OMG! Why do they market us this way?

[Crysdon]

Look at these Hair Products.

I went into the asian beauty supply and saw a whole display for this mess. My son was with me and he said "mom look at this, is this ghetto?". My eyes turned as big as saucers and I quickly grabbed him away from that section.

 

[pebbles]

Crysdon,

You're right! What a shame that a marketing company would think that would appeal to african americans. Unfortunately, I hate to say that it probably will appeal to some people. It's a real shame. That's a total turn off to me. I don't identify with the thug theme.

 

[Chasney01]

Ouch! Its sad how far people will go to make a profit.

 

[auntybe]

OMG! NOW THAT'S GOING A LITTLE TOO FAR!

 

[Guest]

I'm sorry, but it is hizzelarious. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAAA! I needed that laugh. Hehehehehehehaheee! Heheheheeee! ROFL!

Did ya'll read this part?

</font><blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr />
HUG products were formulated by Thugs, Soldiers, Playas and Big Ballers. We holla’d at our
peoples from the West Coast, East Coast, Middle, and Dirty South to be sure they feel our vibe.
We not only make THUG Products, we use them too. THUG products are the original Hip-Hop
hair &amp; skin products for the true Soldiers, Playas, Big Ballers, and Dime-Pieces! This is for all
our peoples. For best results, us all other THUG products as directed. Peace!

[/ QUOTE ]

Heheheheeeheheee! TOO FUNNY!!!

<font color="blue">"Hi, may I help you?"</font color>

<font color="red"> "Yes, um, where is your Bling-Bling sheen?" </font color>

<font color="blue"> "Oh, right next to the Dime Piece Grease. The entire Thug Collection is on the right." </font color>

 

[auntybe]

Karonica! Girl....you made it even funnier...I fell out of my chair laughing.

 

[Crysdon]

</font><blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr />
Heheheheeeheheee! TOO FUNNY!!!

"Hi, may I help you?"

"Yes, um, where is your Bling-Bling sheen?"

"Oh, right next to the Dime Piece Grease. The entire Thug Collection is on the right."



[/ QUOTE ]

I can just imagine this conversation. /images/graemlins/shocked.gif It <font color="red"> would </font color> be pretty funny in a comedy though.

 

[rayne]

Oh Lord, I've seen it all now!! I guess their target market is fellow thugs and thuggetts!

 

[pebbles]

</font><blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr />
Oh Lord, I've seen it all now!! I guess their target market is fellow thugs and thuggetts!

[/ QUOTE ]

LOL!! Oh, that was funny!! /images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[AmilLion]

Omg, this isn't even funny. Do you guys see the little boy with a pic in his head band holding MONEY? WTFFFFFFFFFFFF

 

[Robin41]

Trust me, if this type of marketing works, you'll be seeing it more often.

Truly shameful. /images/graemlins/frown.gif

 

[LondonDiva]

This kind of marketing disgusts me. Absolute crap is what it is.

 

[NubianAngel]

I admit, the little boy saddened me /images/graemlins/mad.gif, but the <font color="blue">Dime Piece Grease</font color> had me rolling /images/graemlins/grin.gif Who in their right minds would have something with such a corny name up on their dresser, for all to see?

 

[LondonDiva]

Yep, and you know there are some people who think they are totally thugged out when they use this right?

**rollseyes**

i don't know who is worse the people for making it or the black folk that actually put their money down on it.

 

[Jubilee]

It reminds me of that song...
What about your ching ching ching what about your bling bling bling... How much money are you charging today..LOL

 

[keylargo]

well with people like trick daddy making millions off of songs about being a thug, this was bound to happen.

I just had a scary thought /images/graemlins/blush.gif
What if the products are good!?
Can you imagine us pj's going out and actually buying the products because we like the ingrediants???
I can see it now, a post titled: "thumbs up for bling bling sheen" /images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[henrilou]

Ok yeah it's funny.
But the problem comes when "others" indentify "us" with this sh!t. I'm sorry but it's embarrassing. Just like, I am sorry to say it, but Michael Jackson is embarrasing.

 

[Robin41]

Henrilou, you know what? I don't take any responsibility for MJ cause he ain't been black since Off the Wall.

 

[sweetcocoa]

If you hadn't of actually seen these products, I wouldn't have believed it. I don't think it's funny to sell out your people for a buck. That is really sad and pitiful.

 

[Guest]

LOL! at the Bling Bling Sheen. That stuff has been out for years and has never really gained in popularity. It'll disappear soon.

 

[Guest]

Nobody equates Michael Jackson with humans, let alone black folks, so we are fine. It really is a shame that he couldn't even get his family to tell him when he had gone too far.

 

[Honey Vibe]

"HUG products were formulated by Thugs, Soldiers, Playas and Big Ballers."

I don't think I have ever read something that made my blood boil as much as the images on this site. The assumption that they are marketing to an idiot is so plainly granted. Honestly, what is the difference between this image of black people and the images of the past? How does this sound:

"BOY products were formulated by Cotton Pickers, Mandinkas, Mammies and Eat'n'Sleeps. We not only make BOY Products, we use them too. This is for all our people."


What's more incredible is that some of the ignorance that these products depend on does indeed exist, and I would submit that it can be seen in this thread. I'm talking about the catty commentary on Michael Jackson. This man rose from rags to riches, and we can actually say that an African American -- a descendant of slaves -- is one of the most recognized icons in the world. His biography and his creativity is a great credit to African Americans and inspirational. But he is judged an embarrasment to black people for cosmetic reasons?? How stupid would we consider white people if they said Bill Clinton is "an embarrasment to the race" because he's not asthetically pleasing? Are YOU a pretty black girl? Should I vote you out of Blackdom if you're not, because you're "embarrassing"?

I think that you ne'er-do-wells who reason this way are the REAL embarrasments to black people.

 

[keylargo]

Honeyvibe, I don't think anyone meant that MJ was an embarrassment just because he was unattractive.

Correct me ladies if I am wrong-but I think he's seen as an embarrassment by some because he deliberately tries to rid himself of so called "black features".

It makes some feel like he's the one that is embarrassed by his blackness.

i think we are all proud of his artistic accomplishments however, if he appears to not accept himself as an african-american, how can we accept him?

personally, i could care less about what he does to himself. on the other hand, i can see why some may be annoyed by it.

 

[BlkMane]

Originally posted by Honey Vibe:

What's more incredible is that some of the ignorance that these products depend on does indeed exist, and I would submit that it can be seen in this thread. I'm talking about the catty commentary on Michael Jackson. This man rose from rags to riches, and we can actually say that an African American -- a descendant of slaves -- is one of the most recognized icons in the world. His biography and his creativity is a great credit to African Americans and inspirational. But he is judged an embarrasment to black people for cosmetic reasons?? How stupid would we consider white people if they said Bill Clinton is "an embarrasment to the race" because he's not asthetically pleasing? Are YOU a pretty black girl? Should I vote you out of Blackdom if you're not, because you're "embarrassing"?

I think that you ne'er-do-wells who reason this way are the REAL embarrasments to black people.

Now, now Honeyvibe. Why are you taking a little comment about Michael Jackson so personal? Everyone has the right to an opinion. You believe what YOU want about MJ and let the rest of us form our own conclusions about the weirdo.

MY thoughts: MJ IS an embarrassment to the race NOT because he isn't "aesthetically pleasing" (due to his own foolishness, might I add), but because it is QUITE OBVIOUS that he is ashamed of being black. Inspirational? Pleeeeeease. A credit to his race? Pleeeeeese. After Thriller, my respect for MJ went down the drain. I would hope that one day when I have children they DON'T look up to that fool.

Here is a man who has bleached his skin to be white, wears straight hair wigs to appear MORE white, has undergone so much plastic surgery on his nose to achieve a slender 'Caucasian' nose that his nose is now practically falling off, and has adopted, YES adopted two WHITE kids and claims them as his own. Am I as a black woman supposed to be proud of that? Give me a break!

Yes, the BLACK MJ was talented..I still enjoy listening to some Jackson 5 and "old school" MJ every once in a while, but that man is dead as far as I am concerned.

Sorry, but I can't deal with black folks who hate themselves.

 

[Honey Vibe]

</font><blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr />
Correct me ladies if I am wrong-but I think he's seen as an embarrassment by some because he deliberately tries to rid himself of so called "black features".

[/ QUOTE ]

I disagree. He has told the media several times that he has vitiligo -- a disease that destroys pigment in the skin. And let's not disregard the fact that he attempted for several years to "maintain his blackness", even though this disease is beyond his control: he wore body makeup over the white areas every day he presented himself to the public.

But still he's some sort of traitor to black people?

 

[Robin41]

I agree - lighten up, HoneyVibe. That was kinda harsh.

My comment about MJ has not as much to do with asthetics as it does with his demeanor. With all his success and money, I never hear about him doing anything for the black community. No benevolent donations to any HBCU's, no going back to the hood to help a brotha out, no scholarships for inner-city kids. Too busy hanging with Liz and Liza, I guess. If you want to claim him, go right ahead but it don't look like he's claiming you. My husband and I talk about this all the time and it's really sad.

Yeah, I had the Right On posters on my wall and loved him when he was young but I just can't dig his flow now.

I'll apologize now to all the MJ fans but he's one f*cked up individual.

 

[keylargo]

No I don't think he's really a trader. He just chooses to not associate himself with black folks that's all.

To anyone who's intersted, here's an update on Michael and what he's been up to. You'll have to copy and paste the entire link instead of clicking on it.

http://yahoo.eonline.com/News/Items/0,1,10921,00.html?yhnws

 

[vevster]

</font><blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr />
well with people like trick daddy making millions off of songs about being a thug, this was bound to happen.



[/ QUOTE ]

I sooo agree with this.... go to any music site and put in the key word THUG -- we gave the marketers at that company the verbiage to use!

 

[Honey Vibe]

Why are you taking a little comment about Michael Jackson so personal? Everyone has the right to an opinion. You believe what YOU want about MJ and let the rest of us form our own conclusions about the weirdo. The difference between an opinion and an ignorant comment is that an opinion is informed. You couldn't create one secular sentence about the man without calling him a vindictive name. Instead of calling him a fool, a weirdo, and one not deserving respect, you should explore the facts of the matter. It is QUITE OBVIOUS that he is ashamed of being black. Inspirational? Pleeeeeease. A credit to his race? Pleeeeeese. There is nothing substantial in these sentences. It's "quite obvious" he's ashamed of being black? Jackson has recently cited the president of Sony as a racist bigot; are these the words of a man ashamed of being black? It is painful to watch black people judge their own by their skin color, not the content of their character.

Here is a man who has bleached his skin to be white (no offense, but the only thing "QUITE OBVIOUS" at this point is that you have no facts on the matter), wears straight hair wigs to appear MORE white ( some questions: 1) When have black people ever not desired straight hair? do you also hate the ladies here who relax? are they some of the self-hating people you claim you can't deal with? 2) how possible is it for Jackson to wear -- what, kinky wigs? -- after the burns he suffered in the early 80s?) has undergone so much plastic surgery on his nose to achieve a slender 'Caucasian' nose that his nose is now practically falling off (one question: is there an area of your body that you're self-concious about? if you had the means, would you alter it? Would that make you the very "black folk who hate themselves", whom you "can't deal with"?), and has adopted, YES adopted two WHITE kids and claims them as his own. Since I'm not sure why adopting two white children is evidence of self-hatred, I'll leave this one alone.

I'm sorry if I sound like I'm spitting venom, but some of these comments are so mean-spirited and so stupid...

 

[Honey Vibe]

</font><blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr />
With all his success and money, I never hear about him doing anything for the black community.

[/ QUOTE ]

Michael Jackson's privately-owned charities do not differentiate between black and white. His charities target children, especially sick children, regardless of their race. He is also an environmentalist.