Chicago Cubs = Advertising Stupidity

It seems entirely normal to see the Chicago Cubs and stupidity in the same sentence. After all, for a team that hasn’t sniffed a World Series since 1908, the Lovable Losers from the North Side have become synonymous with words like "incompetent" and "bone-headed" (see: 2003 National League Championship Series for just one of many, many examples).

Well, it appears that our consistent friends from the Second City recently realized that if they screw up so often on the field, then the next logical step would be to screw up off the field. And did they ever hit one onto Waveland Avenue with this marketing gem.

Take a look at this picture …

That is Kosuke Fukudome, a Japanese baseball star that is getting $48 million to be the new right-fielder for the (surprisingly) defending champions of the NL Central. And that picture is part of the advertising campaign that the Cubs organization put together for their newest addition. Looks clever? Right? Looks harmless? Right?

But, as Penn State's beloved Lee Corso would say, “Not so fast, my friends!”

According to always-trusted, never-wrong Wikipedia,

"The Rising Sun Flag is the military flag of Japan. It had been used as the ensign of the Imperial Japanese Navy and the war flag of the Imperial Japanese Army until the end of World War II. It is also presently the ensign of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force and the war flag of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force.

This flag is often considered offensive in countries which were victims of Japanese hostility, particularly China, Australia, United States and the Koreas, where it is seen as alarming, nationalistic and hostile."

Pretty bad, huh? Oh, it gets worse – much worse.

According to the blog, With Malice,

“Some of the responses declared it ridiculous to equate the Rising Sun to the Swastika. It’s amazing that people with absolutely no idea as to how this would be received in Japan/Asia feel qualified to issue judgment as to how offensive it is. “…to equate anything with the nazi flag is just an emotional appeal.” and “I would be shocked if anyone besides bloggers are “offended” by this image…”

Well, prepare to be shocked. The ‘nazi flag’? Actually, that’s a pretty accurate comparison. Most people in Japan hold this particular symbol in the same regard as Germans hold the symbols of nazism.”

The morale of the story? Think a little and do 15 minutes of research before you create an advertising campaign. Otherwise, you'll get something that is potentially offensive to millions of people. Or you get the Naomi Campbell-dancing lizards-Thriller fiasco.