In a bold move spearheaded by Baumann Ber Rivnay / Saatchi & Saatchi, Israeli President Mr. Reuven Rivlin together with children puts the Israeli advertising industry’s typecasting practices to shame and urges it to change for the benefit of all Israeli society.
Israel is a melting pot. A country of immigrants who came from many different countries and cultures. A country where East meets West. A country where Ashkenazi Jews (from western countries), Sephardic Jews (from Arab countries), Ethiopian Jews, Arabs and Christian coexist but do not always do so on an equal standing. And while Israel is a country loaded with baggage on discrimination (having experienced it firsthand), we are ashamed to say we are a country in which bias and prejudice still exists.
Nowhere is this more obvious than in Israeli advertising where the white Caucasian, blond, blue-eyed stereotype still reigns supreme.
Where portrayals of single sex families still are very rare and where you will be hard pushed to find a black Ethiopian kid
starring in a commercial let alone an Arab – unless it’s for purposes of typecasting him in various unflattering roles.
Not surprising if you look at casting calls issued by local talent agencies; stuff that will quite literally make your hair stand on edge.
But the job of advertisers, in our minds, is not only to reflect a country’s culture and values. Quite the opposite.
Advertisers have a responsibility to help shape the culture they live in and mold people’s behavior for the better.
The way we see things at BBR Saatchi & Saatchi, the industry has a proactive role to play in levelling the playing ground, abolishing prejudice and blowing up the glass ceiling.
Credits:
Chief Executive Officer: Yossi Lubaton
VP Content & Production: Dorit Gvili
Chief Creative Officer: Idan Regev
Creative Director: Kobi Cohen
Creative Concept: Dorit Gvili
Creative Team: Avner Rassel & Shiran Damari
Supervisor Strategic planning: Zemer Doron
Account Executive: Mor Aharon
Producer Manager: Bosmat Ben David
Creative Coordinator: Eva Hasson
Traffic Director: Ronit Doanis
Directed and edited: Or Ron
