Acura apologizes for racist ad agency casting call
Acura has apologized after its ad agency posted a casting call asking for African American actors who are "not too dark"
Acura apologizes for racist ad agency casting call
Tirdad Derakhshani, Inquirer Sideshow Columnist
Acura has released an apology – of sorts – for language its ad agency used to recruit actors for the car brand’s Jerry Seinfeld and Jay Leno-starring Super Bowl TV commercial.
As TMZ reported this week, the agency had posted a casting call for African American actors who are "nice looking, friendly, not too dark."
"We apologize to anyone offended by the language on the casting sheet used in the selection of actors for one of our commercials," Acura said.
The company assures the public it is taking “appropriate measures” to "ensure that such language is not used again in association with any work performed on behalf of our brand."
Like most apologies released today by corporations, politicians and celebrities – none of whom would ever admit to being responsible for doing bad deeds – Acura's statement doesn't indicate the company is sorry for doing wrong, only that it feels sorry if some people might have been offended.
How grave is the ad agency’s sin?
The company could say they wanted to hire someone with a specific look because of purely aesthetic considerations.
But the aesthetic is never easily untangled from the ethical: Isn't the agency assuming that light-skinned African Americans are aesthetically preferable?
Doesn’t that preference spring from an ethical and social one, specifically, an ethical judgment derived from an entrenched, age-old and vicious assumption that lighter-skinned African Americans are more relatable for a white audience.
An assumption that in turn relies on the prejudiced assumption that lighter-skinned individuals are more “normal"; somehow better than darker skinned people.
You see the conundrum?
Am I too black for that commercial?— steven q urkel
Comment removed.- Get serious! Too many thin-skinned people in this world...get over it for crying out loud. NAACP and ACLU are expediting the downfall of this country.— dogman5
- Much ado about nothing. I guess I'll be in trouble when I go shopping for a gray car, rather then a black one.— richojr
- Slavery era attitude that still exists, ie. can't be darker than a paper bag; light, bright and damn near white; gas instead of coal; white chocolate only. Anyone got more from the history books?— Anne Arkey
- that's white on dark brown crime
KING~out— thee~KING - Hey, is that much worse than Biden saying that Obama was "the first mainstream African-American [candidate] who is articulate and bright and clean"?— J H
- Oh please the ad agency will hire whoever appeals to the general public. The dumb blonde, the geek,the redneck, the not so bright husband, the nagging wife, all are stereotypes ad agencies will hire anyone who fits that bill.If the young man was so offended I sure he would have not taken the job either.Don't forget it's all about the green.— vrb1955
- Wow. And people say racism doesn't exist?? Pa-lease. Too early in the AM to deal with this kinda ignorance, stupidity...— Kopper
- If you can't understand why this behavior on the part of Honda is unacceptable then I guess we as a country have not overcome much at all. Sad— pres
- Once again, I have to stop reading the comments section. I think I'm going to stop reading philly.com in general.— Jkitty
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