South African retailer Clicks under fire for racist ad

South African pharmaceutical, beauty and health retailer Clicks has come under fire for a seemingly racist ad. For a company that is based in an African country and whose majority of employees and clients are Black, it is unimaginable that the advert ran at all.

The ad, which featured on the Clicks website, and has since been taken down, brought the wrath of netizens. It referred to Caucasian hair as fine and normal and Black kinky hair as dry, damaged, frizzy and dull. 

Miss Universe South Africa Zobizini Tunzi tweeted, “Not only is this disrespectful to Black lives, it is also evidence of an absence of representation and diversity within the organization. And we are talking about a South Africa with a population of about 80% Black people (stand to be corrected). No ways.”

Despite the efforts that have gone into normalizing natural Black hair, strides that have even gone corporate where African women are more and more able to wear their kinky coils in their natural state even to the boardroom, it’s a pity that an African company could be this insensitive.

Clicks took to Twitter too to issue an apology stating, “We have made a mistake and sincerely apologise for letting you down. We recognise we have a role to play in creating a more diverse and inclusive S.A.”

We would like to issue an unequivocal apology. We have removed the images which go against everything we believe in. We do not condone racism and we are strong advocates of natural hair. We are deeply sorry and will put in place stricter measures on our website.

The Economic Freedom Fighters, who according to their Twitter bio champion radical economic policies in South Africa, called for the closure of all 880 Clicks stores countrywide from September 7 to September 11 in an effort to ‘defend the dignity of Black people’. 

Nevertheless, Clicks issued a statement, shared on their Twitter account, saying that their stores would remain open amidst calls for a strike. “Clicks provides a much-needed healthcare service to South Africans and stores will not be closed. Contingency plans have been put in place to ensure the safety of both customers and staff,” the announcement said in part.