The Bournville Ghana Ad

There's this Bournville advert being broadcast on television for the past few months now which has strong currents of racism that no one has addressed. I am talking of course of a rather dumb looking 'cocoa' inspector who makes his way down to Ghana to buy 'the perfect cocoa' off of cocoa traders who assemble in front of him, all trembling and backward, watching this pretty ordinary 'white' man's every move as he sifts through every piece of cocoa, and decides its fate.

Secretly a KKK member.

The collective draws of breath as he examines the cocoa bean and rejects it with a resounding 'He's nothing'. This is followed by the embarrassed silence of the cocoa traders, did I mention they were stereotypically poor black men, stereotypically dressed like the slaves in Gladiator, and I tried searching for a screenshot of them on Google and came up blank. All that was available was this photo which hopefully brings my point across.

Not Ogilvy and Mather's finest moment.

The ad is produced by O&M, who have come up with timeless ads over the years, like this Guinness ad. Its classy, non-offensive and eye-catching. The Ghana ad is just imperialistic, and it rather takes your mind off eating a Bournville.
In reality, Cadbury, which is now owned by Kraft Foods, Australia, has actually pledged a Fairtrade agreement to cocoa producers in Ghana. In 2011, Cadbury used a fifth of its profit to help these producers. Despite all the criticisms about its lack of effectiveness, Cadbury's involvement in this pledge shows that it is genuinely cares about the socio-economic status of cocoa planters.
That may well be the case, but with this racist and imperialist ad they have lost my faith, and the faith of many Bournville fans around the world. Earning a Bournville now for me is just another way of saying 'I'm a racist pig'.

92% of you will switch channels the next time the ad is on.
Extra reading.