Coffee, Tea, Or Separate Drinking Fountains?

[7days]

At first when I saw this it had to be some kind of joke. I don’t know when American Airlines started dabbling in Black Separatism but its rather shameful. As a black businessman myself, this is jarring and insulting to say the least.

BlackAtlas – Your Passport to the Black Experience

I watched a little video with the sites host, Nelson George, which consisted of him going to Alaska to basically look for black people and point them out in cars or on the streets of Fairbanks. Sort of a Travelogue With Beautiful Scenery For The Racially Obsessed. But I kept thinking about the American Airlines headline, “Are there black folks there?” It’s stated very casually, assuming all the readers are nodding in agreement. What happened to those that have the politically correct prime directive of diversity? Let me get this straight, you want to travel to different places, but you don’t want to see different people when you get there.

I’m just observing that if I called American Airlines and said, “I’m thinking of flying in to Detroit, but before I pay for a ticket I want to make damn sure there are some “white folks there”, I’m guessing that would be the end of the conversation.

 

[DallasConehead]

No doubt a highly compensated VP who's talent AA couldn't do without thought of it or approved of it.

 

[TIME FOR CHANGE]

So your point is what...
AA is in the wrong?
Or the black man who thought it up is...
And exactly what offends you

 

[7days]

So your point is what...
AA is in the wrong?
Or the black man who thought it up is...
And exactly what offends you

Well for one, when i travel I don't care what the color of your skin will be when I hit the ground. Secondly pandering to the black community to seek travel to destinations that mix with only other black people as a preference is disturbing. Its called Black Separatism and yes AA is wrong participating in such despicable pandering. It serves no purpose except to encourage blacks to mix with our own.

 

[eolesen]

Well, you've missed out on the sites that AA has for women, Latinos, and the gay/bi/transgender communities.

Black Atlas has been around for about two or three years, and to mixed reviews. Lots of people agree with your viewpoint, and there are others who think that it's entirely appropriate. They've got about 5,000 followers on Twitter, which isn't extraordinary, but also not insignificant.

 

[Frank Szabo]

... reported to moderators as corporate sponsored race-baiting ...

 

[TIME FOR CHANGE]

Maybe its just me but I could really care less if the campaign is geared towards whites blacks latinos or asians. Maybe it will bother me when the white man is considered the minority. Until then who gives a S%#$t. There isnt enough time in the day to let stuff like this drain an ounce of my energy. Maybe its me but I am so anti politically correct. Grow a pair and move on

 

[DallasConehead]

IMO, the advert is geared towards AAs that want to travel and questioning whether other AAs will be there. Is there an underlying insinuation? Maybe I'm wrong but it's racist.

 

[7days]

Maybe its just me but I could really care less if the campaign is geared towards whites blacks latinos or asians. Maybe it will bother me when the white man is considered the minority. Until then who gives a S%#$t. There isnt enough time in the day to let stuff like this drain an ounce of my energy. Maybe its me but I am so anti politically correct. Grow a pair and move on

Has nothing to do with PC. I would be the last one to consider myself PC. Its about the black community whom im a part of being pandered to. Just like the race baiting NAACP sole purpose is the keep reminding the black community that they are less then. As a business man who is black it happens all the time. People and groups coming at me wanting support for x cause or y reasons and expecting me to respond in kind just because im black as i should support their cause as a result.

Im not african-american, im american. For those that suffer from apparent white guilt or think its politically correct to pander to one group because they are part of it serves only to separate groups. Not bring them together.

 

[7days]

IMO, the advert is geared towards AAs that want to travel and questioning whether other AAs will be there. Is there an underlying insinuation? Maybe I'm wrong but it's racist.

Yes sir, it is disturbing. As a black person what is AA selling "Your Passport to the Black Experience"????

Its shameless pandering is what it is.

 

[DallasConehead]

Yes sir, it is disturbing. As a black person what is AA selling "Your Passport to the Black Experience"????

Its shameless pandering is what it is.

I guess as a white guy I should use the Black Atlas to determine my next travel destination,
what would that say about me? It would say that I base my travel plans based on the color of peoples skin at that destination, this can never be good, one way or the other.

I guess there are segments of all populations that use this information to determine where they go, is it right to do so?

We all know that it's shameless pandering to a population af black Americans, American Airlines will go to any level to get a revenue stream. How about Gleam? That uses sexual orientation right? It's not the first time this company does these sorts of advertising campaigns.

The corp execs that run this joint have no soul, everything and I mean EVERYTHING they do is based on $$.

 

[Deleted member 17588]

As stated in a previous post, AA has niche campaigns for other groups as well: women, Latino, LGBT, etc. With the "Black" campaign I think the intention is certainly good but the wording is atrocious. "Are there black folks there?" That is just such a ridiculous ad slogan that could only come from some doofus marketing genius at headquarters, which I picture as being some type of Texas redneck version of Dunder-Mifflan. "We're Merikan Airlines. Where Redneck is the new Black!"

 

[eolesen]

First of all... AA doesn't come up with their own marketing slogans or advertising. They farm that out, and have for the past 30 years if not longer. Even the shots of the mechanic walking thru the hangar after his overnight shift came from an ad agency...

Secondly... with micro-sites (that's the industry name for targeted niche sites like Atlas...) they don't always use the same agency. They usually find one who works in that market segment (industry speak for tailoring advertising to a specific ethnic group or other demographic like women, gays or business travelers, or even gay women business travelers...). The ads on Atlas appeal to someone different from y'all. And no ad can possibly appeal to everyone in a particular segment. There will always be someone who doesn't like it, and that's OK.

Everyone falls into one or more market segments defined by a company, and believe it or not, some people actually like being identified by the segment(s) they fall into. And yes, there are some people who don't like being identified as being in a segment they don't see themselves in (e.g. 7Days).

What's ironic is that you guys are using a micro-site to criticize a micro-site...

AirlineForums appeals to airline employees and those who like to harass them. It's reflected in the ads and the way the forums are set up. That's why you guys congregate here instead of on Flyertalk (which caters to road warrior business travelers) or Airliners.net (which caters to foamers, photographers, and armchair enthusiasts). And it's why Holly shut down PlaneBusiness.com -- she wanted the forums to cater to her customer base, which is people who followed airline stocks and financials.

 

[Frank Szabo]

First of all... AA doesn't come up with their own marketing slogans or advertising.

... snip

E - most of us understand the company doesn't get into making their advertising but we DO understand that the group residing in Centrepork, responsible for advertising, does solicit (sometimes specifying the desired message) and approve for use the ideas/presentations from ad agencies re: the race-baiting ad in question.

On second thought, this is fine. The company is encouraging behavior from their black clientèle exactly the opposite of the standards they hold their employees to, for a price. I wonder if anyone down south considered the implications of this re: its obvious impact on "Rule 32" or whichever rule is used to fire employees for their supposed racial "bias"?

Is obvious racism OK simply because a company makes money from it? Byhaps one could nullify any action against them for uttering an "inappropriate" epithet toward a co-worker for a $20 payment to the company kitty?

"Micro-Site" or whatever, Eric, an attitude is still an attitude. I feel the company should either allow a racial free-for-all or abide by their own rules.