Racism

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It was during Ramadan when Media Prima advertised an advertisement about a Chinese girl, who went to Ramadan market. This girl was portrayed as eating in public, wearing inappropriately, talking loudly and were seen not respecting the Malay community. Soon the video was being taken away because there were criticisms by the non-Muslims. (The Malaysian Insider, 2011)

Malaysia is a multi-racial country. Malaysia is made up of 60.4% of Muslims, 19.2% of Buddhist, and 6.3% of Hindus. Muslims, Buddhists and Hindus are the three main races that live in Malaysia. Malaysia’s main language is Bahasa Melayu, also known as “Malaysian Language”. There are a lot of races in this country, therefore, there are a lot of festivals. The Muslims celebrate Hari Raya and before it all started, they will have to fast for a month. This is to show the Muslims that they have to appreciate food. (Kwinteessential, 2011)

According to Ogilvy and Mather (2004), people who worked in the advertising industry spend a lot of time dealing with ethical choices. In advertising, the truth is not always the whole truth. For example, when a person is on his first date, he will never disclose too much of information to his date. This is to protect himself. Besides that, companies use advertising to sell their products. Therefore, the advertisement will have to create a good impression and everlasting impression. However, different people have different perceptions. (Advertising Educational Foundation, 2004)

References:

The Malaysian Insider, 2011, Media Prima pulls out ‘racist’ Ramadan ads, retrieved on 13^th November 2011, http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/media-prima-pulls-out-racist-ramadan-ads/

Kwinessential, 2011, Malaysia-Language, Culture, Customs, and Etiquette, retrieved on 13^th November 2011,http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/resources/global-etiquette/malaysia.html

Advertising Educational Foundation, 2004, Ethics in Advertising, retrieved on 13^th November 2011, http://www.aef.com/on_campus/classroom/speaker_pres/data/3001