A photo that appeared on Microsoft's US website turned up on the website of the company's Polish business unit with a few key changes. The pic had been edited to replace the head of the black man with that of a white man.
It's an amateurish photoshop job. The hand of the black man has been left in place. The position of the imported head looks awkward in relation to the torso giving the impression of a bad case of crick-in-the-neck. The head also appears to be a tad too large.
The Asian man made the transition to the Polish site without having any body parts replaced.
The vast majority of Poles are white and some pundits have suggested that the photoshopped pic might reflect, for want of a better term - 'localization' concerns. Another way of putting it is to say that the PS job was about catering to racial priorities.
Microsoft is an international company supportive of diversity and its ads ought to be reflective of that when appearing on Polish sites or anywhere else.
It seems probable the pic was photoshopped in a misguided effort to render it more kosher for a Polish audience, possibly by some party on the Polish site.
Microsoft has apologized for the 'gaffe' and will be investigating to find out who was responsible for the changes.
The company also issued an apology on its official Twitter feed:
"Marketing site photo mistake - sincere apologies - we're in the process of taking down the image."
BBC report - here.
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