Petty or political- The attack on Brookside billboards is unnecessary

Kenyan based milk processor Brookside Dairies partnered with American multibillion-dollar entertainment and media conglomerate Walt Disney to produce kids friendly dairy fresh milk.

Disney allowed Brookside to use its cartoon characters for its advertisement in an attempt to capture the easy market in young kids who identify with them.

The campaign dubbed "Fun.Tastic Goodness" uses popular characters from Disney, Disney Pixar and Marvel like Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse, Sofia the First, Frozen, Spiderman and the Lightning McQueen on their dairy fresh milk.

The Dairy Fresh kid’s range comprises of Flavored Yoghurt, White Milk, and Flavored Milk. The yoghurt is available in 150 and 250 milliliters and vanilla and strawberry flavors and 200 ml in both white and flavored milk.

Disney's Africa Retail Manager William-John Willis said research showed Kenyan products met global standards that would benefit from innovative segmented marketing.

Brookside made the wise step since kids are known to choose attractive and colorful snacks that they can identify with.

However, a group of Kenyans feels that use of cartoon characters from across the world by Brookside is a disregard for African culture.

Many took to social media crying foul over the billboards that Brookside has since erected in different parts of the city.

Cambridge analytica is now advising brookside milk
pic.twitter.com/lexTusFyPC— Catherine Amayi (@catherine_amayi) December 3, 2017

So Brookside is targeting local customers but using western https://cdn.standardmedia.co.ke/images?? The rain started beating us wen chiloba stole the will of the people.. Brookside is resisting Kenyans left right and centre
This is madness #JeffAndJalasOnHot96 pic.twitter.com/1dwMSMctO5— Edwin Mutinda ???????? (@edudee254) December 4, 2017

This is wrong. Brookside is using https://cdn.standardmedia.co.ke/images glorifying whiteness to appeal to middle class Kenyan kids who watch Disney movies. They should be ashamed of manipulating kids with Western https://cdn.standardmedia.co.ke/images. We've got animals of our oral tales. The ones the rich are poaching in national parks https://t.co/Db4lggcPPx— Dr Wandia (@wmnjoya) December 4, 2017

Fact no.1
Brookside is adversely affected by NRM economic boycott and so they are trying to “Think Outside the Box”

Fact No.2
Children are not the customers, My child will not force me to by Brookside products because of Some Disney Cartoon characters.

Fact 3
Resist is working— #NASA_NRM YouthWing (@TEAMNASA_KE) December 4, 2017

Others supported the move by Brookside saying that the company and condemned those who had issues with the white characters

Listen Guys, Disney and Brookside dairy limited are in a partnership for Disney yoghurt and fun activities for the kids. Get facts before yelling. pic.twitter.com/jHRDvTDYqy— Kech???????? (@RonohKechem) December 4, 2017

There's a thin line between wokeness and ignorance. Wenye brookside wakianza hiyo company ancestors wenu walikua wapi? ????— Mutuku???????? (@__Mutuku) December 4, 2017

One minute you are boycotting Brookside, the next minute you are pissed by their advert. Pick a struggle!— Xtraterrestial Fly (@katung_u) December 4, 2017

When people tweet without knowing statistics / not done research.

This cartoon characters are a name in many household with kids in #Kenya.

Brookside have not just used those https://cdn.standardmedia.co.ke/images. They have paid rights!

Not everything is war!! https://t.co/ItrDCv3osp— Ahmed Salim (@ahmedsalims) December 4, 2017

However, one wonders why Kenyans are too careless to display their ignorance especially in matters touching on the international stage.

To begin with, we have been consumers of so many ‘white’ things ranging from imported bags with foreign characters printed on them, watches and even shoes from renowned ‘white’ designers. We chew on gum with cartoon character Ben 10, we snack on Krackles crips despite their Scooby Doo theme among others. 

Secondly, our kids are consumers of cartoon programs from the Walt Disney network which air on a day to day basis on our televisions. Chairperson of the Kenya Film Classification Board, also known as moral cop Ezekiel Mutua has banned several programs that were not fit for kids and left the rest which Kenyan children follow religiously.

Birthdays for Kenyans kids are not complete without cakes themed after their favourite cartoon characters. Cake houses make profits every day from making these cakes depending on demands made by clients, the Kenyan parents.

It is therefore right to say that the whole stop using cartoon characters call on Brookside is politicised. Not long ago, National Super Alliance (NASA) listed Brookside among companies which supporters were supposed to boycott.

On November 3, NASA asked supporters to stop using products and/ or services from telecommunications Safaricom, Bidco Oil Refineries and Brookside Dairies on claims that their management had the innocent blood on their hands.

Thinking in that line then, one can clearly see that the attack on Brookside has nothing to do with the cartoon characters but rather an attack based on politics.

It is time Kenya started thinking along intellectual lines or the rest of the world will dismiss out pettiness as backwardness!