Let's just say some white people are totally clueless.

racist?
are they real. thats the question...

Regarding their intentions: Given that this is an ad for their underwear, I think it's ultimately nothing more than an extremely crass method of advertising. Playing off of people's oppression in a very lukewarm, weak show of empathy (or appropriation and commodification of an oppressed minority's countercultural expressions - if that was even there in the first place) is ultimately doing NOTHING to further social justice in any form. It's cheap exploitation of a people's suffering.

Also noticing that the human figures used are male - if they've tried to cover the entire spectrum with these (wonder which groups they'll end up leaving out?), I think it's eventually going to get called out when Queer Women of Color and other groups who have multiple/intersectional identities are not represented (not that I think any group is particularly interested in that).

Viewed in another context, these ads could almost work as a brilliant satire critiquing the commodification and (not sure if this would work here, but - ) cultural prostitution that goes on nowadays with movements for equality and social justice. They've cut straight to the "bleeding" point to evoke that raw emotion and power, and totally failed. Understandable, especially when all your actions are tinted by a lens of gaining capital as the ultimate focus.

And I also find it interesting that they show the burden, but they don't show the emotions that come along with it. They show the struggle, but at the same time, I feel like it's almost gendered. The quiet, bleak struggle we all go through is definitely not a male thing, but at the same time, the emotions have been cut down to take out the humanity - these people are being portrayed in that stage we all get to when we're just trying to survive. No tears, no rage, no despair. It's all very sterile.

Perhaps not racist, but certainly ineffective. The slurs in large type seem superflous; it's clear that the concept could have been executed much more clearly through more subtle visual cues. Seeing "NIGGER" and "PAKI" splayed across the top of an underwear advertisement is certainly shocking--which may have been the primary goal of the campaign--but is not critically engaging in the way that the idea behind the ad seems to push. A person of colour is reminded of the enduring strength of the words, but because they are considered so discourteous and anchronistic to white folk, their thoughts of the use of said slurs is mythical: it is either seen as minimal (used only but the few True Racists who still exist) or insiginificant (used in jest). Because racial slurs are no longer seen as problematic, using them as main proof of racial strife seems disingenuous. Again, I do not consider the ads themselves racist, but I do, unfortunately, consider them worthless.

These ads are a graphic example of a concept that I call "arrogant ignorance". The concept is that people in certain positions of power, influence or decision making, automatically feel that they know more than others. The result, over time, is that instead of learning more, the person learns less and less because they feel that they know enough all ready. Consequently, they only learn what others above them feel they should learn and in many cases, those individuals are suffering from the same psychological condition.

The end result is a loss of the ability to critically analyze anything outside of the reference frame in which they have come to operate. Because their sphere of knowledge is restricted, they will dismiss ideas that originate outside that sphere, out of hand. It is the dumbing down of America the way it effects those that we normally see as educated and well to do, and the current generation of 20 to 30 somethings is riddled with it.

The ads are patently stupid, but note that the article states that "Some are going to see these ads and think that they *cleverly* portray the baggage that a person of color feels he has to carry." The ads are stupid because the purpose of advertising is to sell a product. The message is valid but the delivery of the message is stupid because it takes the emphasis from the product and puts too much on the attempt at "cleverly" handling a controversial topic. It is in that attempt at being clever that subsequently creates a dialog that instead of promoting sales of the product, it actually could make people swear off of it that disagree with its vehicle of promotion.

I wear men's underwear and I am also a man of color, and although I haven't had a preference up to this point, I will make sure that I never wear Hanes again. I refuse to support corporations that have the arrogant ignorant in positions of projecting power, and I am intelligent enough to know how to block, defuse, or otherwise destroy their ability to operate in said capacity.

Is this even cause marketing? Is Hanes going to give money to anti-racist groups or the groups affected? Or are they just targeting people's sympathies and not educating them about the real underlying issues that hurt people?

Where's the ad for white folks. I can think of a number of stereotypes for them. If that's not included as one of the ads then I'm labeling this racist.

I doubt the intentions of the ad writer(s) were racist, but the ads themselves are problematic and a very bad idea to say the least.

As Allison points out, it'd be easier to swallow this if they were selling something other than a new for-profit underwear line.