This is now old news but I was shocked to hear that the Cadbury advert (with the Zingolo song I can't seem to get out of my head) received complaints for being racist! Cadbury were cleared of any wrong-doing and rightly so in my opinion. When I first saw the advert, I couldn't stop smiling because Ghana is my home country and it was great to see a positive depiction of Africa for once aside from those "For £2 A Month" adverts.
So when I heard that people were actually offended due to the use of "racial stereotypes", I had serious 'rolling of the eyes' action going on. "Racial sterotypes"?!?!? Was the nose on the mask too big? Were the people in the village dancing too wildly? Were the people in the village too black? That was a traditional African street party if I ever saw one so it leads me to think that these cries of racism are in fact outcries of embarrassment. This is OUR culture. Deal with it! Are you embarrassed because now Paul from the office is finally going to realise you are an African and that posh, restrained, "I was born in England" cover you had for the last 5 years is blown? To be accepted in this country, people adapt, different faces and demeanors for different situations, I fully understand that. But when faced with our history, culture, tradition, ethnicity - it's no longer time to hide behind that British passport. I think we should accept it, embrace it and thank Cadbury's for showing the colourful, vibrant side of Africa that I know and love.
