George Takei’s New Sharp Commercial: Funny or Offensive?

By Linda | Tuesday, March 23, 2010 | 35 Comments

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I normally ignore 99% of electronics ads on TV, not only because I have no use for most of its products, but I can’t afford them and most of the technology goes right over my head.

It’s hard to ignore the latest commercial from Sharp Electronics, which stars George Takei of Star Trek fame. He plays a Sharp engineer introducing the latest technology for television called Quattron, which adds a fourth pixel color, yellow, to the standard RGB (red, green and blue) color system. No, I don’t have a clue what that all means.

What I do know is how confused I was by the end of the commercial. George Takei, an Asian American actor, is introducing a yellow pixel. Is this supposed to be tongue-in-cheek? Should I be mildly offended–I’m not sure I am–or should I laugh it off because if George Takei thinks it’s funny, then it’s okay? The ad is actually quite humorous and George is great in it.

What do you guys think?

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EntertainmentTV

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csc3

nope
theotheryoshi

really? you read that much subtext into this commercial? really?

i think it’s just goofy.
LindaChan

Honestly, I didn’t know what to think. That’s why I wrote this post–to see if anyone else had thoughts about this. Maybe I really am the only person who thought…Asian guy…yellow pixel…coincidence? :-/
http://www.littleyellowdifferent.com ErnieAtLYD

I will also join the “we’re reading too much into this” camp, although I’m a little curious how the new “yellow” pixel help any from a technology standpoint, since you can already pull off the yellow color using red and green pixels. Have people just not noticed the color yellow enough now?

But yay for George Takei for being in the commercial! Way less douchey than Shatner, me thinks.
jonbonbon

I thought about the “coincidence” here.

Then I realized it’s the same as having a white guy in a commercial advertising a (white) Mac.
johnklin

What is a white Mac? I guess the Macbook comes in white. I don’t think we ever see a Mac in any Apple ads unless its for laptops. But usually it’s the aluminum cased ones.

As for George Takei – has he been in many other TV commercials? Maybe he is also a spokesperson in Japan for Sharp? (According to his Wikipedia entry, he is fluent in English, Japanese and Spanish). I’m sure Takei is recognized in Japan because of Star Trek, thus killing two birds with one stone as they say for the major markets of U.S. and domestic Japanese market. At least I hope that is the explanation.

@Ernie – Shatner’s tv ads are supposed to be campy – Shatner is a campy person…
Bad_Karma

Not offended at all…just enjoy the ad at face value.
makeitso

The earlier post is correct. RGB technology is fine on its own, and red and green pixels to reproduce yellow. However, by adding the yellow pixel, the TV can produce a wider range of colors in the range where red and green are being mixed. It also improves the contrast ratio of the TV within that color range. Everything from the orange-red of a sunset to the yellow-green of a tropical leaf, will show more vibrant and with greater detail.
ozstyle311

George Rules I love when he goes on the howard stern show… Howard jump-starts everyone’s career that he comes in contact with!

I didn’t even notice the yellow / asian reference, I think that’s purely coincidence.

Go George & Go SIRIUS!
http://www.jozjozjoz.com jozjozjoz

George Takei is my hero.
bill poon

What? Funny, not offensive. Besides, if it was offensive, does that mean Asians can’t endorse any type of yellow product. I don’t even like lemons.
jameswoods9

I think funny and offensive are not mutually exclusive terms.
jameswoods9

I don’t think the terms funny and offensive are mutually exclusive.
vivagypsy

I never even thought of it as Yellow and Asian…I just saw it as funny.
vivagypsy

I did not see this offensive at all…I just saw him introducing a new color…
He was great in it…
http://www.facebook.com/elsongs Elson Trinidad

I’m Asian and was not offended at all.

But then again I’m an Asian of the brown variety
http://twitter.com/rfmonk 陶明瀚

It’s good to see–judging from the comments–that most people weren’t offended.For the record I’m a regular follower of this blog, I’m white, and I love Asian culture and people.

If they make a black pixel maybe they will cast Benjamin Sisko, or Chakotay for a brown one.

My initial reaction was that they used a Star Trek actor to make the association of a future technology, I probably would have missed the point of an Asian man introducing a yellow pixel had you not pointed it out.

Regards, Stuart 陶明瀚
LindaChan

About a month ago, as blogged about here on 8Asians, some Asians in Atlanta found it offensive that the subway line going through Chinatown was named the “yellow line.” So while I enjoyed this Sharp commercial, and applaud the fact that it stars an Asian actor, I do wonder where the line is drawn between “yellow, Asian, coincidental” and “yellow, Asian, not-so-coincidental (and maybe offensive).” My intent was not to give my opinion (if you read my post again, you’ll see that I don’t give my opinion), but merely to raise the question for the readers of this blog.
http://nikkeiview.com/blog Gil Asakawa

I agree that there’s a possible subtext here (and yes, I’m aware that people will claim we’re being overly sensitive), and that it’s maybe tongue-in-cheek. I doubt that it’s unintended. Someone somewhere along the line must have noted the irony of having an Asian talk about yellow…. However, the commercial wins me over because George is just, well, funny/odd/great/insane-looking. I love it when he yelps out and his jaw drops. It cracks me up every time. One of these nights when I find the time to return to blogging, I’ll add this to my list of things to write about.
erika888

It’s kinda like the fiasco with the yellow subway? line going through Chinatown — I didn’t associate his race with the yellow pixel the first time I saw the commercial and I highly doubt many tv audiences did either. Mind you, this is coming from a person who loves analyzing pop culture and advertisement. There is a lot of really sexist/racist bullshit out there, but this one is pretty minor.
Pingback: Mr. Sulu, Please Take Us to Yellow Pigment | are you here to rock?
hope321

I thought the commercial was funny/interesting, but did wonder about the color/race part of the commercial. Since the use of color/race in comedy is common, it immediately jumped out at me– a non-Asian. I also thought about the incident in Atlanta with the yellow line, and therefore googled to find this blog to see if anyone from the Asian community was offended. I think the commercial walks a narrow line. I think that the writer wrote the commercial with an Asian in mind to deliver in a comedic way, and Geoge Takei was perfect…
http://twitter.com/disaffected20 Rick

Honestly, though I am not Asian, I did not make any connection at all between anything. I just saw somebody as a scientist introducing a new technology. I thought it was George, so I googled it (which is how I found this page!).

So, from somebody not Asian (and I’m not sure if I am the exception or the rule), I (we) don’t find it offensive because the thought never crossed out mind, never connected yellow with a race. Not sure you should read anything at all into it–not tongue-in-cheek, not laugh it off, not anything, because maybe George is just a new spokesperson for a company.

But hey, that’s just my opinion based on my reaction.
JoeViturbo

I think that if you’re offended by this you’re trying to be offended by it. I honestly believe that Takei was chosen for the commercial because no one involved associated the color yellow with Asians. They’ve forgotten about the offensive stereotype and you should too. It’s like Randal’s use of “porch monkey” in Clerks II. It wasn’t a racist term for him so he couldn’t understand why people were getting so angry when he used it.
rebob87

Holy crap, I didn’t think about that until you said it. As a matter of fact, my most recent memory of ‘George Takei’ news was that he came out as being homosexual, so as I read your post I thought “what does the color yellow have to do with being gay”.

Dude – you are making WAY too much out of this. The US president is African American, the worlds best GOLFER (a sport that is notorious for restricted clubs) is Asian/African American. Time to get over the ‘race’ and ‘ethnic’ arguments. The “White Male” is more discriminated upon than any other race/gender these days.
kimiye

Yellow is beautiful. *pump raised fist*
dingoinde

You are way too sensitive. I think they wanted a personality that would catch peoples attention on multiple layers. Depending on your level of knowledge of George Takei, the commercial easy either very straight forward a guy that looks like an engineering showing you a technology that your current tv can not do justice. If you know him more by reputation, the commercial is even more effective. Even the fact that you may percieve it as a slight is probably not by accident. But the goal of advertising is to get your attention. They succeeded.
On a purely technical note, this is a remarkable idea. The human eye is several times more sensitive to yellow than red or green, and barely sensitive to blue. (It has to do with us living under a yellow sun) Actual accuity with blue is very bad we don’t see it with much resolution. This should provide remarkable picture. I have been trying to find one that is running to get an idea of the improvement.
But I have to admit I didn’t recognize Takei the first time I saw the commercial, and on the second run, I had everyone in the house asking me why I was laughing so hard.
LindaChan

Future commenters: Please read my post carefully before jumping down my throat. I never said I was offended. In fact, I said the opposite: “I’m not sure I am.” Thanks!
http://www.simontsui.net/ Simon

I didn’t get the “Asian actor introducing yellow pixels” reference until just now.

The most I assumed was that George Takei was once a Star Trek actor, so it was appropriate for someone like him to introduce supposedly new technology.

I was more interested in how another pixel color would really affect my television viewing.
MsFanDustin

How anybody could even find something offensive in this is beyond me. In fact, it’s more creepy than offensive. That’ “Oh my!” is easily the creepiest thing on TV.

If anybody is offended by this, they were looking to be offended by something. This is in no way offensive.
Kamaboko

I hate this commercial. I’m a sansei. I’ve always hated the way Asian men have been portrayed on both the big screen or the little screen: gangster, English challenged, camera toting sex crazed tourist, fortune cookie spouting old wise man. And now I have to hear creepy George Takei say…”oh my…” just about every time I watch TV, no matter what the channel. When was the last time you saw an Asian man in a relationship with an Anglo woman? Despite the fact that there are fourth, fifth and sixth generation Asian-Americans, that type of relationship is still taboo on screen, although it is a reality in this country. Do you really think that George’s performance enhances any woman’s impression of an Asian man? I’m sick of the caricatures…I’m sick of this creepy commercial.
trekkie4laughs

thanks for that last line. white (i’ll add middle class) men are probably the most discriminated against if only by way of every other demographic being given preference in one way or another. i for one have long stood for equality, but equality does not mean helping one group and not another. it means equal assistance (or not) for all groups EQUALLY.

to get back on topic, i love the commercial. it did take me a second viewing to recognize Mr. Sulu… but it was very funny the first time and every time since. a commercial that makes me laugh and enjoy watching it is worth being on tv, unlike most others. i never once associated yellow (pixels, no less!) with asian people, but rather saw an asian engineer presenting the latest audio/visual technology. stereotype? sure, but one founded on fact. no other place in the world does electronics like asia. (that is a compliment, in case anyone wonders.)
dougmillhoff

I find it just plain sad. An underrated actor lowering himself to do a cheesy commercial.
And I agree with the guy who said the “oh, my…” is a bit creepy. Not homophobic or racist. Just a little demeaning and…creepy. I don’t think his being gay has anything to do with anything, and if anyone is suggesting they hired an Asian because the pixel is yellow, well, I doubt that even occurred to the marketing team behind the ad.

Not sure what the yellow pixel is supposed to do since the human eye sees in RGB, not RGBY.
http://www.facebook.com/smackie9 Beverley Jones

This political correctness has gone too far. Why can’t we rib each other with out persecution. The commercial is funny, lets all enjoy it’s humor.
wickedsam

Umm…

ABOUT THE COMMERCIAL:
* Without a doubt one of my favorite commercials ever.

* Super funny, and I doubt any other actor could have pulled it off.

* I just thought he was some actor till I watch Wrath of Khan for the first time today… Recognised him, and then came upon this wonderfully ridiculous page!

* I did not catch the “asian introducing yellow” at all, but maybe because I am from South Africa and don’t know ANY of the slurs and slights people get offended by here.

* I’d love to see a definitive list of who should not be doing adverts with what products so as to not offend anyone!

A REPLY TO SENSAI KAMABOKO:
* You say there are no relationships on tv depicting asian/anglo relations. I beg to differ, I see them regularly! (For example only tonight I saw Hiro and Charlie hook up on Heroes). Also if the percentage of asian/anglo relationships on tv is at the same ratio as reality here in the USA, then there are bound to be only a couple as asians are in the minority. Logical right?