Ikea Ad Upsets Thai Transgender Group: Bangkok

[lomatopo]

Well at least one of the characters was not in "blackface", or sporting Nazi attire.

[Totster]

I love it, very funny and I can't see the offense.

totster

[unanimosity]

Sort of frightening to see how well he switches from a male voice to a female voice..........

It's not over-dubbed?

[Globeman]

I wonder how they felt about the sperm bank robbery ad?

Yes, that was low comedy genius - but it did ridicule the far-sighted.

[Globeman]

Why dont they pick on the ladyboy in the advert for selling them out? Oh yes he/she is Thai therefore CANNOT be wrong!

That's a bit of an assumption, isn't it? Forgive me, but you seem in need of a rest home cure.

Sometimes it seems that Thailand was created solely for the purpose of discriminating against farangs, doesn't it?

[PhilipCook]

If this was a Thai company, bank, restaurant this would this be considered cute. Ikea's mistake was to use Thai marketing tactics because they aren't Thai and should not pretend to be.

[monkeycountry]

I agree, most ladyboys are not deceitful, they are openly trying to steal your money or your phone. Why they are tolerated,and not removed from various party areas such as Soi Nana, Walking Street, Soi Bangla, Soi Green Mango etc. is beyond me. Afterall, I am quite sure that if a known gang of ordinary male thieves were standing there openly robbing tourists night after night, even the ineffective Thai police would do something about it!

[Neeranam]

I've heard that they can be very deceitful...especially at around 2am after a heavy night out.....

Strange thing to say - there's a very big difference between the normal ladyboy and the ones that you see at 2am in probably a tourist area.

Why do many people think of prostitutes or promiscuity when ladyboys are mentioned? I've known some who are the opposite.

Edited January 24, 2013 by Neeranam

[candypants]

I've heard that they can be very deceitful...especially at around 2am after a heavy night out.....

Strange thing to say - there's a very big difference between the normal ladyboy and the ones that you see at 2am in probably a tourist area.

to encounter that, you need to actually get out of the tourist area

[kimamey]

Well this is certainly educational for me. I never realised that transgenders had no sense of humour.

When was this letter sent? The advert ran from the 28th December to 13 January and they're sending a letter now? Have they only just noticed?.

Maybe they were too busy getting unsuspecting males (probably farang) to buy stuff in Ikea.

[candypants]

If this was a Thai company, bank, restaurant this would this be considered cute. Ikea's mistake was to use Thai marketing tactics because they aren't Thai and should not pretend to be.

how then would you reccommend they market to thais in thailand?

does the same apply to kfc, macdonalds, sony, aplle or any other rmultinational with a thai operation?

[spectre324]

Years ago an American businessman fell in love (heat) with a lady boy, and never did realize he/she was a lady boy until he took her to the American Embassy to fill out Marriage papers! he was told that in the U.S. a man could not marry a Man! kind of ruined his whole day! kept looking in the post to see what hotel he jumped off of! often wondered what took him so long to figure it out!

[dasy]

I wonder how they felt about the sperm bank robbery ad?

555555 both are extremely funny the one from the sperm bank I can see over and over again. funny facts of life that's all.

[lomatopo]

Redecorate yourself.

The French one is "cute", if a bit painful.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_RoA8Ye2cmE

Edited January 24, 2013 by lomatopo

[pedro01]

I would suggest that if people want to be treated as equals, they not throw their toys out of their prams over a little joke like this.

We really should not need to be bending over backwards for these people.

[lomatopo]

Progress?

[evanson]

I agree, most ladyboys are not deceitful, they are openly trying to steal your money or your phone. Why they are tolerated,and not removed from various party areas such as Soi Nana, Walking Street, Soi Bangla, Soi Green Mango etc. is beyond me. Afterall, I am quite sure that if a known gang of ordinary male thieves were standing there openly robbing tourists night after night, even the ineffective Thai police would do something about it!

Is this your attempt at humour or are you being deliberately obtuse?

[chooka]

So you go out to a bar, have a few beers and take a girl home and when you unpack it you find you to many pieces. You go to Ikea buy a product and take it home unpack it and end up with to many pieces. What is the difference?

[Nickymaster]

Years ago an American businessman fell in love (heat) with a lady boy, and never did realize he/she was a lady boy until he took her to the American Embassy to fill out Marriage papers! he was told that in the U.S. a man could not marry a Man! kind of ruined his whole day! kept looking in the post to see what hotel he jumped off of! often wondered what took him so long to figure it out!

often wondered what took him so long to figure it out!

Ladyboy or transsexual? Ladyboy he should have known. Transsexual can be difficult to know (I have been told... )

Maybe it was a virgin with a no-sexual-activity-before-marriage policy

[chooka]

i think it is very funny.

shes pretty hot to boot

You mean "HE" not my cup of tea. I prefer women.

[Lucie]

I wonder how they felt about the sperm bank robbery ad?

I thought the sperm bank one was funny...

[harada]

I am all for equal rights and respectful of all humans but I dont think this is really that deceitful.

The most deceitful thing about the ad is that those boxes usually weigh around 50 kgs!

You gotta be Arnold Schwartzenegar to throw them over your shoulder like that

Maybe she was Arnold Schwatzenegar at one time,havent heard much of him since the love love child episode.

[R10wota]

Well let us imagine a normal man and a woman in this ad. Would it give the same message ? would it leave a negative impact on all the women? would it still be decietfull?

Why are some people so shallow? If you know that you are not like that then laugh it off and enjoy the humour. Why get angry as if they are showing something what you think you are?

There are a lot of ads that are more sexist than this. Yes Thai Ads...

[Globeman]

And another "stereotype" that becomes painfully obvious over this non-issue: Thai transgender people have no sense of humour. As the saying goes, "humour is if you can have a laugh about yourself".

Actually, Thai comedy makes fun of transgendered folks a lot, and I expect they get a bit sick of it. If you compare it to British humour, which, originating from a more egalitarian society, spares no one from ridicule - upper classes, nobility, the average man on the street, northerners, Londoners, politicians, etc... Brits can look at their own stereotypes with some sense of irony. Thailand's humour has not advanced to this level yet (if it ever will)... the upper classes see nothing amusing about themselves and of course can have such ridicule blocked. So Thai humour tends to make fun of its "freaks" - its exceptions to what is "normal". This includes ladyboys, as often as not. Or the stupid clownish guy, or the guy with the funny face - or dark skin. Oh yeah, it's all in good fun - for the good-looking (by their own standards) light-skinned, socially "normal" folk.

For the record though, I do think the commercial is funny. But I can see how ladyboys might seize the opportunity an international chain ad like this one presents to make the point that they are sick of being perceived as freaks and the constant butt of jokes - in the media and everywhere else. A complaint doesn't necessarily mean that they don't find it funny, or have no sense of humour.

[EyesWideOpen]

I agree, most ladyboys are not deceitful, they are openly trying to steal your money or your phone. Why they are tolerated,and not removed from various party areas such as Soi Nana, Walking Street, Soi Bangla, Soi Green Mango etc. is beyond me. Afterall, I am quite sure that if a known gang of ordinary male thieves were standing there openly robbing tourists night after night, even the ineffective Thai police would do something about it!

Is this your attempt at humour or are you being deliberately obtuse?

Maybe I am obtuse too ....... I have fended off more than one pickpocket attempt by them, and consider them a quite annoying

part of Thailand. Wait is that politically incorrect to say?? I think this commercial is somewhat funny. I guess the Transgender

Group does not believe in the common expression that any publicity is good publicity.

[Globeman]

I agree, most ladyboys are not deceitful, they are openly trying to steal your money or your phone. Why they are tolerated,and not removed from various party areas such as Soi Nana, Walking Street, Soi Bangla, Soi Green Mango etc. is beyond me. Afterall, I am quite sure that if a known gang of ordinary male thieves were standing there openly robbing tourists night after night, even the ineffective Thai police would do something about it!

In a perfect world, known thieves should be moved on, (if that is actually legal), but not simply because they are men dressed up as women... or Jews... or Blacks... "known male thieves" would not be moved along because they are male.

[Mudcrab]

I would suggest that if people want to be treated as equals, they not throw their toys out of their prams over a little joke like this.

We really should not need to be bending over backwards for these people.

bedning over forwards perhaps?

[kimamey]

I would suggest that if people want to be treated as equals, they not throw their toys out of their prams over a little joke like this.

We really should not need to be bending over backwards for these people.

bedning over forwards perhaps?

Beat me to it.

[shawndoc]

With all the movies and TV shows that mock ladyboys, this commercial is what they choose to get upset about? Really? If a show or movie has slide whistle and other goofy sound effects, its guaranteed to be full of ugly TG stereotypes and humor at their expense.

[MaiThaiMai]

I don't see all that much 'derogatory' towards the transgender grouping in this brief vdo; slightly humorous perhaps,and at best.

On the subject of "transgender" have you seen this amazing vdo-clip:

Certainly blew me away !

Worth a look & listen.

MaiThaiMai