NBC cuts to a commercial of a monkey doing gymnastics immediately after reporting a story about African American gymnast Gabby Douglas winning a gold medal. Racist or unintentional?

by Simmering Frog Posted 2012/08/03 19:17:57

Related Topics: Olympics, Monkey, Racist, Gymnast, Pictures, Commercial, Nbc, Picture, Costa, 2012, Gold, Business, 2011, American

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	Racist	9 votes	35%
	Unintentioanal	17 votes	65%

COME ON NBC!

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democoach 2013/02/12 21:38:23 (edited)

Unintentioanal

lol, first of all that monkey picture is on the rings, girls don't do rings

besides the gymnastics mascot where i live is the monkey

been like that for years if not decades

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libaretardstoo 2012/08/07 05:34:33

Unintentioanal

No matter, how ridiculous somebody always suggests a question like this. Young Miss Douglas' wins a gold metal, following this is a commercial pimping Lord knows what w/a monkey performing mens gymnastic double rings. Give me a break, how pathetic, what an affront to the performances of a remarkable American gymnast.

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Tastentier 2012/08/06 21:33:02

Unintentioanal

From what I gathered, NBC is producing a new TV series called "Animal Practice". One of the animal actors is a monkey called Crystal that has also starred in several movies (The Hangover Part II, among others). The first episode airs in September and NBC has produced a number of promo commercials for the series.

Since the promos would be airing during the Olympics, they thought it would be funny and cute to show various animals that are going to appear in the show as Olympic athletes. For example, in one promo they show a penguin jumping from a diving board into a pool, always something that would come natural to the featured animal. In case of Crystal the monkey, the easiest thing they could train her to do was to hold on to the gymnastic rings.

NBC is rotating the various promos, and Bob Costas and the NBC sports cast had no idea which one would be airing during the commercial break after Costas' mentioning of Gabby. NBC only noticed the bad timing after it was too late and has issued an apology. And since NBC is a liberal network, I really don't think there was any ill intent behind this.

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PDenoli 2012/08/06 17:05:53

Racist

Bottom line is that this was either ignorant-racist or racist-ignorant. That is, someone either did this intentionally or they were incompetent at their job. If you don't think people are paid to prevent this - you're wrong.

Despite all the excuses and explanations that NBC has offered, the bottom line is that NOTHING about the Olympics coverage has been left to chance. There are no magic robot scripts picking ads. Advertisers pay huge sums and NBC is expected to schedule and segue into commercials in a way that maximizes the product placement and impact.

It was either ignorant-racist (i.e. someone with a racial sense of humor thought it was funny), or it was racist-ignorant (i.e. someone paid to screen ads failed to realize that ANY animal performing a sport could insult someone, somehow). I don't personally care either way, I'm just stating facts.

NBC wants you to believe "it just happened". That's utter BS. That's not how a network operates their business normally, and it's *absolutely* not how they operate during key times (sweeps weeks, Superbowl, or any major event such as the Olympics). Just like when politicians "happen to" walk onto talk show stages while insulting music plays. Of course it was planned. Everything is planned.

Does anyone believe network programming isn't micro-managed?

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kgiexec 2012/08/05 21:55:45

Unintentioanal

+1
commercial is preloaded; and if the non-black had won what would it have been then? What is funny to me is how people think. I see a commercial and I think what a crazy funny looking money; but some other nuts think racist and of course not those who are drawing the connection but making the conclusion of others. I'm tired of all the b.s. that goes on out there.

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PDenoli to kgiexec 2012/08/06 17:17:25

I didn't see this until after the association was made, so I have no idea if I would have caught this or seen it this way ...or not. However, once it's pointed-out, it's obviously not something that a network would want to do. The question is whether someone was either really bad at their job, or if they were making a joke at this young woman's expense.

We can't know which it was, but it was either one or the other. Why, because commercials aren't plucked at random. Not normally, and absolutely not during the Olympics!

In my opinion, the screeners "should have" recognized that a commercial that depicts an athlete as a dog, pig, monkey, dodo bird, mosquito, rat, and probably a host of others could offend people of particular races, body types, and nationalities.

I don't say they "SHOULD" have seen this because I think this sort of thing must be done - I don't personally care. I think people are too thin-skinned and easily insulted. However... I do say that they "should" have caught this because there are people who are paid to keep this sort of thing from happening. It is their job.

Just clarifying that it is in that context I am saying "they should do it". Kinda like the reporter at the last Olympics who asked a world famous athlete "Who are you?"

http://www.huffingtonpost....

I didn't see this until after the association was made, so I have no idea if I would have caught this or seen it this way ...or not. However, once it's pointed-out, it's obviously not something that a network would want to do. The question is whether someone was either really bad at their job, or if they were making a joke at this young woman's expense.

We can't know which it was, but it was either one or the other. Why, because commercials aren't plucked at random. Not normally, and absolutely not during the Olympics!

In my opinion, the screeners "should have" recognized that a commercial that depicts an athlete as a dog, pig, monkey, dodo bird, mosquito, rat, and probably a host of others could offend people of particular races, body types, and nationalities.

I don't say they "SHOULD" have seen this because I think this sort of thing must be done - I don't personally care. I think people are too thin-skinned and easily insulted. However... I do say that they "should" have caught this because there are people who are paid to keep this sort of thing from happening. It is their job.

Just clarifying that it is in that context I am saying "they should do it". Kinda like the reporter at the last Olympics who asked a world famous athlete "Who are you?"

http://www.huffingtonpost.com...

Here, she SHOULD have known better. It was her job to know. Hundreds of other reporters who wouldn't have made that mistake would have done anything to have that gig. Somewhere, someone at NBC has a job that someone else could do better - apparently.
(more)

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Professor Wizard 2012/08/03 21:51:29

Unintentioanal

The commercials are loaded up and scheduled LONG before the show starts - - NBC had no idea what would transpire right before the commecial.

What IS Racist - - is anyone who thought it could be after seeing it.... Only a racist would have made the connection.

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Outta' Here. 2012/08/03 19:19:46

Unintentioanal

+1
Don't be silly, it's only racist if Fox does it!

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