SA charity apologises for controversial ad

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SA charity apologises for controversial ad --

Mon, 14 Jul 2014 13:00

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An advert by Ogilvy and Mather for South African charity Save A Child, which presented a wealthy white woman feeding a black child like a dog, has been withdrawn from all media following accusations that the commercial was offensive and racist.

According to Alza Rautenbach, Chief Executive of Save a Child, the Feed a Child advert was not meant to cause any offense and was in fact, intended to highlight the issue of child hunger in South Africa. The child was a character that the agency used. It wasnt chosen for any specific reason and yes, the idea was to use multiracial people, just as our country is. It doesnt help to have an advert that is not representative.

Nonetheless the organisation has released a statement in which it apologises to those who might have been insulted or upset by the commercial and recognises that it could have been seen as inconsiderate or in bad taste.

According to a statement: We acknowledge the fact that the advert could have been seen as insensitive or distasteful and we take heed to the fact that many perceived the advert as racist. This was most certainly not the intention, and again we apologise.

Unfortunately the core message of the commercial became diluted or even lost through the interpretation thereof.

The core message of the commercial was to draw attention to the extremely important issue of malnutrition and raise awareness of the plight of many children in South Africa who go to bed hungry.

View the Feed a Child commercial.

View the response to the Save a Child advert.

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