Please note:  This information page will be moving to http://snurl.com/Banzai3 because of yahoo group's new policy that does not allow non-group members to access files.  Please make a note of it!  (This does not affect people who are members of groups where this document has been stored.)

Feel free to forward this information to all interested parties.  You may also want to forward the link to this file:  http://snurl.com/Banzai3

What is "Banzai"?

"Banzai" is a television show on the Fox network that premiered on July 13.  It is purportedly a parody of Japanese game shows, and includes heavily accented actors and voiceovers (because evellybody know Asians all talk rike this) and gong sounds.  Fox's promotional materials state, "The show is hosted by MR. BANZAI, a mysterious figure who is like an enigma wrapped within a conundrum."  An inscrutable 'Oriental'!  How original!  A large part of the "humor" of the show is dependent on the funny accents, faces and strange behaviors of the "Asian" characters.  (By the way--Burt Kwouk speaks perfect English.  He should--he was born in Britain.)  

But the show appears to want to offend a larger audience than just those of Asian descent and other thinking individuals.  Some of the stunts include a one-legged man trying to kick a ball past a one-armed goalie and two midgets trying to climb up a basketball player.  

Given that people with disabilities and people of Asian descent face abuse, prejudice and discrimination on a regular basis, a show that uses them for the butt of humor is morally reprehensible.  It is unconscionable to give tacit approval to the abuse of those who are viewed as "different."  

If you are offended, please make your voice heard.  Fox is talking about picking up this show permanently.  PLEASE CONTACT THE SPONSORS!

Oh, and this show is not Japanese.  It was conceived of and produced by British television.  

You need to see this crap?  Here's a clip from Fox.

Contact Fox

If you are offended, you can let the station know:

1-800-369-6848 Fox Viewer Comment Hotline (toll free)

You can ask to leave a message for Gail Berman, entertainment president (trying to find the extension by name will not work).

E-mail Gail Berman at GailB@fox.com

Ms. Gail Berman

Entertainment President

Fox Network

10201 West Pico Blvd. 

Los Angeles, CA 90035

askfox@foxinc.com

Joseph Earley, Senior Vice President

Publicity and Corporate Communications

E-Mail joeea@fox.com

Phone 310-369-2969

Fax 310-369-8471

Scott Grogin, Vice President

Corporate Communications

E-Mail scottgro@fox.com

Phone 310-369-4733

Fax 310-369-1283

MY LETTERS TO THIS ADDRESS --> FOX Broadcasting Co., P.O. Box 900, Beverly Hills, CA 90213 Attn:  "Banzai" television show <-- (from the Fox Website) WERE RETURNED!  DON'T USE IT!

Also write or contact your local Fox affiliate:

http://www.fox.com/links/affiliates.htm

Form Letter to Fox (feel free to cut and paste)

You can cut and paste this form letter if you so desire:

I am writing to express my utter disgust with your new television
show "Banzai." It is completely unacceptable to use stereotypical
images of people of Asian descent and people with disabilities as the butt of
humor. Doing so gives tacit approval to abuse, prejudice and
discrimination.  Please take immediate action to terminate this offensive show.

Form Letter to Sponsors (feel free to cut and paste)

I am writing to inform you of the extremely offensive content of the Fox television show "Banzai," for which you are an advertiser.  Frankly, this is a terrible association for your product. 

It is completely unacceptable to use stereotypical images of people with disabilities and people of Asian descent as the butt of humor. Doing so gives tacit approval to abuse, prejudice and discrimination against these groups. Please let Fox know that this is unacceptable, and terminate your sponsorship of this offensive show.

Contact the Sponsors

This is the sponsor list for 08/17/2003.  Previous sponsor lists can be found here:  Sponsor list for 07/13/2003     07/20/2003    07/27/2003     08/03/2003     08/10/2003

If you e-mail or write the sponsors, please also consider cc:ing GailB@fox.com.

Paramount Pictures (weeks 5 and 6)

motionpictures@pde.paramount.com

Sherry Lansing, Chair

Paramount Studios
5555 Melrose Avenue
Hollywood, CA 90038

323.956.5000

fax 323-862-3775

AOL Time Warner, advertisements for New Line Cinema movies and Warner Brothers pictures (advertisements during weeks 4, 5 and 6)

aoltwir@aoltw.com

Barry M. Meyer, CEO

AOL Time Warner, Inc.

75 Rockefeller Plaza

New York, New York  10019

212-484-8000  

Wrigley’s, maker of Orbit Gum (weeks 4 and 6)

http://www.wrigley.com/wrigley/contact_us.asp

William Wrigley, CEO

Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company

410 N. Michigan Avenue

Chicago, IL 60611

(312) 644-2121

Terri Moore, advertising department  

Rob Doughty, rdoughty@whopper.com

Kim Miller, kmiller@whopper.com

305-378-3535

Bradley D. Blum, CEO
One Whopper Way
5505 Blue Lagoon Drive
Miami, FL 33126
(305) 378-7011 Fax: (305) 378-7403

try also bblum@whopper.com

United Airlines (week 6)

united@ual.com

847-700-4000

Glenn F. Tilton
Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer,
UAL Corporation

World Headquarters
P.O. Box 66100
Chicago, IL  60666
847-700-4000

glenn.tilton@ual.com seems to work

Tristar Pictures (a branch of Sony) (various "arms" of Sony have also advertised during weeks 1 and 3)

http://www.sonypictures.com/spe/help_feedback_index.html

Howard Stringer, Chairman and CEO
Sony Corporation of America
550 Madison Ave.
New York, NY 10022 USA

MGM Pictures

http://www.mgm.com/help.do

Alex Yemenidjian

Chairman and CEO

10250 Constellation Blvd.

Los Angeles,CA 90067

(310)449-3000

try AYemenidjian@mgm.com

U.S. Army

U.S. Army Public Affairs
Media Relations Division
Office of the Chief of Public Affairs
1500 Army Pentagon
Washington, DC 20310-1500

Phone: 703.692.2000

Petition

http://www.petitiononline.com/banzaitv/

Commentary

Sayonara, "Banzai" (excerpt)

Emil Guillermo, July 29, 2003

If you want to see how a bit of racism becomes acceptable in American society, tune in to KTVU-Fox channel 2 during prime time Sunday nights and catch "Banzai."

The Japanese word is defined by WordReference.com as a "patriotic cheer, a battle cry or a salutation."

But on "Banzai," the word itself is just a punch line, used over and over again.

When the show's gag segments fall flat (e.g., in a human form of three-card monte, guess which geisha has the red panties), the producers bet you'll always laugh at the karate-chopping Asian man.

Or the bespectacled Asian business guy who's having a bad hair day.

How funny. Especially when they punctuate everything on the show with the magic word said in an excruciatingly accented and anguished way: "Banzai!"

What else are we laughing at but the race and ethnicity of the participants?

"Banzai" shows just how racist prime-time TV can get when network execs think no one's watching during the summer.The show makes "Amos and Andy" seem like "Masterpiece Theatre." But instead of stereotypical Stepin Fetchit-type blacks, the show's main characters are two Stepin Fetchit-type Asians.

Fox's idiotic 'Banzai' is nothing to cheer about (excerpt)

Annie Nakao

Apparently heeding the demands of racial and ethnic minorities for diversity on television, Fox has put a few Asian faces on prime-time TV! True, in order to be there, Burt Kwouk has to shriek "Banzai!" at every opportunity, contort his face and leap into kung-fu kicks while his three "geisha" co-stars open their kimonos and flash their panties, but hey, you can't say the network hasn't done its part in showing Asians what they're good for on TV.

Banzai, My Ass (excerpt)

Gil Asakawa

I know there are people out there who think Asians are just being whiney, over-sensitive and overly politically correct when we complain about Asian stereotypes that are perpetuated in the popular media.

I know there are people out there who ask, "c'mon, can't you take a joke?" and think we should get a grip, relax, just laugh along and grow a sense of humor.

But when ugly, demeaning representations of Asians are constantly shoved in our face in the name of "humor," it's hard to swallow. And especially when those representations are as offensive as the ones featured in the new Fox network TV show, "Banzai!"

By Jeff Kuo
Special to ModelMinority.com
July 15, 2003

Asian Americans have had a long history of suffering discrimination and persecution because of the widespread misperception that all ethnic Asians are socially and culturally un-American. Stereotypical media portrayals of manic, socially awkward Asian men with thick glasses and thicker accents reinforce this misperception, as does the near-total absence of countervailing portrayals of Asian Americans functioning as recognizable members of American society.

The FOX television network's decision to broadcast and promote the TV show "Banzai" shows a blatant disregard for the consequences and power of racial media stereotypes. Asian American children are especially susceptible to the taunts and ostracism of their peers, who are likely to be entertained by the show's simplistic comedy premises and fast pace, but are unlikely to have developed the critical facilities necessary to reject the stereotypes presented.

More generally, to date there has been no indication that FOX ever intended the viewers of "Banzai" to question the portrayals of Asian men that constitute the show's signature images. To the contrary, as a patently mindless entertainment vehicle, "Banzai" is not intended for viewing with a socially critical eye.

Some defenders of "Banzai" have suggested that the show doesn't promote stereotypes, but rather makes fun of them. The cartoon at http://www.modelminority.com/images/postcards/banzai.gif illustrates the absurdity of this premise.

Still other supporters of the show point out that it is based on game shows that were created in Japan. Of course, the show's creative history does not alter the fact that the portrayals in FOX's show are demeaning stereotypes when seen from an American audience's perspective. Nor does it mitigate the consequences of the widespread viewing of these portrayals for Asian Americans, especially our children. Finally, it does not disqualify Asian Americans from criticizing the show, because Asian Americans are no more responsible for Japanese television productions than the Japanese American World War II internees were responsible for the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

Other defenders of "Banzai" have expressed outrage that Asian Americans should find cause for complaint about anything having to do with race relations in the United States. The voices of Asian Americans are so rarely heard in the mainstream media, and the history of Asian Americans in the United States is so rarely taught, that the relevance of race to the experiences of Asian Americans comes as a surprise to many people.

Many Americans are heavily invested in the stereotype of Asian Americans as "honorary whites" for whom race no longer creates a social stigma. They desperately cling to any anecdotal evidence they can find that will support this investment: the complicity of a few Asian actors in the production of "Banzai" or a few Asian friends who don't find the show offensive. As we bear witness in contradiction of these views, we expect to reap a whirlwind of outrage from those we have surprised with our rejection of the title of "honorary white."

Just Say No to ‘Banzai’ (excerpt)

Emil Guillermo

... So why not dump the Asian stereotypes and live off the generic gags using American actors. Because we’re laughing AT Asians here. THAT’S THE JOKE, no matter what the producers say.

It’s no less offensive than a show on African Americans called “YO,YO,YO” featuring a Mr. Watermelon man who spits out a seed after each sentence.

In the end, it’s the reliance on the Asian cultural stereotype that makes Banzai no different from a boorish Abercrombie and Fitch T-shirt.

And if you think it’s just about goofy foreigners, think again. To a Banzai watcher, you, Mr. and Mrs. Asian Pacific American, are no less foreign than Mr. Shake Hands Man.

If you don’t say “banzai” to Banzai, I assure you, kids at the mall will mimic Asian faces and mock you in accented talk. I guarantee it.

A simple hello would show respect. Banzai teaches them we don’t deserve it.

INFO ARCHIVE

Sponsor list for 07/13/2003     07/20/2003     07/27/2003     08/03/2003     08/10/2003    News Articles

Sponsor list for 07/13/2003:

Nike:

Nike Consumer Affairs
1-800-344-6453 - (6:30am - 4:50pm PST, Monday through Friday)
http://swoosh.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/swoosh.cfg/php/enduser/ask.php

Nike, Inc.
Consumer Affairs
PO Box 4027
Beaverton, OR 97076-4027
----------------------------------------------------------
Pizza Hut:

Consumer service representative
1-800-948-8488
http://www.pizzahut.com/contact_feedback.asp

Pizza Hut Corporate Office
14841 Dallas Parkway
Dallas, TX 75254
----------------------------------------------------------
The Smirnoff Co. (product: Smirnoff Ice)

1-800-733-4382

http://www.smirnoffice.com/faq/#submit

Smirnoff Ice Marketing Department
c/o Diageo North America North America, Inc.
6 Landmark Square
Stamford, CT 06901
----------------------------------------------------------
Sony Pictures (product: Bad Boys II movie)

http://www.sonypictures.com/spe/help_feedback_index.html

Howard Stringer, Chairman and CEO
Sony Corporation of America
550 Madison Ave.
New York, NY 10022 USA
----------------------------------------------------------
Sprint PCS:  Sprint has withdrawn!  Thanks, Sprint!

http://www2.sprintpcs.com/learn/form_public_question.asp

World headquarters:
(800) 829-0965

Sprint World Headquarters
6200 Sprint Parkway
Overland Park, KS 66251

National Media, Financial, Corporate Issues
Dan Wilinsky
Director, Media Relations
913-762-7017
DWILIN01@sprintspectrum.com

AK, AZ, CA, CO, HI, ID, MT, NV, NM, UT, WA
Robert Kelley
Director of Public Relations
602-745-7752
rkelle01@mail.sprintpcs.com

AL, AR, FL, GA, KY, LA, MS, NC, OK, SC, TN, TX
Mary Nell Westbrook
Director of Public Relations
972-405-3257
mwestb01@mail.sprintpcs.com

IL, IN, IA, MI, MN, MO, NE, ND, OH, SD, WI
Mark McHale
Director of Public Relations
847-384-6523
mmchal01@mail.sprintpcs.com

CT, DE, DC, ME, MD, MA, NH, NJ, NY, RI, VT, W/VA
Larry McDonnell
Director of Public Relations
301-214-9290
lmcdon02@mail.sprintpcs.com

----------------------------------------------------------
SBC:

SBC Public Affairs   07/28/2003 Update!  SBC has withdrawn its sponsorship of "Banzai"!  Thanks, SBC!
Selim Bingol
Phone: (210) 351-3991
sb1537@corp.sbc.com

Sponsor List for 07/20/2003 (week 2):

Verizon Wireless

https://www.verizonwireless.com/b2c/contact/email.jsp

1-800-922-0204

611 from your mobile phone

Dennis F. Strigl
President and CEO

Verizon Wireless

Attn:  Executive Relations

777 Big Timber Road

Elgin, IL 60123

Universal Pictures

http://www.universalstudios.com/homepage/html/contact_us/contact_form.cgi?email_id=21

Rick Finkelstein, President and CEO

Universal Pictures

100 Universal City Plaza
Universal City, CA 91608

Phone:   818-777-1000

Fax:   818-866-3600

Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC)

http://www.kfc.com/contact.htm

http://www.kfc.com/int_comments.htm   (international/Canada)

1-800-CALL-KFC

1-800-225-5532

KFC Corporate Office

1441 Gardiner Lane
Louisville KY 40213

Mountain Dew (a Pepsi company)

webmaster@mountaindew.com

Pepsi-Cola 1-800-433-2652

Steven S. Reinemund
Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer

PepsiCo., Inc.

700 Anderson Hill Road
Purchase, NY 10577
(914) 253-2000

Pizza Hut (THIS IS THE SECOND WEEK PIZZA HUT HAS SPONSORED BANZAI):

http://www.pizzahut.com/contact_feedback.asp

Consumer service representative
1-800-948-8488

Pizza Hut Corporate Office
14841 Dallas Parkway
Dallas, TX 75254

Yum! Brands Inc. (formerly Tricon Global Restaurants, Inc.) is the parent company for both Pizza Hut and KFC

1900 Colonel Sanders Lane

Louisville, KY 40213

Tel 502 874-2543 * Fax 502 874-8790

Media and Public Relations for Yum! Brands
Amy Sherwood
Vice President, Public Relations

1441 Gardiner Lane

Louisville, KY 40213
502/874-8200

888/2YUMYUM (1-888/298-6986)

yum.investor@yum.com

Subway

asksubway@subway.com

or http://www.subway.com/subwayroot/Applications/CustServ/frmCustomerService.aspx

1-800-888-4848

Fred DeLuca, President

Subway Franchise Headquarters
325 Bic Drive
Milford, CT 06460 USA
Tel.(203) 877-4281

Dimension Films (advertisements during weeks 2, 3 and 5) 

http://www.dimensionfilms.com/

Dimension Films

c/o Miramax Films

375 Greenwich St.

New York NY 10013

212-941-3800

213-951-4200

Quizno's Subs

http://www.quiznos.com/contactus0.asp?id=8

Quiznos Corporate Office
1475 Lawrence Street, Suite 400
Denver, Colorado 80202

Telephone:  720-359-3300
Fax: 720-359-3399

Hyundai North America

1-800-633-5151

Hyundai Motor America
10550 Talbert Avenue
P.O. Box 20850
Fountain Valley, CA  92728-0850

Chili's Restaurants (advertisements during weeks 2 and week 5)

http://www.chilis.com/contact/

1-800-983-4637

Ronald A. McDougall, CEO

6820 LBJ Freeway
Dallas, TX 75240
(972) 980-9917

General Motors

http://www.gm.com/gmcomjsp/contactus/emailus_comment_advertisement.html

info@gm.com

General Motors Corporation
300 Renaissance Center
P.O. Box 300
Detroit, Michigan 48265-3000
Phone: (313) 556-5000  

Sponsor List for 07/27/2003 (Week 3):

Universal Pictures (ran ads both week 2 and week 3)

http://www.universalstudios.com/homepage/html/contact_us/contact_form.cgi?email_id=21

Rick Finkelstein, President and CEO

Universal Pictures

100 Universal City Plaza
Universal City, CA 91608

Phone:   818-777-1000

Fax:   818-866-3600

Sony/Playstation 2 (Sony Pictures ran an ad during week 1)

http://us.playstation.com/contactus/consumerSupportForms/generic_Form.asp

Kazuo Hirai
President
Sony Computer Entertainment America (Makers of "Playstation2")
PO Box 5888
San Mateo, CA 94402-0888
800-345-7669 (800-345-SONY)
M-F 8:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. PST

Nike (ran ads for week 1 and week 3)

Nike Consumer Affairs
1-800-344-6453

http://swoosh.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/swoosh.cfg/php/enduser/ask.php

Nike, Inc.
Consumer Affairs
PO Box 4027
Beaverton, OR 97076-4027

Dimension Films  (advertisements during weeks 2, 3 and 5)   

http://www.dimensionfilms.com/

Andrew.T.Robbins@miramax.com

Dimension Films

c/o Miramax Films

375 Greenwich St.

New York NY 10013

212-941-3800

213-951-4200

AT & T Wireless

Mark Siegel, Vice President, National Brand & Marketing Media Relations
mark.siegel@attws.com

Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC)  (ran ads week 2, week 3, week 4)

http://www.kfc.com/contact.htm

http://www.kfc.com/int_comments.htm   (international/Canada)

1-800-CALL-KFC

1-800-225-5532

Yum! Brands Inc. (formerly Tricon Global Restaurants, Inc.) is the parent company for both Pizza Hut and KFC – Pizza Hut ran an ad during week 2; KFC has run ads week 2 and week 3

Media and Public Relations for Yum! Brands
Amy Sherwood
Vice President, Public Relations

1441 Gardiner Lane

Louisville, KY 40213
502/874-8200

Tel 502 874-2543 * Fax 502 874-8790

888/2YUMYUM (1-888/298-6986)

yum.investor@yum.com

Ikea

http://www.ikea-usa.com/ms/en_US/customer_service/contact_us/contact.html

1-800-434-4532  

USPR@memo.ikea.com

Ms. Pernille Lopez

President, IKEA North America

Ikea Corporate Office

496 West Germantown Pike

Plymouth Meeting, PA  19462

Telephone:  610-834-0180

try also pernille.lopez@memo.ikea.com and clive.cashman@memo.ikea.com

Inter IKEA Systems B.V.
Olof Palmestraat 1
NL-2616 LN Delft
The Netherlands

Fax: +31 15 215 38 38

General Motors  (ran ads both week 2 and week 3)

http://www.gm.com/gmcomjsp/contactus/emailus_comment_advertisement.html

info@gm.com

to find e-mail and 1-800 numbers for specific GM Brands, go to http://www.gm.com/gmcomjsp/contactus/

General Motors Corporation
300 Renaissance Center
P.O. Box 300
Detroit, Michigan 48265-3000
Phone: (313) 556-5000  

Subway (ran ads both week 2 and week 3)

asksubway@subway.com

or http://www.subway.com/subwayroot/Applications/CustServ/frmCustomerService.aspx

1-800-888-4848

Fred DeLuca, President

Subway Franchise Headquarters
325 Bic Drive
Milford, CT 06460 USA
Tel.(203) 877-4281

Sponsor List for 08/03/2003 (week 4)

Wrigley’s, maker of Orbit Gum (weeks 4 and 6)

http://www.wrigley.com/wrigley/contact_us.asp

William Wrigley, CEO

Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company

410 N. Michigan Avenue

Chicago, IL 60611

(312) 644-2121

Terri Moore, advertising department

McDonald’s (advertisements during weeks 4 and 5)

1-800-244-6227

http://www.mcdonalds.com/countries/usa/corporate/contacts/comments/marketing/marketing_form.html

Ralph Alvarez, CEO

McDonald’s Corporate Office

One Kroc Drive

Oak Brook, IL  60523

Phone 630-623-3000

Fax 630-623-6942

AOL Time Warner, advertisements for AOL and Warner Brothers Pictures (advertisements during weeks 4, 5 and 6)

aoltwir@aoltw.com

Barry M. Meyer, CEO

AOL Time Warner, Inc.

75 Rockefeller Plaza

New York, New York  10019

212-484-8000

Miller MGD Beer

http://www.millertalk.com/TalkToUs/Default.aspx

(You need to type anything in this box, and when the answer doesn’t come back, you click on “no” [this did not answer my question] and you will get a new pop-up box with a link to a feedback form.)

1-800-MILLER 6

Norman Adami, President and CEO

Miller Brewing Company

3939 W Highland Blvd
Milwaukee, WI 53208-2816

Phone:  (414) 931-2700

Wendy’s

Jack_Schuessler@wendys.com (CEO)

Wendy's Consumer Relations
Wendy's International, Inc.
4288 W. Dublin-Granville Rd.
Dublin, OH 43017
Phone: 614-764-3100

Fax: 614-764-3256

Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC)  (ran ads weeks 2, 3, 4)

http://www.kfc.com/contact.htm

http://www.kfc.com/int_comments.htm   (international/Canada)

1-800-CALL-KFC

1-800-225-5532

cheryl.bachelder@yum.com - Cheryl Bachelder - President and Chief Concept Officer, KFC

Yum! Brands Inc. (formerly Tricon Global Restaurants, Inc.) is the parent company for both Pizza Hut and KFC – Pizza Hut ran an ad during week 2; KFC has run ads week 2 and week 3

Media and Public Relations for Yum! Brands
Amy Sherwood
Vice President, Public Relations

1441 Gardiner Lane

Louisville, KY 40213
502/874-8200

Tel 502 874-2543 * Fax 502 874-8790

amy.sherwood@yum.com

david.novak@yum.com - David Novak - Chairman & CEO, Yum! Brands

888/2YUMYUM (1-888-298-6986)

Ikea (ran ads weeks 3, 4)  

http://www.ikea-usa.com/ms/en_US/customer_service/contact_us/contact.html

1-800-434-4532  

USPR@memo.ikea.com

Ms. Pernille Lopez

President, IKEA North America

Ikea Corporate Office

496 West Germantown Pike

Plymouth Meeting, PA  19462

Telephone:  610-834-0180

try also pernille.lopez@memo.ikea.com and clive.cashman@memo.ikea.com

Inter IKEA Systems B.V.
Olof Palmestraat 1
NL-2616 LN Delft
The Netherlands

Fax: +31 15 215 38 38

Subway (ran ads weeks 2, 3, 4)

asksubway@subway.com

or http://www.subway.com/subwayroot/Applications/CustServ/frmCustomerService.aspx

deluca_f@subway.com - Fred DeLuca - Founder and President
klotzer_m@subway.com - Michele Klotzer - Director of Public Relations
carroll_c@subway.com - Chris Carroll - Marketing Director

1-800-888-4848

Fred DeLuca, President

Subway Franchise Headquarters
325 Bic Drive
Milford, CT 06460 USA
Tel.(203) 877-4281

Nike (ran ads weeks 1, 4)

Nike Consumer Affairs
1-800-344-6453 - (6:30am - 4:50pm PST, Monday through Friday)
http://swoosh.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/swoosh.cfg/php/enduser/ask.php

Nike, Inc.
Consumer Affairs
PO Box 4027
Beaverton, OR 97076-4027

gary.destefano@nike.com - Gary M. DeStefano, President, USA Operations, NIKE, Inc.
mark.parker@nike.com - Mark G. Parker, President, NIKE Brand, NIKE, Inc.
charles.denson@nike.com  - Charles D. Denson, President, NIKE Brand, NIKE, Inc.
philip.knight@nike.com  - Philip H. Knight, Chairman, CEO & President, NIKE, Inc.

GlaxoSmithKline, makers of Valtrex

https://www.imgw.com/cgi-bin/imgw/wcb_coform.cgi

GlaxoSmithKline Customer Response Center 1-888-825-5249

Mr. J.P. Garnier, CEO

GlaxoSmithKline USA

5 Moore Drive

P.O. Box 13398

Research Triangle Park, NC  27709-3398

Sponsor List for 08/10/2003 (week 5)

McDonald’s (advertisements during week 4 and week 5)

1-800-244-6227

http://www.mcdonalds.com/countries/usa/corporate/contacts/comments/marketing/marketing_form.html

Ralph Alvarez, CEO

McDonald’s Corporate Office

One Kroc Drive

Oak Brook, IL  60523

Phone 630-623-3000

Fax 630-623-6942  

Paramount Pictures

motionpictures@pde.paramount.com

Sherry Lansing, Chair

Paramount Studios
5555 Melrose Avenue
Hollywood, CA 90038

323.956.5000

fax 323-862-3775

Disney

guest_mail@online.disney.com

Michael D. Eisner, Chairman and CEO

Phone:  818-560-1000

T-Mobile

1-800-937-8997

http://voicestream.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/voicestream.cfg/php/enduser/ask.php

Kim Thompson, T-Mobile USA, Corporate Communications Phone: +1 425 378 4074; E-mail: kim.Thompson@t-mobile.com

Customer Relations
T-Mobile Customer Relations
PO Box 37380
Albuquerque, NM 87176-7380

T-Mobile

12920 S.E. 38th Street,
Bellevue, WA 98006
1-800-318-9270

try also robert.dotson@t-mobile.com

Castrol Oil

1-800-462-0835

castrol@idea-factor.com

Castrol Consumer North America Inc.
1500 Valley Road
Wayne, NJ 07470

973-633-2200

AOL Time Warner, advertisements for New Line Cinema movies and Warner Brothers pictures (advertisements during weeks 4, 5 and 6)

aoltwir@aoltw.com

Barry M. Meyer, CEO

AOL Time Warner, Inc.

75 Rockefeller Plaza

New York, New York  10019

212-484-8000  

Dimension Films (advertisements during weeks 2, 3 and 5) 

http://www.dimensionfilms.com/  

Andrew.T.Robbins@miramax.com

Dimension Films

c/o Miramax Films

375 Greenwich St.

New York NY 10013

212-941-3800

213-951-4200  

Chili's Restaurants (advertisements during weeks 2 and week 5)

http://www.chilis.com/contact/

1-800-983-4637

Ronald A. McDougall, CEO

6820 LBJ Freeway
Dallas, TX 75240
(972) 980-9917  

Rob Doughty, rdoughty@whopper.com

Kim Miller, kmiller@whopper.com

305-378-3535

Bradley D. Blum, CEO
One Whopper Way
5505 Blue Lagoon Drive
Miami, FL 33126
(305) 378-7011 Fax: (305) 378-7403

try also bblum@whopper.com

Freevibe.com (the National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign)

http://www.freevibe.com/contact_us.shtml

freevibe@freevibe.com

News Articles

Is Being Funny Enough? 

It's a sticky question when dealing with a show like Fox's Banzai, which hinges on racial stereotypes. But when it comes to mocking the daughters of privilege in The Simple Life, things get, well, simpler.

LOS ANGELES - For TV critics these days, it's the $64,000 question: Can a TV show be considered offensive, even when many who may bear the brunt of the joke seem okay with it?

That's the question that has emerged over the past two days, as executives from the Fox network have faced the semiannual gathering of TV critics here with an unabashed show of support for their new summer series Banzai.

They say Banzai, which first appeared in Britain, is a spoof of the extreme game shows that clutter the dial in Japan. (Living there years ago, I saw one where men were challenged to sit on a block of ice drinking beer with no bathroom breaks. Really.) In Fox's version, a narrator with a thick accent introduces stunts set up by the show, encouraging viewers to bet each other on the outcomes.

The stunts are often side-splitting: One Japanese guy named "Mr. Shake Hands Man" (Fox doesn't release their real names) addressed Frasier star Kelsey Grammer in heavily accented English, shaking his hand continuously until the star pulls away. (Viewers bet on how long Grammer will stand there.)

Another stunt involves a bizarre bit of "umbrella roulette" in which two guys face each other, each picking a small umbrella from a pile to point it at his face and push the button to release it. (Only one in the pile will extend, smacking the unlucky picker in the chops.) It's silly situational humor a 5-year-old could appreciate.

But it's also undoubtedly made funnier by the attitudes of the show's cast, who are all Japanese and speak in heavy accents. (Word is they often have to record multiple takes to produce understandable dialogue.) There's also lots of splashy graphics in fake Japanese characters.

In other words, much of the humor springs from laughing at the culture and mannerisms of foreigners who don't speak English very well.

On Thursday, a group of about 20 people stood outside the TV critics meeting at the Renaissance Hollywood Hotel to protest the program, which debuted to strong ratings Sunday, calling it an "Asian minstrel show."

But Fox entertainment president Gail Berman swore the network has received few or no protests since the show's debut Sunday.

"We're basically talking about no response (from viewers) at the network," said Berman, noting that one of the executives who developed the show is Asian-American. "This did not resonate with most of the viewers, it didn't resonate with the critical community, or the Asian-American community. I have a lot of evidence that shows we're on the right track with this one."

I couldn't help feeling Berman missed the point.

Shows such as Amos 'N Andy in the 1950s proved stereotypes can be funny, and they can be enjoyed by many people from the minority group that is stereotyped. But just because the network has cobbled together a funny series doesn't mean it isn't also perpetuating awful stereotypes.

Part of the problem is the TV landscape: There are no series starring Asian casts but this one - which shows them jumping around and shouting like extras from a bad Hong Kong martial arts film. And with Asians virtually invisible in prime time, seeing a white-owned TV network bankrolling a show filled with backward images of Asian culture is what makes this all so distasteful.

For this African-American, watching Banzai felt like looking back in time to the 1950s, when black actors filled demeaning (if entertaining) roles just to get on TV at all. If Hispanics are treated on TV now the way black characters were in the 1970s - underrepresented, but with a few shows and key roles - then Asians have even further to go for equality on the dial.

Asian American Media Group Protests Fox's Banzai (Reuters)

By Ben Berkowitz

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - An Asian-American media group on Thursday protested the Fox network's airing of "Banzai," a parody of a Japanese game show, saying it demeans and stereotypes Asian people.

Outside a network presentation in Hollywood, about 20 members of the Media Action Network for Asian Americans carried signs and shouted into bullhorns, protesting the show.

The program, which debuted to strong ratings last Sunday, features an off-screen announcer speaking in a clipped parody of a Japanese accent, fake Japanese language graphics, and a karate-chopping middle-aged Asian host known as Mr. Banzai.

The show first ran on Channel 4 in Britain.

"It's just all the backward images of Asian-American people," Guy Aoki, co-founder of the group, which monitors the depiction of Asian Americans in media, told Reuters.

This is like an Asian minstrel show," Aoki said. "Can you imagine the black version of Banzai?"

The protest came as Fox's senior executives prepared to make a presentation at the Television Critics Association summer tour for press, during which they preview their new fall lineups.

The demonstrators were confined to an area on the sidewalk in front of the hotel where the tour is taking place.

One of those senior executives, Gail Berman, the president of entertainment for Fox Broadcasting, was a creator of the ABC 1994 sitcom "All-American Girl," the first broadcast show with a predominantly Asian cast, starring Margaret Cho.

"We've received an entire range of comments on the show, both pro and con," Fox spokesman Scott Grogin told Reuters. "It's a satire, a parody of Japanese game shows. It's very tongue-in-cheek and should not be viewed as anything but."

Carrying a sign that read, "Fox puts profit before people," Aoki said his group held two meetings with the network about "Banzai," asking that it not be aired, but said Fox executives declined to address their concerns.

He said that Fox indicated if Banzai comes back for a second season, they may add a disclaimer at the beginning of the show.

But Aoki said a disclaimer was not enough to assuage his group's concerns. They want the show to be canceled and for Fox to apologize for airing it in the first place.

Fox is a unit of News Corp. Ltd.

'Banzai' Shakes Up Snoozing TV Viewers (Miami Herald)

last updated August 19, 2003   Thanks to the many people who contribute to this page!