German Ad Campaign Uses White Children in Blackface

Unread post by **'X'** » August 9th, 2007, 8:33 pm

German Ad Campaign Uses White Children in Blackface to Portray "Uneducated Africans"

This is an actual ad-campaign by UNICEF Germany!

This campaign is "blackfacing" white children with mud to pose as "uneducated africans".

The headline translates "This Ad-campaign developped pro bono by the agency Jung von Matt/Alster shows four german kids who appeal for solidarity with their contemporaries in Afrika"

The first kid says:

"I'm waiting for my last day in school, the children in africa still for their first one."

second kid:

"in africa, many kids would be glad to worry about school"

third kid:

"in africa, kids don't come to school late, but not at all" (!)

fourth kid:

"some teachers suck. no teachers sucks even more."

Besides claiming that every single person in "Africa" isn't educated, and doing so in an extremely patronising way, it is also disturbing that this organisation thinks blackfacing kids with mud (!) equals "relating to african children". Also, the kids' statements ignore the existence of millions of african academics and regular people and one again reduces a whole continent to a village of muddy uneducated uncivilized people who need to be educated (probably by any random westerner). This a really sad regression.

Bottom lines of this campaign are: Black = mud = African = uneducated. White = educated. We feel this campaign might do just as much harm as it does any good. You don't collect money for helping people by humiliating and trivializing them first.

Unfortunately, if it was clear to the average German that this is wrong, UNICEF and the advertising agency wouldn't come out with such a campaign.

Please write your opinion and help make clear and explain why it is wrong to use "blackface with mud", and write to UNICEF at publicrelations@unicef.de as well as the advertising agency at info@jvm.de with a copy to Black German media-watch-orgaiztion info@derbraunemob.de what you feel about this campaign and why. Please include a line that you're going to publish your mail and the response.

by the way, the slogan of the advertising agency who came up with this, reads "we communicate on eye-level".

sincerely,

Noah Sow

Unread post by **Christina Marie** » August 9th, 2007, 9:11 pm

I think it was done with all the best intentions but they really blew it

Unread post by **KINGFEAR62** » August 10th, 2007, 5:57 am

Those damn germins for some reason peaple I europe love taking shots at black people

Unread post by **Cold Bear** » August 10th, 2007, 6:32 am

A lot of people have the same issues with this American campaign. It's not close to as bad as that german shit but still condescending.

^ I thought that was pretty funny

MiChuhSuh · Unread post by **MiChuhSuh** » August 10th, 2007, 9:43 am

Cold Bear wrote:

^ I thought that was pretty funny

LOLOLOLOLOL

These campaigns were probably intended to get those German kids to wake up, but they revealed a lot of ignorance. I'm sure many of us heard similar things in the past though- "Finish your food, there's kids in (insert 'foreign' place) that are starving." But they ignored the mass of African scholars, they didn't specify a country either.

I saw a comic of some "Asian" family and it said "Finish your math homework dear, there are kids in America that don't have multivariable calculus or boolean algebra at all"

MiChuhSuh · Unread post by **MiChuhSuh** » August 10th, 2007, 9:45 am

Unread post by **Christina Marie** » August 10th, 2007, 11:27 pm

KINGFEAR62 wrote:Those damn germins for some reason peaple I europe love taking shots at black people

Not all Germans that are like that

Unread post by **Silencioso** » August 11th, 2007, 1:35 pm

They look more like aborigines than black Africans.

Unread post by **Tre** » August 11th, 2007, 4:40 pm

KEEP DREAMIN BUDDY

Anesis · Unread post by **Anesis** » August 12th, 2007, 9:14 am

This reminds me of that PETA campaign that compared the Nazi concentration camps and the suffering therein to the slaughterhouses and the eating of animals.

On one hand, I can understand the desire to jar people into action. The posters are meant to grab your attention and start a dialog. I think that goal has been accomplished. But, just one question - how many of you have donated money to UNICEF based on this campaign?

That's what I thought.

I don't like that the children in the German campaign are laughing and jovial - it doesn't sit well with the gravity of the situation. Especially when paired with the comments, it just doesn't... feel right.

Do you think most people have the misconception of all Africans as tribal and uneducated?

Granted, UNICEF works with the stereotypes. That's who they help. I find that most people, at least in Texas, don't even know what UNICEF is.

The American campaign is done in a much more effective manner. I get the feeling that the whole "I AM AFRICAN" thing is trying to let people know that one person's suffering affects us all. I could have done without the tribal marks, however.

Does this inappropriate campaign negate all of the good that UNICEF has done and continues to do?

MiChuhSuh · Unread post by **MiChuhSuh** » August 12th, 2007, 11:29 am

Anesis wrote:Do you think most people have the misconception of all Africans as tribal and uneducated?

If you're not in college right now then ya most American people have that impressions. Or unless your high school happened to have a bunch of African exchange/immigrant students. Lack of experience

basing assumptions on "Feed the Children" and "missionary" commercials.