Did this MetroPCS ad make the tech world cringe?

Here are some deeply perceptive estimations brought to you in the new ad campaign from cell phone service provider MetroPCS: All Indian males work in the tech industry. Unless they are in Bollywood. And all Indian techies are terribly nerdy beings with the dress sense of a dead gardener in his coffin.

Perhaps, you, too, were mesmerized by one of these spots, featuring Ranjit and Chad, two Indian tech experts, during Sunday's Super Bowl. Or perhaps this was merely some kind of local buy, as the so-called "Tech and Talk" campaign has been plaguing my own television for more than a few days during every sports event I aim to enjoy.

It's not for me to wonder how things like this get created. Perhaps, the answer is "with some ease." But the frequency with which this campaign has managed to affect my inner workings caused me to actually contact MetroPCS for a little tech and talk.

You see, I will admit to wondering whether some members of the Indian community, the Indian tech community, or merely innocent bysitters had registered any discomfort.

"There have been many positive responses by people who find the commercials humorous, as it was originally intended," Bob Fant, vice president of advertising and brand development at Dallas-based MetroPCS Communications, told me in an e-mail. "There also have been some reactions from those who have taken offense. The positive reactions have heavily outnumbered the negative ones."

Phew. I was worried there for a minute. It is meant to be humorous.

"The TV anchors--Ranjit and Chad--are meant to be viewed as endearing, smart tech experts who are knowledgeable about everything wireless, and they use their own local access cable TV show to help consumers make sense of the many wireless service plans out there and learn where they can find the best deals," Fant told me.

Who doesn't want to be viewed as endearing and smart? This is the craving of every politician and salesperson. The question is whether that is how these two characters--actors who were cast specifically for their roles--will be seen.

As the campaign progresses, Fant told me: "You will see that the characters are treated with respect."

Respect is a difficult area. We all crave it. But we're not always so swift to offer it. Still, Fant reassured me about the campaign: "It is not our wish to offend anyone who sees our commercials. In fact, our business model is set up to allow for anyone, regardless of credit scores, income level, or ethnicity, to have the convenience of a mobile phone."

Fant did admit that there have been complaints, specifically from the Indian community. So, while it seems refreshing that an ad campaign might have Indian spokesmen, I thought I'd ask some Indian citizens living in the U.S. how they feel when they watch Ranjit, Chad, and the gang have such an amusing, cellular time.

The response was really rather uniform. Some mentioned the "Sales Genie" Super Bowl ad from 2008, which also made them feel uncomfortable. I will offer you one quote from someone rather high up in the tech world. I have withheld his name, merely because he asked me to. However, his views about the MetroPCS ads do reflect what I heard from quite a few.

"To be honest, it's a little offensive as I don't know anybody who talks like that," he told me. "Secondly if the campaign had a reason and if the ads were actually funny I would have been fine about them."

Funny can do so much. So I wonder whether my sample size was too small and whether, perhaps, anyone from the tech world, Indian or not, might just have an opinion on this curious creative construction.

[monkeyfun14]

I love how the as long as there is a stereotype those people can never be portrayed in certain positions.

People need to look past stereotypes.

[jaguar717]

Turns out a lot of Indians work in tech, or are engineers. And turns out a lot of engineers (Indian, white, or even Asian) live in an academic world cut off from normal social interactions, and are therefore awkward. I went to school with many of them, though I'd like to think I was less isolated.

Luckily, few Indians seem to have succumbed to the perpetual-victim-entitlement-RACE-CARD! mentality the PC types have been pushing for decades now.

Remember, the most powerful weapons we have against the hand-wringing, finger-wagging, race-baiting types are humor and satire. They're powerless until you start taking them as seriously as they take themselves.

[fcz1]

In the words of The Onion, stereotypes are a real time-saver.

[T_Tran]

I agree with monkeyfun14. Remember that music video with the little Indian guy dancing when someone pressed the play button on the radio? Now that was funny!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ew1q-qSMZ5A&feature=PlayList&p=95681C08B3409057&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=2

I don't think anyone was complaining about that video and the Superbowl ad was just a reflection of how the world lives in a global economy. What's funny is all the disappointed Colts bandwagon fans not talking too much now after they got outplayed by the Saints!

[traxx09]

I can almost guarantee ya that if there were a commercial stereotyping White Christians like the Duggars on TLC as all having 20 children, homeschooling and being a bit square, nobody would have a problem with it or worry about offending anyone. But the second that someone uses an ethnicity people start looking for ways to be offended.

Can't we just lighten up? So Indians are stereotyped as technically inclined, there are worse things you could be stereotyped as.

I spent many years living and working overseas with East Indian nationals. One of the many things that I found endearing with them was their ability, and sometime deligh,t at making fun of themselves.

Where clips like this don't attempt to ridicule or belittle, are always enjoyed by the Asians themselves. I wouldn't be suprised if it wasn't created by an Asian.

[dlh2009]

That is a stupid commercial.

[aphoog]

I am (East) Indian and for what it is worth my 2 cents - cheesy? stupid? 100% yes! offensive? no! This is the kind of humor that uses a small sample of a population to represent the whole. The Indians in my circle of friends will never talk like Ranjit or Chad but I am sure there are others who (almost) fit the bill. I expect there will be protests from the p.c. police but it all depends on how secure you are about your identity. In the end its an ad by Metro (who?) PCS that must have cost all of $500 to produce and still did not sell phone. "ActivOn" probably got the message across in a better way.

[TrinityTrident]

I'm an Indian and I'm an Engineer in a large tech company. I happened to see these ads with my wife and here's our take on it. While we did enjoy the joke, we weren't sure that it was in the best taste. You see the problem is that this is the kind of joke that Indians would enjoy in private. It might be palatable if it was originated by Indians or if it was shown in India as some kind of inside joke. But coming from truly American company this smacks of a holier than thou attitude. But yeah we do get the humour behind it and did have a chuckle.

[AnubicDarque]

So this is ok, but an advert for another country has to be pulled cos some Americans (not the intended audience) gets offended

[lennie22]

ahaha, I love the "telcommiracle" with the look on his face in the close up. lol, this is Golden, a capital G.

[vadasambar]

I'm an Indian working in the US, and I think these are hilarious. Indian engineers running their own talk show in the US is way cooler than the typical 711 store clerk, cab driver, or even Doctor roles viewers in the US are used to seeing Indians in.

So what if they have an accent? Everybody on the planet speaks English with an accent, including the British. And all accents sound funny if unfamiliar. Indians from the north chuckle at South Indian accents and vice versa, for the record.

Are these characters true? You bet. Just go hang out at any technology/telecom park and you'll see avatars of Ranjit & Chad.

Would you rather have them speak with American accents? Wouldn't that be unnatural? Should they do it to fit in? I find that notion offensive. I still speak with a pronounced South Indian accent, after having lived here for years, and I'm not ashamed of it. In fact, I wear it like a badge and take pride in it.

Ranjit & Chad are tech gurus...heroes...and should be heralded for being confident in their own skin and identity. And for having a sense of humor.

[vadasambar]

I'm an Indian working in the US, and I think these are hilarious. Indian engineers running their own talk show in the US is way cooler than the typical 711 store clerk, cab driver, or even Doctor roles viewers in the US are used to seeing Indians in.

So what if they have an accent? Everybody on the planet speaks English with an accent, including the British. And all accents sound funny if unfamiliar. Indians from the north chuckle at South Indian accents and vice versa, for the record.

Are these characters true? You bet. Just go hang out at any technology/telecom park and you'll see avatars of Ranjit & Chad.

Would you rather have them speak with American accents? Wouldn't that be unnatural? Should they do it to fit in? I find that notion offensive. I still speak with a pronounced South Indian accent, after having lived here for years, and I'm not ashamed of it. In fact, I wear it like a badge and take pride in it.

Ranjit & Chad are tech gurus...heroes...and should be heralded for being confident in their own skin and identity. And for having a sense of humor.

[windooor7]

Well , if this guys had step up like steve jobs holding a new "real phone", then the comercial would have been a big win. instead they told the "intended target" what they already knew. Metro pcs need a real phone. instead of nexus one selling 80 thousand units in a month , they could have easily sold 2 milloin units 2 metro pcs customers just yesterday and 2 day.

[shetaan819]

As an (East) Indian in tech, I didnt feel this ad was offensive whatsoever, just because a stereotype is addressed doesnt mean that something should be considered offensive. This engineer really wanted to have a true career in dance and although I can't provide any stats, there are definitely hundreds of thousands of Indian engineers whose aspirations weren't always to be an engineer....definitely relatable and humorous...

[AndroidFTW]

Apu on The Simpsons says it`s OK.
Apu is actually the smart , rich guy. Homer is a bumbling fool. It`s funny and you don`t see us whites up in arms. It`s just funny.
Indians are generally intelligent hard working people.

[bsharkey]

I've been seeing this ad for weeks and always wondering... "wow how long til some indian groups report they were legitimately offended?" I give them the benefit of the doubt until we see where this is going, but am also quite sure if this were any other minority group appearing in the ad (besides white males, the only real minority it's safe to offend), then there would have been super outrage from the time it first aired.

[penngal]

I hate this ad. How does MetroPCS think this kind of stereotyping is going to help its brand image? I don't find it funny at all. Thanks for talking about this.

[pch4101]

Sometimes my friends make fun of the East Indian accent. I'm not proud of it and I always scold them for it. It's because of ads like this that make such behaviour seem acceptable. Ignorance, if not racism, starts somewhere. Sad.

[ekholbrook]

Americans are stereotyped all around the World as well so don't make it seem like it's only U.S. companies or ads have fun with different backgrounds. For example, go to South America and even among friends you, the American, are the "gringo". Commercials mock the pale white geeky looking guy from the North East US. They don't mean any harm by it but it's the same thing we do here.

You think African Americans and other ethnic backgrounds have issues here, have it a bit rough? Check out south of the Equator and Europe and the U.S. is the most racially and culturally sensitive country in the world. By Far.

[dawg7]

Yes, the ad is demeaning and ill-conceived, especially since the product itself is buried. However, as a veteran network admin, I see this as the tip of the iceberg of furious anger toward arrogant Indian tech "support" types. A few decades of having these jerks refuse to listen to the real problem, blindly follow scripts even after we give them all the relevant info, and brazenly provide incorrect resolution steps even in crisis situations - resulting in major data corruption or loss - will definitely fire up some rage and desire for revenge.

[bob61744]

Sales Genie is a division of InfoUSA (now InfoGROUP), founded by Vinod Gupta, the current CEO.

Yes, Mr. Gupta is from India, so I hope that it's OK for him to have commercials that use characters named Ramesh, for comedic effect. You can find that Sales Genie commercial on YT.

[Arnie604]

The only difference I see with this commercial and real tech support is that I could understand Ranjit and Chad

[TJwithAsadIQ]

"To be honest, it's a little offensive as I don't know anybody who talks like that," Seriously? Is he really that far removed from us common clods that he doesn't know anyone who talks like that? I'm of Paki background, and there are certainly plenty of us that talk like that. Also, not offensive.