A new campaign by the Human Rights Commission that attempts to portray casual racism in Australian workplaces has been lambasted as “unrealistic and divisive”.
The 30-second TVC shows a white man opening the lift to a female colleague but hurriedly pressing the door close button when a dark-skinned colleague approaches. Check out the ad below.
Although the Human Rights Commission has been applauded for taking a stand about racism in the workplace, many have called the ad unrealistic and another pot-shot at white males.
Conservative radio host, Paul Murray, led the condemnation posting to his Facebook page over the weekend: “Not a sketch, not a joke. THIS is what HRC thinks ‘White Men’ do in lifts. What rubbish!”
Advertising guru and Thinkerbell boss, Adam Ferrier, said the ad lacked subtlety and was a “ham fisted” approach to tackling the entrenched problem of racism.
Ferrier telling Seven’s Weekend Sunrise: “Advertising is not good at changing deep-seated values and views. People in these ads are obviously very, very racist and so it’s not really going to help change those types of views. The people who are responding badly obviously have deeply entrenched racist views, and an ad isn’t going to help that.”
Many others penned their disappointment about the ad to the Human Rights Commission’s Facebook page. “Of course it has to be a white man being racist and a white woman ‘calling him out’. What PC nonsense,” wrote one. While another added: “As a brown skinned female who is 52 years old, I have never experienced any form of racism in my life.”
However, some were more supportive of the ad’s message: “I have personally experienced racism and am grateful for this video. I have also stood by others when people have been racist towards them or us. So I suspect the comments denying it are generally from those who are too privileged to even notice.”
The campaign also includes a second ad, which you can check out below:
