more on the stupid six flags ads

We've known about that stupid series of Six Flags commercials featuring the screaming, accented Asian man. You know. "More Flags! More Fun!" The summer ad campaign now seems to be picking up some attention in mainstream press: 'Six Flags' TV ads get thumbs down from some Asian Americans.

According to the story, New York's Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund, which has received several email complaints about the ads, will be contacting other activist groups as it considers taking action against Six Flags. I sense a counter-campaign coming.

As I've noted before, it's no coincidence that the crazy dude in the commercials happens to be an Asian man. The campaign was apparently designed specifically with a stereotypical Banzai-esque Asian guy in mind. The unfortunate thing is, the backlash from idiotic stuff like this could discourage future advertising featuring "normal" Asian people, for fear of stereotyping. Why is it so hard to get it right?