British Advertising Board Says Cadbury’s Naomi Campbell Ad Isn’t Racist

by Chloe Marmet | 4:28 pm, June 20th, 2011

While we never thought we’d side with Naomi Campbell, when Cadbury released an ad last month comparing her to a chocolate bar, we totally supported her call for the company to make a public apology. The brand complied, Campbell did not take legal action, and we thought the whole thing was over. It’s not. Today, the Advertising Standards Authority released a statement saying the ad was not racist.

The advertisement in question reads “Move over Naomi, there’s a new diva in town”, which Cadbury claimed refers to the model’s largely publicized attitude problem. But it does seem a little ridiculous that the Campbell is being compared to a bar of chocolate, and we totally have to back Naomi up on this one: it’s racist.

The ASA defended their decision saying “the council decided that the ad was unlikely to be seen as racist or to cause serious or widespread offence.” This seems doubtful seeing as Campbell was not the only one to voice complaints. The model’s mother said that she was “deeply upset by this racist advert” and the organization Operation Black Vote publicly supported Campbell in her call for the ad to be removed.

The ASA statement went on to say that the slogan would “likely to be understood to refer to Naomi Campbell’s reputation for ‘diva-style’ behaviour rather than her race”. While this may be true, the keyword is ‘likely’. We have to wonder whether Cadbury would actually start reprinting the ad when there’s a chance some customers could be justifiably offended.

[Guardian]

naomi campbell Naomi Campbell Cadbury Naomi Campbell chocolate ad Naomi Campbell racist Cadbury ad racist Cadbury ad

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