It’s always a little risky when major corporations try to wedge themselves into a subculture that hasn’t invited them in.
Hiphop-Ads hustles us in the direction of the latest leg of Nissan’s “SHIFT” campaign, entitled “SHIFT_Respect.” (Insert cringe here.) With a highlight on the Tokyo hip-hop subculture, the campaign aims to illustrate the iffy ethos, “The Black Experience is everywhere.”
It’s a fine line Nissan walks. “The Black Experience is everywhere”? It just pokes nerves all around – among those sensitive about what it is to be black, those who feel Asians and other non-white or black minorities do nothing but throw themselves behind majority trends, and those concerned about the commoditization of hip-hop.
Did you have to say The Black Experience is everywhere? Who knows, maybe it’s genius. At least it starts a conversation. We’ll totally ignore the fact that it’s a conversation that gets rehashed more than the sum total of celebutrash trolling bars without panties.
