Recently there was considerable fuss about a billboard on the road to Pattaya. The billboard was advertising a wax museum that specialized in historical figures - not the most controversial establishment. But in this case the owners chose to use a picture of Adolf Hitler in its advertising which led to strong complaints from both the German and Israeli embassies, as well as from individuals who saw the sign. The question is why did this particular image stir up controversy.
The power of an image (especially the image of a person from history) is tied to a person's historical perspective and experience. In this case most Asian people have not had direct or historical experience with Hitler or the Nazi regime in Europe, and thus the image is not particularly powerful. In fact, in Asia it seems that many people consider Hitler to be merely interesting or even comical. This is quite different from the perspective of Jewish people, 6 million of whom were killed during the war, or German people who blame Hitler and his regime for the near destruction of their nation.
As an example from the other side of the world - there was a trendy little restuarant in Philadelphia PA, USA that used an altered image of HM the King in an advertisement. In this case the Thai Consul in New York complained to the US State Department, the City of Philadelphia and the resturant itself. The news was reported in the US, but public reaction was almost nonexistant becuase the people there just do not understand the importance of HM the King to the Thai people. It's an issue of perspective and sensitivity.
[BTW - the image above was taken from a newspaper in Miami, Florida USA]
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