DA to Report H&M to International Chamber of Commerce over ‘Monkey’ Ad

A week after the H&M ‘Coolest Monkey’ ad controversy made headlines and caused boycotts around the world, the DA has decided to  write to the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) to lodge an official complaint against the retail giant for “the racist advert involving a black child modelling a racially-insensitive hoodie”.

On Saturday the EFF protested the advert by trashing H&M stores in Gauteng… which the DA strongly condemned, demanding that EFF leader Julius Malema pay back the money for damages.

It’s unclear why it has taken the South African parties so long to react to the ad. Some suggest that perhaps the ad was never shown in SA because it’s a winter item and it’s summer in SA now, so it was only for sale in northern hemisphere territories. On the Wednesday before the EFF’s rampage, the rest of the world had already responded – particularly the US and UK – and H&M had removed the ad and all the hoodies, and issued a full apology.

The offending item was a hoodie with the words ‘Coolest Monkey in the Jungle’, modelled by a young black boy, and intended for children of all races… as ‘cheeky monkey’ is a common term of endearment, used by parents around the world for their kids. H&M – which is based in Sweden (a country renowned for fighting apartheid and valuing equality above all else) – failed to be culturally sensitive or even aware that the word ‘monkey’ also has a negative connotation for many black people who have been called this word in a derogatory fashion by non-black people.

DA National Spokesperson, Refiloe Nt’sekhe, said in a press statement today: “The DA is of the belief that H&M’s racist advert is in violation of the ICC’s marketing guidelines.”

He referenced a subsection of Article 4 which states members should at all times “respect human dignity and should not incite or condone any form of discrimination, including that based upon race…”, in their marketing communication.

“It is clear that H&M have violated the ICC’s code of advertising with their racially-discriminatory advert,” said Nt’sekhe. “We therefore request that the ICC, as the foremost retail authority, fully investigate this incident and institute appropriate sanctions once an investigation has been completed.”

The DA said it will also write to H&M South Africa to express “our deep concern over this tasteless advert which evokes painful sentiments among Black South Africans as well as the Black community abroad. H&M SA now has an obligation to register these concerns with their monitoring body as the fight against institutional racism is a fight we must all take on.”

In response to the EFF’s protests, Nt’sekhe said: “The DA strongly condemns destruction of property and vandalism. The displays of violence at H&M stores across the country are totally unacceptable and violence is no way to fight racism but only compounds it.

“The EFF’s method to fight racism crosses into a criminal act and that should be strongly condemned. The DA calls on the EFF leadership to find more constructive and appropriate means to fight the scourge of racism that’s still very present in our society.

“The DA also urges others in the corporate sector to be more socially-responsible and promote racial, cultural and ideological diversity.”