An Australian radio advert for German budget retailer Aldi was investigated by the Australian Advertising Standards Board, after a Scottish expat in the country complained that it was racist. However the board rejected the complaint saying the advert was supposed to be humorous.
The advert for its whisky range features an Englishwoman translating for a Scot; it begins with the sound of bagpipes segueing into a Scot introducing himself as Aldi’s head distiller. A woman with an English accent then starts to talk over him, translating what he says despite the distiller’s protests that he is speaking English.
“Advertisements like this perpetuate the stereotype that as a nation we cannot be understood,” the complainant said.
In a written ruling, the board said: “The board noted in the current advertisement that by using a translator the suggestion is that the man’s Scottish accent is unlikely to be understood by the average listener and considered that as the man’s Scottish accent is easy to understand the translation adds a humorous tone to the advertisement.
“The board noted that the advertisement presents a stereotype of a Scotsman with a strong accent but considered that the overall depiction is not negative: the translator is presented as silly, not the Scotsman, because she is unnecessarily translating.
“The board acknowledged that making fun of a person’s accent is not necessarily acceptable regardless of their nationality but considered that in this instance the advertisement is not making fun of a Scottish accent but rather playing on a common scenario whereby a strong accent, in this case Scottish, can be difficult for some people to understand despite the same language being spoken.”
Aldi told the board that the ad is part of a series of advertisements intended to be light-hearted and humorous.
French and New Zealand accents are also given similar treatment to the Scottish accent in the advert series.
Source: thenational.scot
