UNICEF Germany has withdrawn a series of ads designed to bring attention to the millions of African
children who can't attend school. The ads featured white children whose faces had been blackened. Some bloggers and others found them rather offensive. In a letter to one of them, UNICEF press officer Rudi Tarneden explains the ads:
The idea behind is that children from Germany demonstrate their solidarity with children in Africa by showing up with a coloured make up. Their message s: "Children may look different but are equal - we all want to go to school." Absolutely no connotation of black children as "dirty children" was intended.
Before publishing the ad, we had carefully discussed possible misinterpretations and the agency had also tested public reaction in a survey in Germany, without receiving negative comments. Neither did we receive any negative reaction from the German public after publication.
The ad was published in a few high-quality print media like Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Spiegel, Die Zeit, Stern, free-of-charge. These media had never volunteered to publish the ad if they would have expected a negative connotation. Obviously, the perception of the ad varies by country. [Link]
Perhaps UNICEF Africa can use the same pictures to raise money for German children. I'm sure a lot of African children would be shocked to see how dirty German children are.
Zambian boy: "I feel very sad for that German boy. He has so little water."
Zambian girl: "Yes, only enough water to wash his ear."
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