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Tyson Adams, the managing director of Wholesale Motors in Christchurch, has been criticised by the race relations commissioner over his TikTok adverts, which play to stereotypes.
“Calling all beneficiaries and dole bludgers … have we got the minivan for you,” the quick-fire online sales pitch begins.
“This Mazda Premacy will … look f…ing good humming through the KFC drive-through at night.”
These are the opening lines of an under-fire TikTok advertisement from Wholesale Motors car dealership owner Tyson Adams, who the race relations commissioner says “needs to grow up”.
The video has already garnered more than 75,000 views in the five days since it was posted last week. It has divided opinion, some calling it racist and in bad taste, and others saying it’s “the best TikTok ad ever”.
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Adams says the video is an example of light-hearted, tongue-in-cheek marketing that has been 99% well received and is “definitely not racial profiling”.
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In his advert to sell the Mazda Premacy, Adams suggests its low fuel consumption leaves money left over for the “finer things in life”, such as a KFC bucket. But some feel he is playing up to social stereotypes.
The Christchurch car dealership owner’s comments in the 42-second video also include references to “Winz lovers” and “living off Aunty Cindy”.
“It’s lawful but awful”, Race Relations Commissioner Meng Foon said.
Foon said the advertisement was intentionally stereotyping a type of person and was an example of racial profiling.
“It’s awful taste … He needs to grow up.
“It is nasty, and this type of stereotyping and generalisation is very dangerous. We should be fair to all buyers – others may have wished to buy the car but now they won’t.”
He said he hoped Adams would withdraw the advert and apologise.
“People shouldn’t buy from these places.”
Adams said the intention of the advert was to “draw attention to the fact we can finance you if you are on a benefit, and we have a large range of vehicles cheap enough for a lot of beneficiaries to be potentially approved for”.
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The Wholesale Motors car yard in central Christchurch.
“I believe 99% of the feedback is good from reading the comments on social media,” he said.
“It’s definitely not racial profiling, and I think it would be potentially racist to assume beneficiaries are from a certain race.
“As for KFC, we think it’s great and is second only to McDonald’s in our office.
“This is tongue-in-cheek, light-hearted marketing and the response we have received to all our TikToks has been hugely positive.”
Wholesale Motors is no stranger to edgy TikTok video advertisements.
It has previously posted adverts trying to sell a Ford Ranger to men with “small dicks”, a Mazda Demio “for your next ramraid” and a Mercedes “MILF magnet”.
The Ford Ranger video has had more than 400,000 hits.
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