Why Sainbury's Advert Proves Britain Needs to Change View on Race
Sainsbury's, an internationally renowned supermarket retailer, released one of their three Christmas adverts since it's November (already?!) and let's face it, we could all do with some cheering up. However, they decided to use a "different" family which has caused mass uproar. For no good reason at all.
What was the advert about?
"This advert was met online by mass criticism and dislike. Why?"
The advert named 'Gravy Song' was about a daughter on the phone to her father, talking about how she was looking forward to her mother's signature potatoes and her father's gravy at Christmas. While they speak about hoping to spend Christmas together, the viewer sees a montage of old family photos and videos of the family spending time together in previous years.
This advert was met online by widespread criticism and dislike. Why? Because the family was black. The "argument" was that some Britons did not feel "represented". Many tweets threatened to boycottt Sainsbury's.
I've collated some of the tweets below:
These are just a small number, out of thousands of tweets sent to Sainsbury's. The retailer was in fact forced to respond, defending their choice and talking about being an 'inclusive retailer'.
Racism within British culture
"...racism is still a massive issue in British culture, whether people choose to see that or not."
This incident is proof - racism is still a massive issue in British culture, whether people choose to see that or not. Yes, we had the Black Lives Matter movement this year and steps are being taken to tackle this issue. But then why is this advert such a big deal? In previous articles I've discussed this shift in our political culture for a different type of leadership and governance, in the form of Trump and Brexit. A lot of people are shocked when these decisions were made, but incidents like this prove that the public's opinions and moods are changing. Racism has increased massively since the 2016 referendum was held, and given that the Vote Leave campaign focused on immigration and foreigners, it's really no surprise.
Twitter "arguments"
"If you feel somewhat threatened as a white individual watching the Sainsbury's advert, newsflash, you're racist."
The responses on Twitter discuss the issue of white representation and white alienation. Let me make this absolutely clear - there is NO such thing. If you feel somewhat threatened as a white individual watching the Sainsbury's advert, newsflash, you're racist. You don't feel represented in this ad? Welcome to the life of an ethnic minority in the UK. And by the way, Sainsbury's has TWO more ads coming out, so I'm sure there will be a white family included. And if there isn't, there will be in other supermarket ads. White representation is everywhere, in government, in business, in any field you can think of. It's ethnic minorities who have almost no representation - imagine never seeing someone of your colour as a high profile individual. That's sadly the reality for non white children growing up in Western countries.
What is the fuss about black people in an ad?
"...really Britain, I thought we had posted those black squares on Instagram five months ago because we meant it. Or was that just an example of empty symbolism?"
These excuses about the advert are covering up blatant racism, and really Britain, I thought we had posted those black squares on Instagram five months ago because we meant it. Or was that just an example of empty symbolism?
It shouldn't be a big deal for black people to be in a Christmas ad. I won't applaud Sainsbury's for the ad because the ad should be commonplace. We all deserve to have role models and organisations championing every individual in the form of their gender, race, religion, disability and any other characteristic. What I do applaud Sainsbury's for is their response. their commitment to inclusivity. It would be easy for Sainsbury's to put profit above ethics, as this could damage their revenue. But it would come at the cost of sending a message to ethnic minorities - nobody really cares what you think, and the opinions of white people will always be superior to your own. Thankfully, Sainsbury's stood up to the racists - an example for all organisations to follow.
Conclusions - outroar is DEEPLY unjustified
"It's happened before and it will probably happen again. Unless we take steps to stamp out racist messages, this is where Britain is heading."
Sainsbury's has shown us that they're willing to take a stand against racist customers, because supermarkets are for everybody. The ad wasn't a message telling white shoppers they weren't welcome, in fact it had nothing to do with white shoppers. A few white shoppers made this about themselves, because they couldn't cope with non white individuals "taking their Christmas".
We need to take a look at ourselves because this is becoming the standard. Every time someone non white is in an ad or show, people think it's tokenism because of their colour, or because the show had to have 'one black guy'. Maybe it's just normal? The actor was better qualified than the other applicants at audition? What a foreign concept!
I've always thought Britain was a country that prided itself on its diversity and multicultural population. It's what makes us interesting and unique in that we have so many languages and experiences within our population.
What happened with the response to this ad is wrong. It's happened before and it will probably happen again. Unless we take steps to stamp out racist messages, this is where Britain is heading. We're so much better than this, and instead of criticising each other, can't we celebrate our differences?
As the late MP Jo Cox said, "we are far more united and have far more in common with each other than that which divides us."
*This is not an endorsement of Sainsbury's but simply an opinion piece on the "controversial" Christmas advert titled 'Gravy Song'
* You can find the advert on this website, which also links in the instagram account 'voice of colour'
https://www.delish.com/uk/food-news/a34709848/sainsburys-christmas-advert-racist-comments-statement/
Not an ad, recommendation for those of you interested!
*Jo Cox's quote was from her maiden speech in the House of Commons on June 3, 2015. More information about Cox can be found here: https://www.jocoxfoundation.org/
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