Cadbury ad celebrating everyday people cops flak for excluding Malaysian Indians

Cadbury Malaysia was thrusted into the spotlight when its fifteen-second spot was criticised for not being racially diverse. The spot in question was #SaluteTheGoodness, which called on Malaysians to share their generosity story and join the brand in celebrating the heroism of frontliners, as well as the selfless gestures of everyday people. Consumers were encouraged to use the hashtags #SaluteTheGoodness, #GoodnessInEveryone and #CadburyGenerosity.

However, the ad didn't sit well with netizens in Malaysia who criticised the brand on Instagram for leaving out the Malaysian Indian community in its spot. Many netizens voiced that while Cadbury claims to celebrate "everyday Malaysians", this was apparently only limited to ethnicities that fit the brand's aesthetic. "You can't celebrate 'everyday Malaysians' if you don't celebrate or even acknowledge Malaysian Indians," one netizen said. Others also said that there are Indian frontliners in Malaysia too and that the brand should include them in the spot.

In an Instagram comment, Cadbury said it is thankful for the feedback and while it intended to represent the spirit of generosity regardless of creed and colour in its video, it may not have been fully reflected in the end result.

"As a brand that has been present in Malaysia for 70 years, we strive to drive inclusivity across all local cultures, religions and races. Again, we appreciate your feedback and will continue to strive to keep doing better in celebrating the diversity of the Malaysian culture and heritage," the brand added. Separately, Mondelez works with Publicis and WPP for global creative duties and MSL Group for PR duties in Southeast Asia.

The latest furore over Cadbury's spot comes amidst a time when there is heightened discussion about diversity and inclusion, partly as a result of the Black Lives Matter movement in the US. Most recently, Unilever’s Indian unit Hindustan Unilever renamed its Fair & Lovely brand to "Glow & Lovely". This came shortly after it said it is dropping the word “fair” from its "Fair & Lovely" products, after garnering heat for playing up insecurities in skin tones and promoting negative stereotypes against darker skinned women.

L'Oreal will also reportedly use the terms "glow" or "even" to replace its "white" or "fair" terms used in some of its products designed to help even out skin tones, according to Reuters. Additionally, Colgate-Palmolive is also reviewing its iconic toothpaste brand Darlie amidst race-related discussions. Its iconic green packaging features a smiling man in a top hat and in Chinese, the brand name translates to “black person toothpaste”.

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