Is Naomi Campbell 'chocolate' ad really racist?

By Amrutha Gayathri | June 02 2011 6:58 AM

Naomi Campbell is reportedly planning to take Cadbury to court for their chocolate commercial that compared the ramp diva to chocolate. She reacted fiercely to the commercial, saying: It's upsetting to be described as chocolate, not just for me, but for all black women and black people. It is insulting and hurtful. The ad features a picture of Cadbury's new chocolate bar, Bliss, underneath the caption, Move over Naomi, there's a new diva in town.

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Cadbury, owned by US giant Kraft Foods, in its statement justified the commercial saying that, it was a light-hearted take on the social pretensions of Cadbury Dairy Milk Bliss. After the super model's allegations Cadbury has pulled the ad from broadcast.

But isn't the alleged racist commercial a far cry from anything 'actually' racist. The ad isn't really calling Campbell chocolate, but is merely pointing to the fact that she and the chocolate are popular in town and that it is time to move on. While Campbell has garnered the support of anti-racism activists who are of the opinion that even casual racism should not go unopposed, a sizeable majority of UK population has reportedly expressed their dissatisfaction on the whole issue.

When there are graver and more critical issues to be debated, suing a corporation for a playful commercial shows the vulnerability of the black race, not their strength, said a Guardian report.