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- The Advertising Regulatory Board backed Opel South Africa following a complaint that a radio ad was offensive to Indians by insinuating skin lightening.
- The radio commercial features characters Raj 1 and Raj 2, with Raj 1 claiming enlightenment and suggesting others should "lighten up" by driving the Opel Corsa Lite.
- Opel South Africa apologised and explained that "enlightened" and "lighten-up" do not relate to skin lightening.
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The Advertising Regulatory Board (ARB) came to the aid of Opel South Africa after one complaint claimed that a radio advert by the motoring company was offensive to Indians after using the words “lighten up” which the complainant interpreted as a jab at skin lightening.
The radio commercial, which was aired on Hot 102.7, promotes the Corsa Lite car by using two characters named Raj 1 and Raj 2.
In the commercial, Raj 1 and Raj 2 engage in a conversation where Raj 1 mentions that he now goes by the name Ray because he recently became enlightened and discovered "the light".
Raj 2 acknowledges his newfound radiance, and Raj 1 suggests that others can also "lighten up" by driving the new Opel Corsa Lite, which offers a more mature style, spaciousness, and improved features.
The ad concludes with the tagline: "Opel Corsa Lite. The lite side of life."
The complainant believed that the advert is offensive to Indians when using references such as lightening, or lighten up.
"It is a so-called [I]ndian accent being used, referring to 'lightening' of [I]ndians - which is synonymous with skin lightening," the complainant said.
Opel South Africa apologises
Opel South Africa apologised to the complainant and clarified that the advert meant no harm.
The company also provided context for the radio commercial, explaining that it features characters from previous Corsa Lite campaigns who have now aged and evolved.
The term "enlightened" in the advert refers to "gaining greater knowledge or spiritual understanding".
In addition to this, "lighten up" is meant to convey becoming less serious and more cheerful.
In the context of the advert, Opel SA emphasised that "enlightened" and "lighten-up" have absolutely nothing to do with skin lightening and cannot be interpreted as such by a reasonable reader.
Ad watchdog comes to Opel South Africa’s defence
The Directorate of the ARB acknowledged that colourism may be common within the Indian community.
However, in this context, the words "light", "enlightened" and "lighten-up" should be considered within the context of the radio advert.
Despite the use of the words "ray”, "light", and "glow", the ad still doesn’t make reference to skin lightening or associated products, and therefore cannot be interpreted as such.
"The Directorate recognises the complainant's concerns and sensitivities with regard to racial issues and discrimination. However, as mentioned above, the content of the radio commercial has to be considered objectively from the viewpoint of the hypothetical reasonable person.
"For the reasons mentioned above, the Directorate is of the view that the radio commercial does not imply or refer to 'lightening' of Indian skin colour or skin lightening, and therefore does not demean or exploit Indian people," said the Directorate.
The Directorate of the ARB therefore does not consider the radio advert to be offensive or discriminatory based on race.
