first, view this Intel ad. via scary ideas

OK, I'm not going to write much about this advertisement. I just don't think Intel deserves any type of buzz either way for this. But I will definitely think differently about the Intel corporation in the future.

But let's also talk about the agencies in charge of the Intel account. As far as I know, Intel is still with the Interpublic group, and has been since March 2005. I heard Intel had a rocky relationship with McCann Worldgroup, their latest agency of record. While I'm not sure McCann created this ad, I want to find out soon. Honestly, how does this get past anyone? How did the photographer who shot this ad not say, "hey, ummm something doesn't look right man".

I have never had a subtle eye for racism in advertising. There is a lot written about sexism and gender roles in advertising, see here for books, but ads this blatently lopsided rarely appear, in my limited experience.

So what do you do, as a consumer, to stop this type of ad from surfacing? Well first, you strike at the top goals of both the Intel Company and their advertising agency. You stop buying their products. I'm writing this post on a MacBook containing an Intel chip, but you better believe I won't buy another while Intel stands by this ad.

Secondly, tell people how you feel. Write about it on your blog. Write about it on my blog. Write an email to Intel. If you feel strongly about this, spread the word.

Am I going a bit overboard with this? Maybe. There are certainly worse images out there in advertising. And you can see where a creative director could have gotten completely lost with the racing imagery and not noticed the awful implications. But the only way for Intel to fix this is to issue a statement. They have to not only repeal the ad, but replace it with an apology. After all, this gives all advertising a bad name.