"Couples Retreat" Poster In United Kingdom Removes Black Couple, Studio Issues Weak Excuse

Universal Pictures, a division of NBC Universal and General Electric Co., changed "Couples Retreat" marketing material for the film's Great Britain release and removed the black couple, played by Faizon Love and Kali Hawk, from both the poster's photo and the list of stars typed out. The film features four couple who go on vacation together.

The U.K. Mail on Sunday reports:

The studio said it regretted causing offense and has abandoned plans to use the revised poster in other countries... A Universal spokesman said the revised advert aimed 'to simplify the poster to actors who are most recognizable in international markets.'

Somehow I don't buy the studio's lame excuse. How come it was the black couple who was inadvertently left out of the marketing material?  I'm sure Malin Akerman isn't known the world over.

UPDATE#1:  Robert "Bob" Redding, of the Redding News Review, calls for a boycott of Universal Pictures. While I believe the marketing department of Universal Studios deliberately omitted the two black co-stars from the poster, it would make more sense to see if the studio has a pattern of this behavior before calling for a boycott. It would make more sense for Mr. Redding and his team to do some investigative work first before boycotting the studios.