Ikea Stonehenge directions

How to be a Retronaut

time-travel without a time-machine

 

Ikea Stonehenge

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(c) QI Ltd / Faber.
Published in the QI H Annual. Written by Justin Pollard with input from John Lloyd and Stevyn Colgan.
Thank you to Justin Pollard, John Lloyd and Stevyn Colga

The Social Posters by Ryan Atkinson

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Student Post:Is the new 'Super bowl Save the Money- Tibet' Groupon commercial Racist?

by Leah, Deanna and Andrew

If you were one of the nearly 100 million Super Bowl viewers tonight, you would have caught a glimpse of this little gem; One of three controversial advertisements for the newest social savings group, Groupon.

Upon airing, a few people in the room with us gasped and cried, "that was so racist!!"





Now, most of us can agree the commercial was insensitive in it's humor, but we argue the point that it was not, in fact, racist.

The spot begins like a human needs awareness piece but is quickly revealed to be a sad attempt at self-mocking humor. By starting the spot off to pull at your heart strings, we are jolted awake when we are welcomed to join the "host" in indulging our money saving desires over our impulse for empathy. When he continues to cite the amazing savings you can get with Groupon on delicious Tibetan food, despite the political and socio-economic horrors of the Tibetans he JUST explained, we are left feeling empty and selfish about our care for saving money on such frivolous things. Although they are both true, by putting these two realities together, the commercial undermines both.

Now, the blatant labeling of the Tibetans as restaurant owners or as an always suffering people is a generalization, but we do not believe it to be racist. It is not judging Tibetans, nor making sweeping, simplistic statements about them as a culture. It's worst offense is bad taste and a poor combination of a serious topic and a mind-numbingly, short-sighted humor.

Student Post: Intel's Racist Ad

From Leah, Andrew & Deanna

 

 

 

This print ad showing six athletic black men bowing/in the running position for a business causal white guy is innately racist. The headline is more or less saying that you want to maximize the power of your employees, except the employees look like slaves.It seems like whoever was making the ad just took one person and then duplicated it six times which might be easier for production reasons but the lack of diversity in workers makes it seem like only black people are workers. While yes, it seems kenyans always win the marathons you cannot make a print ad like this and having a 6:1 ration of black workers to white boss without raising a few eyebrows. All and all I would call this a failure on Intels creative side.