Mediacorp Advertising called out for racial profiling of communities

Shortly after the furore over the recent brownface E-Pay ad, Mediacorp has once again been criticised for its profiling of the Malay and Indian communities.A Twitter user, who is also a PR associate in Singapore, criticised the company’s advertising arm Mediacorp Advertising, for having specific profiles for the Malay and Indian community as well as breaking down their spending habits and cultural differences. Meanwhile, no such profile exists for the Chinese community.He also noted that the demographics listed for Suria and Vasantham are merely “Malay community” and “Indian community”, unlike Channel 8 which includes elderly, men, women, professionals, youths and parents. He added that other than the Malay and Indian communities, the pictures used for other demographics such as men, women, youths and professionals all show East Asians.https://twitter.com/pauriahcarey/status/1168723516801183744According to the web page seen by Marketing, the Malay community is described as individuals who are "family-oriented and value traditions" and "prefer a regular pace of work and life". Mediacorp Advertising also described them to be "concerned about finances and want to plan for retirement" and that they learn about new products and promotions through advertisements. The Malay community earns a monthly household income of SG$4,652, Mediacorp Advertising's website said.Meanwhile, the Indian community are also described as individuals who are "family-oriented and value traditions", are "career-driven and [want] to succeed", "tech-dependent" and "financially prudent and plan for retirement". Also, the Indian community earns a monthly household income of SG$6,651, according to Mediacorp Advertising's website.[gallery link="file" ids="271450,271451,271452,271455,271456,271454"]In a statement to Marketing, Mediacorp's spokesperson said that Mediacorp reaches nine in 10 people in Singapore weekly, across different profiles.The advertising page reflects a range of demographics but is not all-encompassing."For example, we also target segments of diverse interests such as sports, travel, dining and automotive. Our wide range of platforms allow advertisers to reach both mass market and targetted segments according to their marketing needs," the spokesperson said.[Marketing is proud to once again present PR Asia in Singapore this year. Join us for a series of exclusive case studies, interactive and thought-provoking discussions this 13-14 November in Singapore and discover the latest strategies, insights and groundbreaking ideas to elevate your PR practice. Register now!]In July this year, Mediacorp made headlines when its actor and DJ Dennis Chew was featured in an ad by e-payment company E-Pay, impersonating different races with darkened skin tones. Done in collaboration with Havas, the ad was called out by netizens for being insensitive. This led to sibling duo Preeti Nair (better known as Preetipls) a social influencer and musician Subhas Nair releasing a video titled “K. Muthusamy”, which saw the duo repeatedly say “Chinese people always out here f***king it up”. Shortly after, the Singapore Police Force was alerted and launched an investigation into the video.Meanwhile, Mediacorp, Havas and NETS have apologised for the ad. Last month, the Advertising Standards Authority of Singapore (ASAS) clarified that while E-Pay’s advertisement was in “poor taste”, it did not explicitly put down any ethnic groups or employ harmful stereotypes. The ad authority also notes Havas’ explanation that this was not its intention and that it did not breach the Singapore Code of Advertising Practice.