The marketing and design crews at Adidas were found asleep at the wheel this week while they're latest over priced shoe was distributed for sale. Produced in a limited run of 1,000 pairs, the Adidas "Yellow Series Y1 Huf" shoe retails at $250 (£143).
Promptly, the complaints came pouring in over a new trainer that some say features a racist cartoon image. I'd say. How more blatant could it be??? The offending footwear includes a yellow picture of an Asian youth with bowl-cut hair, pig nose and buck teeth.
And what has been the shoe giant's response?
An Adidas spokeswoman told the San Jose Mercury News that the company "appreciates all self-expression" and "had no intention of offending any individual or group".
Excerpts from the article...........
"It's very sad and disturbing that in this day and age, this stereotype is coming from a large and global company like Adidas," said Vincent Pan, executive director of Chinese for Affirmative Action in San Francisco.
The trainer has also been criticised in internet discussion rooms.
Huf owner Keith Hufnagel dismissed the accusations of racism as "internet garbage".
"They should do their studying before they say anything," he added, referring to the image's previous anti-racist use.
Yet Aimee Baldillo of the Asian American Justice Centre argued that "slapping a Chinese face on a sneaker removes it from that context."
Next month? They are considering the newest batch of "must have" shoes with a picture of Mohammed on the tongue. Sweet. Better run for cover..............
Promptly, the complaints came pouring in over a new trainer that some say features a racist cartoon image. I'd say. How more blatant could it be??? The offending footwear includes a yellow picture of an Asian youth with bowl-cut hair, pig nose and buck teeth.
And what has been the shoe giant's response?
An Adidas spokeswoman told the San Jose Mercury News that the company "appreciates all self-expression" and "had no intention of offending any individual or group".
Excerpts from the article...........
"It's very sad and disturbing that in this day and age, this stereotype is coming from a large and global company like Adidas," said Vincent Pan, executive director of Chinese for Affirmative Action in San Francisco.
The trainer has also been criticised in internet discussion rooms.
Huf owner Keith Hufnagel dismissed the accusations of racism as "internet garbage".
"They should do their studying before they say anything," he added, referring to the image's previous anti-racist use.
Yet Aimee Baldillo of the Asian American Justice Centre argued that "slapping a Chinese face on a sneaker removes it from that context."
Next month? They are considering the newest batch of "must have" shoes with a picture of Mohammed on the tongue. Sweet. Better run for cover..............
1 comment:
well...sure someone has sent a pair of the shoes to the Chinese officials. good luck getting into China now. idiotic of adidas to offend a potentially billion market. remember what happened with Nike. they will learn soon enough.
Post a Comment