Heart FM’s road safety ad racist, says Cosatu
Cosatu has complained that a radio ad aimed at preventing drinking and driving makes all coloured people sound like drunks.
|||Cape Town - Cosatu has complained that a radio ad aimed at preventing drinking and driving makes all coloured people sound like drunks.
The advertisement is part of the Western Cape Transport Department’s awareness campaign called #BoozeFreeRoads, and the ads are called “Never An Accident”.
In the ad a guy is heard asking his friend: “Hey man, what’s your plans for tonight?”
A voice responds: “After a few beers with mates, I’m going to drive home tipsy.
“At 10:21 I’ll run a red light causing a collision with another car.
“The impact of the crash will crumple the left side of the other vehicle, crushing the door into the nine-year-old passenger, breaking several of her ribs and forcing them into her left lung causing severe internal bleeding…
“By 10.53 she’ll be pronounced dead on the scene by paramedics and I’ll go to jail and lose my job.”
Cosatu’s Western Cape Secretary Tony Ehrenreich has referred the ad to the Broadcasting Complaints Commission.
Ehrenreich says: “This advert has what sounds like a coloured male accent from the Western Cape talking about how much alcohol he will be consuming and the accident that he will then cause.
“This feeds into the stereotype that coloured people are drunks, abuse alcohol and are responsible for accidents and deaths. This is completely unacceptable and should be urgently addressed.”
The union group says in a statement that the ad is aired on Heart FM but Managing Director of the station, Renee Redelinghuys, points out they’re not the only one’s running it.
“We believe it is a fallacy to assert that race can be determined by the way someone speaks,” says Redelinghuys.
“While stereotypes that resonate with specific demographics do exist - and need to be used with caution - in this case it’s extremely important to be aware that this advert is part of a series where a number of different stereotypical voices are used.
“In each advert, the character describes the consequences of their actions in a shockingly normal manner.”
Spokesman for the Western Cape Transport and Public Works Department, Siphesihle Dube, says there’s nothing wrong with the ad.
“Prior to Cosatu’s complaint, no complaints or negative feedback have been received from the public after hundreds of airings, either when the spots ran in 2014/15 or in 2015/16,” explains Dube.
“During the 2015 Safely Home Attitudinal Survey, focus groups of all races listened to the ads, with none of the focus groups of any race picking up direct, implied or implicit racism in the ‘Never An Accident’ spots or any other Safely Home advertisement.”
Daily Voice