Essentially, the problem is that Koodo's use of "El Tabador" breaks part 14, "Unacceptable Depictions and Portrayals," of the Canadian Code of Advertising Standards. This part of the code states that advertisements must not "demean, denigrate or disparage one or more identifiable persons, group of persons...or attempt to bring it or them into public contempt or ridicule." However, the series of advertisements using "El Tabador" demean Hispanic or Mexican persons and attempt to bring said group(s) into contempt or ridicule.
If you've seen the commercials, you know that "El
Tabador" is always portrayed as incompetent and silly, but unfortunately the
underlying humour is always because he is Mexican or Hispanic.
For example, in one commercial he says
something like: "You might want to know why I'm taking care of a
little chalupa..." as he begins to advertise for Koodo
services. However, at the end he says: "It would appear that one
of us has pooped our pants" which means that either the baby or "El
Tabador" has defecated in their own pants. In essence, the commercial is saying that the
Mexican or Hispanic character is so incompetent that he can't hold
his own bowels. In fact, he is demeaningly being likened to a baby.
In another case, "El Tabador"
is stuck in a Christmas box/present, and he lights a lighter while he
begins advertising for phone services. Inevitably, the box burns,
seemingly unaware that it was due to lighting a lighter inside a
card-board box. Again, the Mexican or Hispcanic character is portrayed as incompetent and
ridiculous--he's not intelligent enough to understand that lighting a
lighter inside a card-board box will cause it to burn.
In another, "El Tabador"
attempts to cut down a tree while he advertises, but the tree falls
on him, and when the commercial finishes, he says something like: "I have a
splinter...on my face!" Not only has "El Tabador"
failed to cut down a tree competently, but when it falls on him, he says
something rather stupid. He has a splinter on his face because he has
an entire tree on his face.
Still, in another commercial, "El
Tabador" is receiving a massage when suddenly he feels so
relaxed that he flatulates. He looks around, smiling sheepishly, and
says: "Koodo," as if to say, "I don't want anyone to
notice I flatulated, go to the end of the commercial, please!"
So again, something ridiculous has happened to the silly "El
Tabador."
As a last example, "El Tabador"
is lying naked by a fire when suddenly another demeaning thing
happens to him: presumably a small piece of wood hits his genitals,
as he says: "Chest nuts roasting!" Obviously, "El
Tabador" was not intelligent enough to realize that lying naked
near an open fire might mean he could get burned by flying sparks of
wood, and it's funny that "El Tabador" doesn't realize how
incompetent he is. In fact, it's funny that he would be naked to begin with.
The list could go on, but the fact is
that "El Tabador" is not a competent, sophisticated,
admirable character. He consistently acts stupidly and always finds
himself in silly, laughable circumstances.
The problem is that these advertisements are not
just a portrayal of any random individual person. The character is
obviously Mexican or Hispanic. He's dressed in a Mexcan wrestler's
costume and he has a thick Spanish accent. In fact, his very name is
Hispanic--"El Tabador." So immediately, upon using these
ethnic features, Koodo is using portrayals of Mexican or Hispanic
culture to sell products. Yet, because the portrayal of Mexican or
Hispanic culture is at the same time a portrayal of incompetent
behaviour or ridicule by circumstances, the portrayal of Mexican or
Hispanic culture is at the same time a portrayal of that very culture
as incompetent and silly to sell Koodo services. This is demeaning
and ridiculing a group of persons, namely, Hispanics and Mexicans in
order to sell phone services.
To make this more lucid, imagine,
for instance, replacing the "El Tabador" character with a
character of a different ethnicity or background, like a Jewish
person dressed in traditional attire. Immediately it would be obvious
that having this character say or do silly and incompetent things
would be offensive. Intuitively, I think you can see that the
clothes, the thick accent, and the things the character does are also
a portrayal of that culture. Such a portrayal would be intolerable
because the cultural group is supposed to respected in society. But
for some reason, when the same is done using Hispanic or Mexican
culture, this is permissible and funny. It's not anti-Hispanic or
anti-Mexican, and it's not ridiculing people to whom we are supposed
to have a great respect for. People
should remember that these advertisements are taking place in a
society of vast inequality in respect and in other ways between
ethnicities. So when people draw upon any particular culture to
advertise, they are invoking conceived notions of particular cultures.
"El Tabador" uses stereotypes of Mexicans or Hispanic
people as being incompetent, that their culture isn't to be taken
seriously, that that kind of culture is cute and funny.
One objection you might have is that a Jewish person in traditional attire is not comparable to a Mexican character dressed in a wrestler's uniform. But while it is good to respect other people's beliefs as protected by every constitution, religion and its expression is not sacred to everyone. Viewed from the perspective of a neutral person, a Mexican wrestler is just as much a profession as is a religious person. So by replacing one character with another, then, it's easy to see that what makes one case funny and another not so is just the ethnic stereotype that Hispanic culture is funny, and that it's permissible to laugh when it comes to aspects of one culture but not another. Moreover, the fact is that "El Tabador" could easily have another profession, but the underlying humour would still be there--he defecates in his pants, a tree falls on his face, his genitals get burned because he's naked. But he's incompetent because he's Hispanic.
You might like to compare this to advertisements from other companies like Virgin that also portray a young-man usually doing or saying silly things, and where that character is used to sell products. You'll notice that it is never because this young-man has white skin or an accent or belongs to Canadian or American culture that he is silly or rather incompetent. That part of the culture fades into the background and becomes the norm. In essence, these advertsements are not using stereotypes to sell their products, unlike "El Tabador."
As such, Koodo's series of advertisements using "El Tabador" violate section 14 as they demean and ridicule Hispanic and Mexican culture, and therefore Hispanic and Mexican groups.
I would ask, therefore, that Koodo stop
using "El Tabador" to sell phone services. There are more
ingenious, comical, persuasive ways to sell products without
violating section 14 of the Code.
Thank you for your time, and boycott Koodo.
