SA Human Rights Commission calls on citizens to report racist adverts

The SA Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) has called for submissions on allegations of racial discrimination or discrimination in general in advertising in the country.

The SAHRC said on Wednesday it would convene an inquiry into any such allegations in Johannesburg from March 14-18.

“In the recent past, there have been a few advertisements which have been indicative of racism and have evoked much criticism of the industry and their clients,” the statement reads.

One of these adverts was the TRESemmé Botanic, “the natural choice for moisturised hair”, advert placed on the Clicks website.

According to a previous article by TimesLIVE, the advert stayed up, with no apparent objection, on the website for more than a year. In September 2020, a cropped version was posted on social media leading to protests at Clicks stores across SA.

Both Clicks and Unilever SA, which produces and markets TRESemmé locally and prepared the original advert, apologised. 

But in September 2021, 18 black women took the two companies to the equality court, saying the advert was racist and amounted to unfair discrimination under the Equality Act.

According to the SAHRC, “To avoid the publication of another tone-deaf racist or discriminatory advert, and to ensure, in accordance with its objectives to promote: respect for human rights; a culture of human rights; and protection, development and attainment of human rights, the commission will undertake an investigation, into, among other aspects, the creation and publication of adverts and the people involved.”

The commission aims to draft medium and long-term interventions that will instil in the advertising sector, “a culture of human rights and produce mechanisms that promote equality and prevent unfair discrimination”. 

“And, in doing so, prevent the publication of discriminatory — racist, sexist, tribalist, homophobic, anti-Semitic, Islamophobic or ableist — advertisements.”

The commission requests the public, advertising agencies, retailers, regulatory bodies, marketers, organisations, government departments and entities and interest groups to make written submissions to the SAHRC by Friday, March 31.

TimesLIVE