Asian-Americans complain about Henderson ad

Friday, Sept. 22, 2000 | 11:12 a.m.

A Henderson car dealership doesn't plan to pull a television ad a local civil rights organization says is insensitive to people of Asian descent.

Rich Abajian, general manager of Findlay Toyota, a dealership in Henderson's Valley Auto Mall complex, said he is sorry his ads with an Asian character depicting a crime figure have offended some people. But he said he has no plans to drop the commercial because he has received as many compliments about it as he has received criticisms.

That doesn't sit well with Betty Atkins, president of the 245-member Las Vegas chapter of the Japanese-American Citizens League, a civil rights organization that stands up for the rights of all minority groups, but focuses specifically on matters involving Asians.

Atkins, who hadn't seen the ad but had it described to her by outraged members of her organization, plans to write letters to Findlay and possibly the television stations that are airing the commercial to express the organization's concern.

She said the ad was brought to her attention by Mel Ozeki, publisher and editor of Ohana, a travel and leisure magazine published in Las Vegas.

Ozeki, who served in the U.S. Defense Department training officers in human-relations skills and how to identify and address issues affecting diversity, also has a doctorate from Kansas State University in adult education, with an emphasis on institutional discrimination.

"I called Findlay Toyota," Ozeki said. "They told me that it (the ad) was something that was all done in fun. But if you do something that makes fun of a particular race, it's no longer fun."

The ad depicts a crime-fighting duo that confronts "Evil High Price," a villainous Asian man clad in black, and his gang. A martial-arts battle breaks out and at the end of the spot, the villain, in a headlock administered by the hero, says, "in the Valley Auto Mall" with an exaggerated accent. The vocal soundtrack is off sync with the action, spoofing English-dubbed Japanese movies.

Abajian said the commercial is intended as a spoof of the popular "Austin Powers" movies, in which star Michael Myers plays a secret agent from the 1960s who battles a modern-day nemesis named Dr. Evil, also portrayed by Myers.

In the series sequel, a dwarf actor serves as Dr. Evil's henchman; in the Toyota ad, the hero -- played by dealership sales manager John Barr -- has a 5-year-old partner known as "Bitty Barr." The two vanquish Evil High Price, who is played by another dealership sales manager, Tom Phan, who is of Asian descent. Phan could not be reached for comment.

Barr has given the dealership mileage with a series of ads and promotions that take advantage of his likeness to rock star Rod Stewart. The young actor who plays Bitty Barr, Justin Glenn, and Barr were profiled in a promotional feature paid for by the dealership that appeared in the Sun and the Las Vegas Review-Journal this week.

The television commercials have been running on local stations with a heavy emphasis on NBC affiliate KVBC Channel 3, which is airing Olympic Games coverage this month. Representatives of Channel 3 and KLAS Channel 8, which also ran the commercial, said they have received no pressure to pull the ad and no public criticism.

Atkins, whose organization includes Chinese, Hawaiians, Filipinos and blacks as well as Japanese, said she's hoping for a formal apology from Findlay Toyota and for the dealership to stop running the ad.

"If we let this slide," said Atkins, "it's like we're approving their depiction of Asians in this way."

She said her organization also has confronted the Mandalay Bay hotel-casino about the company's use of a slot machine called Fortune Cookie. She said the sound effects produced by the machine depict a stereotyped Asian accent.

Ozeki, who said he saw the ad for the first time over the weekend when he "was glued to the Olympics," said the stereotyped accent and depiction of a crime figure as a martial-arts expert is a slur against anyone of Asian descent.

"To disparage an entire race isn't right," Ozeki said. "I found it to be quite demeaning."

But Abajian said his critics need to lighten up and recognize that the campaign is a humorous depiction of the "Austin Powers" genre and not a slam at Asians. He also said that some people have told him it was the best local spot they had ever seen.

"By no means did we mean to offend anybody," said Abajian, who has been with Findlay since 1983 and came to the dealership after a coaching career at UNLV. "I do apologize to anybody who took this seriously. But it's not true life, it's making fun of the movies, of "Austin Powers" and Jackie Chan films.

"Come take a look at our store and you'll find it's a multicultural environment with people of all colors. We poke fun at ourselves and we laugh together at each other."

Abajian said he has no plans to pull the ads, saying they are budgeted to run another four to six weeks. He cited the expense of the production of the commercial as a reason for its continued airing, but did not say how much the ad cost to produce and run.

The Federal Communications Commission regulates television stations and other broadcasters. Critics of the Findlay ad didn't mention any plans to complain to the FCC.

The dealership, ironically, features Toyotas. Toyota is based in Japan.