Hey Microsoft, what happened to the black guy?
Software giant Microsoft is apologizing for digitally removing a black man from an ad that ran in Poland. Was this racism or a mirror of Polish society?
Oh, no they didn鈥檛!
Software giant for removing a black man from of an ad that ran in Poland.
The photo 鈥� which ran unaltered in the US 鈥� shows three colleagues sitting around a desk beaming about how much they love Bill Gates鈥檚 products. There鈥檚 an Asian man, a black man, and a white woman.
But someone apparently thought that was a bit too much diversity for Polish tastes.
On the website of Microsoft鈥檚 Polish business unit, the black man鈥檚 head was replaced with a white man鈥檚 face.
Oh, yes they did.
But the image alterer forgot one thing: The white man in the photo still has black hands. Ooops.
The altered image has been a hit on blogs and a bit of a PR problem for Microsoft (thus the apology).
One reader on the blog has an interesting interpretation: 鈥淭he white head and black hand actually symbolise interracial harmony. It is supposed to show that a person can be white and black, old and young at the same time.鈥�
Lest readers of that blog be tempted to think of the move as racist, however, 鈥淢arek from Warsaw鈥� attempts to give a different perspective:
鈥淭here are no black people in Poland and an advert with a black guy directed toward local companies would look unnatural if not stupid. End of the story. 鈥� Whoever calls it racism devalues this world and simply refuses to think before expressing himself. (鈥� or herself, to be politically correct).鈥�
Editors at website are having some fun with the whole affair: They鈥檝e started a contest for the funniest Polish Microsoft head replacement. The best head replacement (chosen by interns) at the end of Wednesday gets a free T-shirt.
Meanwhile, Microsoft says it is searching for who was responsible for the digital image alteration. Perhaps more Photoshop training is in order?