Tuesday, May 31, 2011

"Racist" to mention someone's skin color?

We read:
"Supermodel Naomi Campbell has threatened to take legal action over a Cadbury advertisement that allegedly uses her name to promote a chocolate bar.

According to reports, the catwalk beauty accuses the chocolate giant of racism after an advertising campaign that not only uses her name without permission – but also “compares her to chocolate”.

The ad for Cadbury's Bliss shows a chocolate bar surrounded by diamonds with the slogan, "Move over Naomi, there's a new diva in town".

Campbell alleges the tag line is a jibe aimed at her and claims she is deeply offended at being compared to a chocolate bar.

The supermodel's mother, Valerie Morris, is said to have echoed her daughter's concern, "I'm deeply upset by this racist advert. Do these people think they can insult black people and we just take it? This is the 21st century, not the 1950s. Shame on Cadbury"

Source

18 comments:

Anonymous said...

What happened to the 'Milky Bar Kid' - he could certainly sue today on the same grounds of implied racism - or could he??

Anonymous said...

However - was there an image of N.Campbell on the product, or was her full name spelled out? The single name Naiomi doesn't just belong to her, or over which she has copyright - does it??

Anyway, weren't there american groups called Hot Chocolate or or black singers with lines about "brown sugar", etc. etc. - ??

stinky said...

Cadbury has apparently snagged Naomi Campbell as an unpaid publicist. As planned, I presume.

Anonymous said...

Yes - very clever marketing by the UK chocolate company to anticipate the stupidity of a supermodel to promote their dark-skinned product without pay!

Anonymous said...

Ah yes, "racism", that old sure-bet, can't miss, gauranteed path to a huge cash payoff. It's also a great way for some has-been model to get more attention. Notice how moma jumps right in to make sure she gets her share of the shake-down. Hey, when was the last time you saw a White person suing for racism?

"Beware of those who cry racism, for they are the true racists..."

Anonymous said...

Many of my black friends refer to themselves as chocolate with an air of superiority.
Would Naomi be as beautiful given all her features the same but not being black ? I think not. It's her precise combination that is her meal ticket.
She should not be playing the race card , and they should have consulted her first .
Maybe cadbury should try the chocolate city , people there are proud of what are . Maybe they can get endorsements from the Saints .

ISH GEBOR

Anonymous said...

oops...dropped a word

what they are.


ISH GEBOR

Anonymous said...

You call this news?????

Anonymous said...

The devilishly funny thing us that political correctness exactly mirrors the uprightness that defined the 50s and which created the 60s backlash!

-=NYC=-

Anonymous said...

ow! words sure are painful. What a crock of crap.

Anonymous said...

Nik,... the "uprightness" (as you call it) that defined the 50's has nothing to do with political correctness, which was intended to replace truth and to limit freedom and liberty.

Anonymous said...

I didn't think the ad compared her with chocolate. It didn't seem to be directly referencing her skin colour at all (although sure it was implicit).
Rather it was playing off her well deserved reputation for being a drama queen.

Anonymous said...

Anon 2:52am The milky bar kid grew up to become Kevin Rudd, the only sitting PM of Autralia to be sacked by his own majority ruling party before completing a first term in office. He is now officially Australia's only official gypsy with a parliamentry seat, travelling the world at tax payer expense in order to preserve the balance of the minority government held by his party after almost losing the last election, lest he quit politics and force a by-election which would see a change of government...Please let him quit.

Regarding Naomi, why has no one mentioned the blood diamonds that she was given? Surely that is the diamond reference in the ad?

-btm

Anonymous said...

Coz people are conditioned to see racism everywhere! Eventually the "race card" will become as meaningless as the "cry wolf" equivalent.

Anonymous said...

Anon 3 am: That ship sailed a long time ago!

sig said...

It said absolutely NOTHING about her skin color for crap sake! It called her a diva. Last I looked, "diva" doesn't have anything to do with race or ethnicity. F*cking Politically Correct creeps. It's all about publicity.

Anonymous said...

How stupid is this?Its for chocolate-something everbody like and not for toiletpaper!

Anonymous said...

I hope Cadbury and other companies have learned their lesson from this. Never use people of color in your advertisements, it is far too risky. Asians are oft considered white, unless pitted against Caucasians, so they might be safe. Although, avoiding offending them by exclusion might offend them that you are trying very hard not to offend them.