Extreme Localization: Microsoft botched advertising

The software giant's Polish division cuts the face of an Afro-American and replaces it in an ad AGENCIES / New York Times - London / Madrid - 08/26/2009 An advertisement from Microsoft is identical in the U.S. and in Poland, except in a small but striking detail. In the U.S., three characters, an Asian man, one black and one Caucasian female appear smiling from ear to ear above the slogan "Give power to your IT people with the tools they need." But in Poland, a little less concerned about political correctness, the black face, which occupies the center of the ad, has been replaced by a more Polish-looking person. There is no change in the suit or tie. Even the dark hand is the same.

Colored man substituted by white person in microsoft advert with english text and polish text

See original (Spanish) with picture: http://www.elpais.com/articulo/tecnologia/Chapuza/publicitaria/Microsoft/elpeputec/20090826elpeputec_1/Tes The software giant has withdrawn the promotional picture, which began circulating on the Internet on Tuesday, and issued a statement apologizing. "We're investigating what happened," has secured a U.S. company spokesman. Reactions in the web have emerged rapidly following Microsoft's botched advertement. For example, on the Photoshop Disasters blog, which includes all sorts of mishaps related to photo editing.

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