asian avenue ran a piece on a recent magazine ad for skyy vodka, including a reprint of the ad.   i was not surprised when i saw the ad -- typical mainstream-american insensitivity at work.

here's a copy of asian avenue's article about the ad, including a letter from skyy vodka to asian avenue.

after reading the rebuttal from skyy vodka, i thought that perhaps their generic attitude toward things "asian" -- a watered-down perception of a part of the world containing many different cultures -- is what ultimately damaged them, even more than the demeaning asian-serves-white stereotype.

my reaction to the piece, posted in asian avenue's member forum, is as follows:

vanishingson on Sun, Aug 29, 1999 @ 15:47 EST wrote:       Skyy`s failed intent Skyy Vodka`s ad fails because the context of the ad was not effectively conveyed to the audience. [Skyy Marketing Director Teresa] Zepeda describes "a young woman traveling through Asia, who stopped in a peaceful spa to receive a massage in the native tradition of that culture." If the composition of the scene had included more specific regional cues, viewers would more likely [have] understood the scene as taking place in a foreign country, and not as a depiction of roles and attitudes with in an American cultural setting, which I suspect is how most of us perceived it. Another red flag goes up from Skyy Vodka`s description of the woman serving the drink as being "Asian, i.e., indigenous to the country." If they wanted to portray an exotic overseas locale, why were they thinking in terms of generic "Asian", and not a specific country or culture? The fact that they conceptualized the scene as simply "Asian" shows an insensitivity [regarding] wanting to send out an accurate message or depiction -- a sad generalization of everything "over there" being [simply] "Asian". I am not surprised that their ad is being severely misinterpreted. For this they should take responsibility and either re-shoot the ad with more specific indigenous cues or retract the ad. -Vince (vanishingson)

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