August 20, 2007
Intel: Racism and
Corporate Greed Inside
File this in the
category of “Revealing Much More Than Intended.”
A print ad for a new
computer processor made by Intel Corp. was yanked before it ever
appeared in the United States, with one minor exception.
The ad’s problem? At
the very least, it’s racist.
The color
version of the ad shows a manager in casual attire (like a geek) standing in
an aisle between rows of desks. Crouched in a sprinter’s stance between
the desks are two rows of employees. The point presumably is how the
new, bigger, shinier, faster processor being advertised can jump start
employee productivity.
The message is
drowned out by the immediate visual: A white male surrounded by all
black employees who, at first glance, appear to be bowing to him.
For sheer stupidity
and insensitivity, Intel Corp., which paid for the ad, and its
advertising agency, McCann Erickson, deserve any and all raspberries and
brickbats they get.
A different version,
according to one blogger, appeared in media in India (the
black-and-white version of the ad). Same picture in every detail except
the geek overseer looks Indian instead of European.
If race were not a
subtext in this ad, why would the version for India show an Indian
manager instead of a white manager? This question was e-mailed to an
Intel spokesperson who did not reply.
There’s another
subtext, even more disturbing than the noxious racial stereotyping. Step
back a bit, this ad is yet another piece of not-so-subtle corporate
messaging about the status of all employees of every color and in every
country. We call the shots. Workers are nothing but indistinguishable
and interchangeable cost centers to be driven as hard and as fast as
possible and then thrown away when no longer useful.
Think about it.
Sprinters run at top speed for short distances and times. They are not
in it for the long haul. By using the image of the sprinter for speed,
Intel is also saying that employees will be on the payroll not one
second longer than necessary to get the work done. This is very much in
keeping with the management-by-project mentality that has taken hold in
business over the past 15 years or so.
The theory is that
companies gather teams to work at top and unsustainable speeds on
short-term projects, under a project manager (like the Anglo/Indian
geeks in the ads). Once a project is complete, the team disbands and the
paychecks disappear unless and until team members are hired for a new
project. The reality is episodic employment, or desperate contractors.
It started first in the IT field but has spread across multiple
industries, fanned by the pandemic of corporate greed.
From a bean counter
viewpoint, contract labor makes a great deal of sense because it can
dramatically cut payroll costs. Is it too far-fetched, however, to
suggest that this cuts both ways? Should businesses expect loyalty or
even top-notch performance from workers whose ties to the company are
tenuous at best? Do they even care anymore?
The ads from Intel
suggest the answer: Of course not.
© 2007
North Star Writers Group. May not be republished without permission.
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