British bank embroiled in row over Sumo advert



Must not pretend to be Japanese?

"HSBC has become embroiled in a race row after it dressed up an overweight white man to look like a Japanese sumo wrestler for its latest advert. The model called Brian, who stars in the bank's commercial with the tag line "Fixed savings rates that won't budge", had his skin darkened and is wearing make-up that makes his eyes look narrower, it has been claimed. He is pictured in a Japanese-style wig and a traditional mawashi belt....

Godfrey King, director of the Anglo-Japanese Society of Wessex, said: "The fact that the picture depicts a sumo wrestler who is not actually a sumo wrestler, but has been made up to look like one, would be considered a high insult to the Japanese community. It is culturally insensitive. "It has insulted the honour of our nation."

HSBC is one of the largest banks in the world, with about 9,500 offices in 85 countries, including several in Asia. It was formerly known as the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation.

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