Faizel Patel, Radio Islam News – 2013-04-23

A Local security gate manufacturer, Xpanda, has come under serious fire on Twitter for a racist advert that’s being broadcast on radio.

The advert features a black man explaining why he is in jail after attempting to steal his “Madam’s chicken”.

The transcript for the radio advert, currently circulating on South African broadcast networks is:
 
“What you inside for, boet?”
 
“Eish, I was so hungry. So I walk up to the kitchen by the boss’s house and grab a roast chicken. The madam, she slammed the Xpanda door in my face. No way out. That is how I ended up in jail, with no chicken. Eish.”

According to the Advertising Standards Authority, two complaints have so far been registered and have confirmed that they would investigate the claims. The average turnaround time for these investigations is about 30 days.

Meanwhile the company released a statement saying:

We sincerely thank you for the correspondence and thoughts regarding the radio ad we have just flighted.
 
It is VERY IMPORTANT though to understand that we have by no means singled out any one ethnic group, as we have recorded 4 ads in total for this campaign (a white Afrikaans male, an Indian, a black male and a Coloured) who all explain how they ended up in jail. This means that we have covered all the major ethnic groups in South Africa and have NOT singled out one group from another.
 
We honestly feel that you will be a bit more enlightened and feel less aggrieved once you hear the other 3 ads.
 
That being said, crime is such a sensitive topic in the country at the moment – so all we intended doing was adding a bit of humour to what is normally a very bleak topic.
 
We apologize that you feel offended but can assure you that once you hear the entire campaign – and hear the white guy, the Indian guy and the coloured guy – you will feel more at ease.
 
Everyone who recorded/worked on these ads (white, black, coloured) had a blast doing them and shared the same view as we do – and that is that we are ALL South Africans, and we all add a unique flavour to this diverse and amazing country that we live in.
 
We will be releasing the other radio ads shortly and hope you will have a better, holistic understanding of the campaign once you hear the rest of the ads, and will be at peace knowing no single group of people were singled out

Along with the radio advert, a print advert by the company was also mentioned in the tweets. It shows a scantily clad pregnant woman and reads, “A one-night-stand arrives with a bump and bad news. You should have had an Xpanda.”

Its tagline says “Keep out unwanted visitors!”