Chitchat Samsung Pulls Ad That Features moslem Drag Queen And Tudung Mother Because pious moslems Are Offended!

[JohnTan]

Samsung Singapore has removed an ad which was launched late last year for its wearable products. The removal came with an apology as some netizens found the ad to be insensitive and offensive to "some members of the local community" in Singapore. In its apology, the brand said that while it believes innovation and growth are driven by diversity and inclusivity, it will be more mindful in considering all perspectives and viewpoints for future marketing.

The company said in a Facebook post: "We acknowledge that we have fallen short in this instance, and have since removed the content from all public platforms."


While the brand did not specify the name of the campaign, online chatter indicated that netizens were discussing Samsung's "Samsung Listen to your Heart" campaign, which took an emotional approach to showcasing its latest Samsung Galaxy Buds2 and Watch4. Done in collaboration with ad agency Cheil Singapore, the team worked with individuals from different walks of life to test the Galaxy Buds2 and Watch4 Classic and recorded their heart rates as they listened to various genres of music. In a surprise twist, Samsung embedded a voice-recorded message from someone close to the individuals, who wanted to express something personal to them for a long time.

Among the individuals featured were a drag queen who expressed appreciation for his tudung-wearing but totally supportive mother; a pair of best friends whose friendship showcased loyalty; an absentee father who spent years in jail but turned over a new leaf thanks to his daughter; and a man paying tribute to his fiancée’s courage in battling depression while taking care of her ailing mother.

Both the video, and Samsung's removal of the video and issuance of an apology, had netizens divided. One netizen who objected to the initial video, later praised Samsung for "adapting and reacting to market responses" since "not every company will do that". Meanwhile, another netizen, unhappy with the ad, questioned why the ad was created in the first place.

Meanwhile, some also defended the brand, stating that the video was about a mother and her child's bond, calling the spot "touching and revolutionary". Another netizen also showed support for the LGBT community, explaining: "Among some family and friends, sense and sensibility do exist. To LGBT friends facing outright discrimination, you have a friend in me," he added. Others disagreed with Samsung's move to pull the ad and issue an apology because they thought the brand should have stood its ground.


https://www.marketing-interactive.com/samsung-transgender-ad-pull-netizen-unhappy

 

[Cottonmouth]

Which group complain?
The m&d terrorists or the gay hochings?

 

[syed putra]

Why can't it be chinese? Why pick on malays?

 

[laksaboy]

Malay or not, stop trying to normalize or humanize the bapoks. That's bad taste.

 

[Scrooball (clone)]

What does this have to do with the Christians? Shouldn’t Muslims be the ones who are offended (if at all?)

 

[UltimaOnline]

Here's the ad :

https://truetube.media/w/86e1466d-3fa2-4283-937d-1790b9fd7f76

 

[Pinkieslut]

Featuring Bapok! Must be marketing idea from a Librard!

 

[UltimaOnline]

https://truetube.media/w/86e1466d-3fa2-4283-937d-1790b9fd7f76


LGBT community disappointed with Samsung Singapore for removing advertisement



level 1
Cradlesong-

·2 days ago

Hijab and Homosexuality
I'm sure a decent number of you out there have seen the cancellation of a recent Samsung advertisement. In it, it featured a mother and a drag queen. In as few words as possible I will summarize why a sizeable number of Muslims would find this offensive.
The Quran is an authority in Muslims lives and in it lies a story that ends with a tribe of people divinely brimestoned to death. Their supposed crime was homosexuality. God in that story went so far as to extend his punishment to anyone who tolerated or condoned the acts, even if they were 'non-participants'. Secondary to the Quran, we have the hadiths, stories and sayings attributed to the main Islamic prophet. In almost all mentions of LGBT people, they were stoned, burned, thrown from a high place, or banished.
As for the matter of the hijab, it is often taken as a marker of (religious) maturity. Somehow, those who don it have the responsibility of setting an example for others. Any immoral act done by them can be misconstrued to be acceptable behaviour by 'less mature' Muslims, and Muslims don't want 'confusion' in their ranks.
So when you have the pairing shown together in such a way, it can amount to blasphemy. Muslims shouldn't be hypocritical, and at the very least, hide their immoral/sinful acts and beliefs lest it influence others.
I could go on about hadiths and alternative readings, progressive Islam and its challenges, secularity, people seeking asylum, jurisdiction and governance, moral policing, Middle East vs West vs South(east) Asia, but who reads walls of text nowadays. TikTok's where it's at.
If anyone's wondering, I'm against Islam and Muslim beliefs for a large part. They won't disappear within my lifetime, but I would gladly push them to be more progressive and liberal, and further away from Wahabism.
Am I disappointed with Samsung? Yes. Am I surprised by Muslims? No, they are acting in accordance with their morality, and especially in accordance with precedence.
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level 2
ahmad_firdauz

·2 days ago

If anyone's wondering, I'm against Islam and Muslim beliefs for a large part. They won't disappear within my lifetime, but I would gladly push them to be more progressive and liberal, and further away from Wahabism.

I used to be hopeful that more people would realise the key contest occurs within ideological/religious groups themselves. It's not always government vs [insert whatever group here] or pro-377a vs Pink dot or whatever
Observing the tudung issue play out in public made me cringe so hard. The only thing that had to happen was to claim unfairness from the authorities, and that was enough for everyone - from traditionalists to 'progressives' and 'public intellectuals' - to jump on the bandwagon.

 

[UltimaOnline]

level 2
Razorwindsg

·2 days ago·edited 2 days ago

So...it's fine if the mother did not wear a tudung for the shot?


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level 3
Cradlesong-

·2 days ago

It definitely would have been less controversial.
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level 4
Razorwindsg

·2 days ago

Ok thanks for clarifying, appreciate it.
So, wearing a tudung is also "representing" the rest of the faith in a way? Like priest/sister/monk uniforms?
I am genuinely curious because I am not familiar with the Muslim religion. Is it because it is supposed to be something that you need to earn "religiously" to wear it?
I thought it was something Muslim women could just choose to wear once they grew up/got married. (I know in some countries it is mandatory, but let's focus on SG)
I will try to make an analogy:
A) a vegetarian senior monk in his uniform sitting with his "non-monk" brother at a Chinese steamboat restaurant. The monk isn't touching the food, but the brother is really chomping on the meat.
The monk didn't really do anything wrong, but it's bad optics?
Or B) is it more like "don't lower the bar any lower, else anyone and everyone can just wear it and it becomes meaningless?" (Like some universities who used to give A+ to almost everyone, making it meaningless)
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level 5
Cradlesong-

·2 days ago·edited 2 days ago

The hijab really isn't a mark of station, only the willingness of a woman to be more modest (which is seen as a moral good). That's it. With it being so physical and visible, people accord a lot of values to it. People can wear the hijab because their parents force them to, some really believe in Islam, others wear it only under social settings, some only after marriage, some only after they find themselves worthy, etc. There's plenty of reasons why Muslim women wear the hijab. In Singapore it's personal, not mandated by any authority, so arguments of 'lowering the bar' really shouldn't hold. There is optics, as you say, but people should really not treat them as unofficial halal endorsers or religious authorities when they're not.
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level 6
veryhappyhugs

·1 day ago







level 2
PureSmoulder

·2 days ago

unironically wish to cease thy exist
No, they don't get to 'act in accordance with their morality' if their morality involves stoning innocent people to death for the crime of love.
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level 3
Cradlesong-

·2 days ago

Honestly, we're lucky that Singapore's pretty secular and globalized. Religion here is tempered. A good thing is that Muslims here don't go that far, but a bad thing is that they disassociate from more exclusivist and literal practitioners of Islam in other countries, and fail to see the common thread of bigotry that they share.
We complain about getting cancelled here, but the reality for other queer Muslims is the constant fear of death, to the extent of making plans to seek asylum in different countries.

 

[UltimaOnline]

https://sg.style.yahoo.com/lgbt-com...en-to-your-heart-advertisement-031130227.html

GBT community disappointed with Samsung Singapore for removing advertisement

Samsung Singapore on Wednesday (19 Jan) removed a video advertisement that featured a Muslim mother expressing support for her son, a drag queen.

The one-minute video, which was part of the company's campaign to promote its latest earbuds and smartwatch, was deleted across Samsung Singapore's social media platforms.

Samsung removed the content in response to online backlash from netizens who criticised the ad for being offensive and insensitive to Islam.

Some netizens had voiced opposition to the video's portrayal of a Muslim's acceptance of a drag performer.

One user Syed Dan wrote on Facebook, "We are against the ideology of mainstreaming homosexuality and transgenderism into a conservative society."

Another user, Muhammed Zuhaili, said the video had "surfaced much confusion and questions amongst the (Muslim) community" and called for the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (MUIS) to take action.

A blogger Fikrah Siyasah said that Samsung was "promoting LGBT to Muslims".

Samsung posted this statement on its Facebook page:

Yahoo Life SEA reached out to MUIS, but it declined to comment.

Last November, Samsung had created and launched the campaign, 'Samsung Listen to your Heart,' for its wearable products together with ad agency Cheil Singapore.

There were four real-life stories featured in the campaign, which revolved around people expressing their heartfelt thoughts to their loved ones.

In the removed video, a 60-year-old woman wearing a tudung hijab listens to a recorded message from her son through Samsung's earbuds.

"Dear mother, not many will have such an understanding and open-minded mum like you, and my heart can't thank you enough," says the son. "I remember the day you came down to support me in a club. And even though some people may have this mindset of a hijab lady in a club, you were just unbothered. That was the most precious and proudest moment I have felt. Boy sayangkan mak ("boy loves you" in Malay), always."

The video ends with the mother and son hugging each other affectionately.

Drag is a performance art often associated with gay men and queer culture in which artists perform for entertainment wearing exaggerated make-up and outfits that challenge gender norms. Drag art can be performed by anyone, however, and drag queens are not necessarily gay or transgender.

Anand Vathiyar, managing director of Cheil Singapore, told Marketing-Interactive that the point of the campaign was for people to express what is often left unsaid to their loved ones, and that it was unfortunate that a mother's love and support for her son, regardless of what he does for a living, was singled out. "What is heartening is that for everyone who is getting politically correct about this episode, there are many others, especially younger Singaporeans, who seem to get that we can do better to listen to each other with due care, empathy, respect, and consideration," Vathiyar said.

Other netizens were supportive of Samsung's video.

One user on Instagram wrote, "Saddens me that we aren’t a progressive society yet, full of judgement when we have a community of all different types of people. I salute Samsung for being daring but sad that criticisms from a few brought this down."

"It is 2022 already... What we fail to see here is the mother's unconditional love for her child .. Samsung, why you succumb to pressure so easily," said another netizen.

Another Instagram user wrote, "I saw the ad... It was a very touching ad.. It should not have been removed... People need to stop judging and learn how to respect instead."

Members of the LGBTQ community were disappointed that Samsung Singapore removed a video that provided positive portrayal of queer people and their families.

LGBTQ people we spoke to appreciated that Samsung provided a platform to showcase a loving family with a queer member, but thought that the video's subsequent censorship was a missed chance for dialogue.

Zuby Eusofe, founder of The Healing Circle, a queer Muslim support group, said, "I think Samsung should not have taken down the ad. They should be brave. Since they emphasised strongly that they respect diversity, then they should not take down the ad. Samsung should put up this ad again. If they were to pull this ad because of criticism from the Muslim community, then you're not allowing queer Muslims to have that dialogue with mainstream Muslims. With the ad, it motivates them to have that dialogue with us."

Benjamin Xue, co-founder of Young OUT Here, a support group for queer youth, said, "We’re disappointed that an ad celebrating familial bonds and love got taken down by Samsung Singapore. It could have been a moment to encourage the rest of Singapore to listen, without judgement, to their LGBTQ+ friends and family members. Such dialogues are necessary for understanding to take place, especially amongst LGBTQ+ youths and their family members."

Vanda Miss Joaquim, a top local drag queen, said on Instagram, "Samsung Singapore using LGBT content and backing down. What are we? Accessories? If you're not ready to stand with us, then don't. Don't milk the pink dollars and then run. Attention to all the companies and brands that I've rejected cause I see you and your truth."

Yahoo Life SEA reached out to Samsung Singapore for comment, and a representative referred us to the statement that Samsung had posted on its Facebook page.

Companies in Singapore had previously featured LGBT representation in their ads as well, such as Poh Heng Jewellery and W Hotel, and reactions had similarly been divided. However, those companies did not withdraw their ads.

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end silence on queer issues

level 1
iamrockymstar2

·2 days ago·edited 2 days ago

I mean should we be even surprised? I’m part of the LGBT community myself, so I’m not. We never have been a progressive country, and never will be. Not until MAJOR changes happen. Till then, we’ll remain more of less the same.
Edit: Not sure with what’s the downvotes. If you guys are happy with the backlash that we have seen towards the LGBT community, then so be it. People like me who are in the LGBT community are not. Singapore is not progressive. This very clearly shows that.
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level 1
Darthstar72

·2 days ago

Indeed we are dissapointed.
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level 1
Acceptable_Cheek_447

·2 days ago

I'm only disappointed that despite officials having mentioned lgbt issues, nothing is set in place to protect them. Meanwhile, the same group of protected religious people can abuse the "hurt religious feeling" on people they don't agree with. I'm not disappointed with Samsung, I'm just disappointed with my own country for not doing more to protect their own people.

 

[syed putra]

Featuring Bapok! Must be marketing idea from a Librard!

These guys now hold very high position in the creative department.