Editors Comments

Mooing at sacred cows

Wed, 07 Dec 2011 12:47

In South Africa we’ve just seen a consummate example of how to gain maximum exposure for a product: create a TV commercial that pokes fun at one living dictator and five deceased ones, raise the ire of a militant group in the living dictator’s country, and then cancel the ad after it sparks a huge amount of comment in local and international media, all the while knowing that the ad will tidal wave the Internet. And don’t forget the famous British comic actor who has linked the video of the ad to his Twitter page.

At 8am on 7 December, the clip of the ad had generated 867,634 views on YouTube. It could end up being one of the most popular YouTubed videos ever.

I am of course talking of the fast food chain Nando’s Last Dictator Standing commercial, which shows a character clearly meant to be Robert Mugabe all alone on Christmas, fondly remembering frolicky fun times spent with deceased dictator chums Idi Amin, PW Botha, Mao Tse-tung, Muammar Gaddafi and Saddam Hussein.

The ad is one of the funniest things I’ve seen - I literally fell about in my chair laughing when I saw the ad, as did everyone else in the office.

However, I can see how anyone who is an actual follower of, or who admires Mugabe & co would find the ad highly offensive. For them this would be the ultimate travesty of a sacred cow. One person’s funny-ha ha is another person’s outrage. Just consider what career suicide bombers and their superiors (and anyone who supports their cause) must think of the Achmed the Dead Terrorist ventriloquist puppet.

According to the Oxford Complete Wordfinder sacred cows are “unreasonably held to be above criticism”. Well, nothing and nobody should ever be held above criticism. By the same token nobody should be above ridicule or parody because part of being human is to be able to laugh at ourselves. Heck, life is so tough to get through that we need to joke about it.

Admittedly though, it’s not much fun being the butt of someone else’s joke.

JOANNA STERKOWICZ

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