More on Mr. James

(Image from McDonald's website)

I may have mentioned the Mr. James ad campaign currently being run by McDonald's Japan. Debito Arudou, a naturalized Japanese citizen, wrote this recent article on the subject for the Japan Times. Some responses can be found here. Of course each individual is entitled to his own opinion, but it's a little off-putting that some people are essentially telling Debito to shut up and stop complaining. I mean, it's fine not to be offended by a questionable ad campaign. But what right do you have to tell other people how to feel about it?

Take that, Mr. James!

Or rather, take that, McDonalds.

A friend of mine asked in a comment a while back what I think of the whole Mr. James thing. While I'm not so completely turned off that I'm going to boycott McDonalds, I think it was a stupid and insensitive move on their part, and an unwise marketing decision. Perhaps some Japanese find it funny, but I think the more publicity this campaign receives, the more negatively it will reflect on McDonalds. A large, multinational corporation such as McDonalds with such extensive experience should know better than to run a campaign based on a stereotype (especially a negative one).

The Daily Yo-ji just released a spoof of Mr. James promoting Mos Burger, one of Japan's leading burger chains. They also sent a letter with their proposal to Mos Burger. Pretty funny. I really hope someone from Mos decides to pick up this counter-marketing plan and run with it.

H/t to Japan Probe. Here's the link for the video, if you can't view it embedded.