By Nyaniso Qwesha
An advert for Clicks this weekend illustrated hair in racist terminology that has pushed the country into an uproar.
What was concerning to me was the words put on the black hair as being dry and damaged hair, and the hair on the white person was considered normal.
The question remains: What was the intention of the advert? I had to try and align this debacle to the Hofstede’s Six Dimensions of Culture to put this in context and help companies understand their cultural biases.
According to one dimension of Hofstede’s Power Distance Index (PDI),
South Africa scored 49 on PDI. This score means that people accept a hierarchical order and the centralisation of power.
Furthermore, this is almost two years since a similar incident happened at H&M. I am highlighting H&M thinking that all the companies and advertising agencies have learned a lesson from what had happened.
This company was a global company that could not escape the backlash around the world, and South Africa was not immune, and this was because their advert was in bad taste.
Recently, Clicks posted an offensive advert, and everyone in South Africa has expressed distaste.
It amazes me that they did not take any lessons from the H&M saga. I would think this was an eye-opener to all companies in South Africa, specifically to treat diversity as an essential factor.
There is a critical need to include everyone, especially those affected by the decision to get their views about such adverts or events in the future.
Reading the below message from Clicks makes me think twice about them being sincere.
Why was the advert posted in the first place? Everyone involved did not see anything wrong with the advert, that it is in bad taste, needs revision and should be sent back to the designers.
An extract of an apology from
Clicks: “We would like to issue an unequivocal apology. We have removed the images which go against everything we believe in.
“We do not condone racism, and we are strong advocates of natural hair. We are deeply sorry and will put stricter measures on our website.”
What has this advert done to all of us is not going to be erased easily in our minds.
Clicks will need to take all the necessary actions to ensure that everyone in the company is aware of their efforts towards a diverse and inclusive society.
Qwesha is a risk and accounting professional and an MBA graduate from the University of Stellenbosch.
The Star