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SOUTH AFRICA, March 17, 2005: Members of the Hindu community are in a uproar after viewing Ford’s latest television advert, which they say is disrespectful and misrepresents their religion. The advertisement, which has been screened on television recently, features a man who appears to be a guru with Lord Siva in the background and makes reference to karma. Brindaveni Naidoo, a 23-year-old administration manager, said: “What angers me about the advert is the association between the Hindu religion and materialism. The advert does this by using the statue of Lord Shiva in the background while the man is trying to convince viewers to buy the car. Hinduism is based on spiritual enlightenment and not on wealth, as the ad suggests.” Naidoo said the concept of karma centred around doing good in order to repent for one’s sins and not being rewarded as is implied by the advert.



Rajmanikkam Munisamy, a retired school principal from Westville, said: “I find the ad very offensive and I think it is just cheap publicity on the part of Ford.” Munisamy said he would like to see the advert withdrawn from television screens. Bala Naidoo, president of the Tamil Federation of South Africa said: “Distasteful ads like these are an indication of how greedy corporates have become. We intend raising the issue with the Broadcasting Complaints Authority and the Human Rights Commission.”



Ford, meanwhile, had defended their advert, saying it was never their intention to offend anyone’s beliefs. Craig von Essen, Ford’s general manager for communication, said: “The creative team that designed the advert come from Hindu backgrounds themselves. They were in no way trying to misrepresent their religion. We regret that anyone was offended. It has been taken off the air. It was meant to be run for just a few weeks,” he said.

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