the ad evokes terrible associations with colonial history: a white man calls out "good morning africa" and then follows with "nobody here," as if africa were uninhabited... this is exactly the image that justified exploitation, colonial occupation with all its terrible consequences including slavery and maafa (or euphemistically: "transatlantic triangle trade").
reproduces racism: "no one here" - which fits into the myth of "no history" "no one lives here, so we can take it" and: the advertising is only aimed at white people, as if there are no black people who buy and wear outdoor clothing.
it is colonial and racist!
because the ad produces colonialist images
1) white men and women 'discover' the african continent (an old project of colonialism, claiming to have discovered the world)
2) black people only appear as decoration - but not as actors, discoverers, travelers.
3) why specifically "africa" (the entire continent) and why only white men and women, who obviously have the time and money to move across the planet in a colonial manner.
4) this applies not only to the ad but also to catalogs of so-called "outdoor" brands that like to mobilize such colonial-racist logics.
reminds me of the painful colonial history....
it is racist. africa is not there for white adults to play with little black children and occasionally jog.
terrible and typical.
basically, "africa" is depicted as one large playground for white people seeking adventure. cue smiling african children playing with these white visitors. it romanticizes the continent, reinforcing the tendency to speak about africa as one undifferentiated mass of land, and it supports the practice of white backpackers who travel and trample in search of adventure and unique experiences (defined on their terms: "none here!" - woo hoo), rather than engaging with the place they are in. it's africa for white people.
i find it totally racist and spreading extreme lies. there are a lot of people on the continent. really crazy, total colonialism in the mind.