I’m having a hard time finding more information about these fascinating public service announcements from an advertising firm in Malaysia. They both have “Kabayanihan” printed on them– maybe that is the organization responsible for the ads. Also, I’m not sure of the target audience either (they’re in English). Googling doesn’t bring much insight. Any info would be appreciated!
The first one is an anti-abuse (and anti-rape) ad and has different terms used to refer to women above outlets for plugs and the plug is in one that reads “vagina.” The caption reads “How some men think of women.”
The second ad was a bit puzzling at first. It masquerades as an ad for skin whitening cream, but is actually an ad against racial discrimination of women migrant workers (and against skin whitening cream). Maybe someone who knows more about migrant women in Malaysia could provide context for this?
The copy reads:
Blocks melanin build-up. And quite effectively, varying tones of racial slurs.
7 out of 10 Asian women workers abroad endure long hours. A number suffer inhuman working conditions. A much bigger number receive wages bordering on exploitative level. And, most, if not all, experience racial undertones of every kind.
To soften the blow, these women have found a creative way to parry insults, derogatory insinuations and other pejorative remarks.
The use of whitening creams, for instance.
It’s common knowledge that most Asian female migrant workers have one or two tucked hidden somewhere in their troves. And you see thousands of them suck up to hundreds of brands that inundate the market – from the most expensive to the downright blatant, promising porcelain, Hollywood-star like complexion.
The nightly regimen of smearing one’s face has changed the epidermis landscape, from glam to racial ammunition, a phenomenon that has risen beyond our wildest imagination, a distressing insight into the lives of women who must camouflage the bite of racial sting and the horrors of being branded as third class citizens in their places of work.
Does color blacken your judgement [sic] of migrant workers? Stop the madness.
