Participate dammit
I wrote a post a couple of days ago on commenting on blogs when you write a post or an article. Today I came across a clear example of why this needs to happen.
An ad agency out of Portland called WK Studio did some work for Nike on a campaign called hyper dunk. One of the ads has a guy being dunked on and in the process getting a face full of crotch. The ad states “That ain’t right” over it.
WK studio posted about the campaign showing all the posters, they also made comments available and got a barrage of comments on the post, accusing them and their client, Nike, of homophobia. Many other blogs have weighed in on the controversy, and WK Studio has posted another post linking to the Gawker blog which accused them and Nike of homophobia with the title “hypersensitive y’all?”, again a barrage of comments none of which, as far as I can tell, from WK studio.
I’m not of fan of stirring up controversy for the sake of sales. And I’m even less of a fan of not addressing the feelings of commentators on blogs when you’re being accused of being homophobic. Regardless of whether or not the ads are in fact homophobic (I don’t think I’m in a fair position to comment on that) the studio and the brand are responsible for cleaning the air. Instead of fueling the fire, set the record straight, comment on the damn blog posts will you?
It’s actually worse than that, believe it or not.
They do participate (see jcubs comment), but choose to do so sarcastically and not particularly honestly either.
Great post btw. I can see a theme emerging here: ‘what’s really bugging Farhan this week’…
July 25th, 2008 at 1:49 pmGood spot Andrew. Maybe they should block out the comments from the editor/writer as a lot of sites do to highlight their responses.
July 25th, 2008 at 4:00 pmWhy don’t you think you are in a fair position to comment on whether or not the ads are homophobic? The ads are not homophobic, it’s as simple as that.
Why is it assumed that the person doing the slam dunk is a man in the first place? Doesn’t everyone know that the shoe company in question makes shoes so good that even frail women can thrown a slamdunk over the heads of men?
This is about as ridiculous as the Rachel Ray ‘controversy’: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24860437/
July 28th, 2008 at 10:20 pmAs mentioned on the facebook reblog of this comment, don’t think the point is about is this or is this not homophobic, it’s about engaging with the community on a blog post at the onset in a genuine and engaging manner so that your actions and intentions aren’t taken for a ride.
July 29th, 2008 at 1:43 pm