Adidas brand new shoes uglified Asians condemned

Bowl-covered hairstyles, blind eyes, upturned noses, and large ivory—an apparently uglified Asian comic strip was stunned on the tongue of the new limited-edition “Yellow Series” Adidas sneakers. There is also a word "Fong" printed on it, which means "Feng" in Chinese. The practice of Adidas, a German sportswear manufacturer, has attracted strong criticism from Asians and even people from all over the world. They accuse the company of vilifying Asians for racism.

Debating: Are we a yellow threat?

The sneakers were jointly launched by Adidas and San Francisco sportswear company HUF. They sell 1,000 pairs in limited edition, each priced at $250. Mainly for adidas sneaker collectors.

The comic fictional image on the tongue is called "RayFong," from San Francisco's famous graffiti author Barry McGee.

McGee is half Chinese, and his work has always been famous for subversive traditions. The image of "RayFong" has also appeared in his previous works. Once the shoe was launched, criticism began to appear on the Internet.

From Japan and Singapore to Hong Kong, China, everyone in the BBC and bloggers crusade against Adidas's demonizing Asian behavior. "The yellow series? For them, are we still yellow threats?" wrote a blog online.

According to Pang Vincent, executive director of the Chinese for Affirmative Action in San Francisco, “In this era of today, there are even such images that come from such a large and international company as Adidas. This is sad and annoying.”

Justification: No intention to offend anyone or group

A Adidas spokesperson said that the company "appreciates any work that expresses itself" and "does not intend to offend anyone or a group."

HUF's owner Hefnajar said that the language of criticism on the Internet is nothing more than "Internet junk."

He said: “They should look for information before speaking.” This is because McGee’s work was used to express anti-racism ideology. Bowdlow of the American Justice Center (AmericanJusticeCenter) pointed out: "Put a Chinese person's face on sports shoes, it has lost its meaning." Some Asian organizations believe that this pattern was once Used in satirical political cartoons, there is a suspicion of vilifying Asians.

It is neither artistic nor trendy nor is it humorous

The sneakers also caused strong dissatisfaction with New York State congressman Meng Guangrui and other Asian-Americans, accusing the sneakers pattern has seriously vilified the Asian image.

Meng Guangrui appealed to the Asian community on April 5 to take action to express their dissatisfaction with Adidas and requested the company to remove the product as soon as possible. At the same time, it also called on the Asian community to take action to call Adidas in a variety of ways such as making phone calls and e-mails. The company expressed strong dissatisfaction.

Meng Guangrui said in a letter to the company on the 5th that the design of this sports shoe is neither artistic nor trendy, nor is it humor, but it is entirely a kind of inherent prejudice of Asian Americans as foreigners. Reproduction.

Meng Guangrui regretted the company’s profit from similar stigmatizing designs and asked the company to remove the product as soon as possible.

Meng Guangrui pointed out that the United States is an opportunity-rich country with different cultural backgrounds and multi-ethnicities. As an international adidas company that relies heavily on the Asian market, it must take responsibility for this incident of insulting Asians. He said that the Asian community will not understand this design as art or fashion, and it will never tolerate similar behaviors that demonize Asians.

Similar events Asian theme T-shirt was withdrawn

This incident is naturally reminiscent of a similar storm that occurred at Aber-crombie & Fitch, a well-known apparel retailer in the United States in 2004.

Abercrombie & Fitch has announced that it will withdraw its newly-produced Asian-themed T-shirts and respond to local ethnic groups protesting racial discrimination.

The T-shirt sells for $25 with a cartoon on it: an Asian man with a squinting, conical hat, and a slogan next to it. "Huang Brothers Laundry: Two Yellow Can Become White" (WONGBROTHERSLAUNDRYSERVICE : TWOWONGSCANMAKEITWHITE) and "Bowls and Balls - Chinese Rice and Bowling" (WOK-N-BOWL-CHINESEOODOODBOWLING).

Nike disfavors ads in China

In December 2004, the latest Nike Nike basketball shoe commercial titled “Fear Room” broadcast on TV stations in various provinces and cities across the country caused strong dissatisfaction among the audience.

A basketball player enters a five-storey building and challenges his opponents layer by layer until he wins the final victory... This is the content of the advertisements of “Fear Chamber” but due to this advertisement, many Chinese cultural elements are involved. The picture of the NBA star LeBron James defeated by the advertising star hurt the Chinese audience's national feelings. The audience was very dissatisfied after watching it.

Scenario 1: James and the Chinese man in robes tussle with the old man. James knocks down the old man;

Scenario 2: Women wearing Chinese clothes (much like the flying shapes of the Dunhuang murals) slammed arms toward James. As James broke the rebound, the "flying image" shattered;

Scene 3: There are two Chinese dragons appearing next to the backboard. Two dragons spit out smoke and become a monster that hinders James.

Since then, the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television issued a notice requiring all television stations to stop broadcasting the commercial immediately.