Nigeria's federal govt demands Sony apology over PS3 Slim Nigerian Prince joke
Nigeria's Federal Government has demanded an apology from Sony over the PS3 Slim's latest US advertisement.
The ad in question features the "Director of Rumour Confirmation" responding to a consumer asking about the $299 PS3 price-cut rumours, to which the Director responds:
"Bernie you can't believe everything you read on the Internet, otherwise I would be a Nigerian Millionaire by now."
The US campaign for the PS3 Slim was seen as a return to form for Sony Computer Entertainment, showing that they can not only make fun of themselves, but also understand internet memes.
The Nigerian Prince joke is in reference to email scams, where the sender claims to be a Nigerian government official or a member of its royal family and requests assistance to transfer millions of dollars out of Nigeria, often titled "Urgent, Private."
Nigeria's government has taken offence to the reference, asking for an unconditional apology from Sony Corp., seeing the ad as an attempt to undermine Nigeria's global business, the Nation Blog reports.
Prof. Dora Akunyili, information and communication minister, released this statement:
"It is on record that Sony Corporation has operated in Nigeria since independence and has enjoyed tremendous patronage from Nigerians at home and abroad.
"Over these years, there is no established record that the company has recorded any major fraud by Nigerians.
"While Nigeria accepts that there are few criminal-minded people within her population like any other country including Japan, the home country of Sony Corporation, the Federal Government has put in place institutions to rid the country of fraudulent practices."
http://www.gamezine.co.uk/news/formats/playstation3/nigeria-s-federal-govt-demands-sony-apology-over-ps3-slim-nigerian-prince-joke-$1325557.htm
