) January 8, 2018
If on purpose: Why? To insult every single potential black purchaser because they only see money as green when handed to them by white people? Because across the board of H&M ad reviewers they're legitimately that clueless? Or to stir the pot & draw extra attention to themselves?— Roy L. Pickering Jr. (@AuthorofPatches) January 8, 2018
I don't know. I don't even much care, really. I remain capable of seeing a black kid reading a book & not thinking of monkeys, and of seeing a white kid hanging from a branch & thinking "look at that 'little non-literal monkey' having a blast". No insult intended towards either kid.
In this case I mostly see the point of those who are pissed at the ad because it's too hard to believe H&M didn't know better, that they didn't realize the nerves that would be hit. Certainly there are a fair number of people who see these things before someone presses send for it to go live. Not a single person at H&M voiced concern over how the photo would be perceived, particularly in this day and age, with amateur self-appointed PC police carefully scanning social media for any misstep? They had to know people would take offense and raise a fuss over this. Either they didn't care (highly unlikely) or they were courting the obvious response it would elicit. Bad publicity is better than no publicity? Like I said, I don't pretend to know H&M's motives nor do I much care. It's all too deju vu. I've seen this movie quite a few times before. The end is not going to take me by surprise AT ALL.
Every year there seems to be at least a handful of upset reactions to ads that are viewed as racial insults rather than some company simply trying to sell a product. Sometimes I see the anger as valid but often I view it as overreaction that says more about person than advertiser— Roy L. Pickering Jr. (@AuthorofPatches) January 8, 2018
Remember WAY over the top reactions to the ad (Gap, I think) with a bunch of kids in a row, and one girl (white) happened to have an arm leaned on head of another girl (black), so Twitter lost its mind? Totally innocent pose made even more so when we learned the girls are sisters— Roy L. Pickering Jr. (@AuthorofPatches) January 8, 2018
I didn't think piece on that one, merely SMH rigorously at why anyone would take offense. But I did jot some musings down about the Vogue cover controversy https://t.co/DA2eU78iUj & the Essence cover controversy https://t.co/xlluIN7K51 back in the day.— Roy L. Pickering Jr. (@AuthorofPatches) January 8, 2018
And let us not forget the "Re-Civilize Yourself" Nivea ad that pissed folks off. Referenced it towards end of this post at A Line a Day - "Here I Am...OR...Hair I Am" https://t.co/KLrpPl6L0g— Roy L. Pickering Jr. (@AuthorofPatches) January 8, 2018
Buy your kid a t-shirt with whatever message on it u want. If u can think of something cooler than what you see being offered, ordering custom designed t-shirts is extremely easy with no shortage of options. Put "my kid is a king" or "Oprah 2020" or whatever the hell u want on it— Roy L. Pickering Jr. (@AuthorofPatches) January 8, 2018
Here's a suggestion - Here's another.
When a clothing advertisement legitimately pisses me off because it seems aimed to racially alienate, I'll let you know. For now my focus is on the bigots that voters let into the White House, & on those who who influence decision making process from right outside the door.— Roy L. Pickering Jr. (@AuthorofPatches) January 8, 2018
And now for the "ending" that could be seen coming a mile away...
H&M apologizes for 'Coolest Monkey' sweatshirt ad featuring black child https://t.co/RIWlqHXR4O #FoxNews— Roy L. Pickering Jr. (@AuthorofPatches) January 8, 2018
Amazes me how quickly the power of social media can make a company apologize and plead for mercy, yet when it came to getting the right person elected president a year ago, it was powerless. Minor accomplishments got folks puffing out chests while the achievements that most matter stay undone.
Why that Winona Ryder shampoo commercial stirred up such a frenzy: https://t.co/T6DQreyMUk pic.twitter.com/PZXg9oz3mJ— Slate (@Slate) January 8, 2018
Y'all really need to stop overthinking these ads. The purpose of ALL of them if to get people to buy their sh*t. That's it. https://t.co/S1oQREs0WN— Roy L. Pickering Jr. (@AuthorofPatches) January 8, 2018
Brands have figured a new marketing strategy. Outraging the black community by being insensitive/controversial so we can speak about it, and make them trend... it keeps happening. Especially cos they know no one really stops buying, the 'boycotts' all end online. https://t.co/cjZNuOfnpc— your daddy (@iEatGreymatter) January 8, 2018
Bingo! https://t.co/YvsV97XUGS— Roy L. Pickering Jr. (@AuthorofPatches) January 9, 2018
https://t.co/xFwifbI78t First time I'm seeing full context rather than just snippet meant to stir online outrage. Would I have signed off on this ad? Maybe not. Did it inspire me to launch a faux boycott? No, not remotely. Reminds me of low tech Michael Jackson video is all.
— Roy L. Pickering Jr. (@AuthorofPatches) January 27, 2018
I am WAY more disturbed by that Logan Paul idiot than I am by H&M. I'm the father of an 11 year old. She knows she's no monkey & kid in coolest monkey in jungle hoodie wouldn't bother her at all. She loved Logan Paul's videos. That shit legit influences her & her peers. Asshole!— Roy L. Pickering Jr. (@AuthorofPatches) January 11, 2018
Mother of #HM hoodie model responds to backlash, tells us to 'get over it' https://t.co/BBlEJwbheD pic.twitter.com/bl1UF3mzLT— Blavity (@Blavity) January 10, 2018
South African protesters trashed H&M stores in response to a 'racist' ad pic.twitter.com/tUTV40H1M8— NowThis (@nowthisnews) January 13, 2018
All of the H&M t-shirt backlash reminds me of that time I was inspired to write about a FASHION STATEMENT https://t.co/nR4qwELLul— Roy L. Pickering Jr. (@AuthorofPatches) January 9, 2018
Watch Weekend Update: Eddie Murphy on the First Black Astronaut from Saturday Night Live on https://t.co/3cYfnP8EuG — https://t.co/uvmn2sC91T— Roy L. Pickering Jr. (@AuthorofPatches) January 11, 2018
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