McCain Foods International Pizza Commercial Misses a “Golden Opportunity.”

Allison D. McCain, Chairman McCain Foods Limited.

The Committee on Racial Content in Canadian Television (CRCT) post: McCain’s International Pizza television commercial is a Hateful 30 seconds on Canadian Television has been misunderstood. During a radio interview on CBC’s Mainstreet Program on Friday afternoon May 11, 2007 at about 5:15 pm McCain Foods International Pizza television commercial was referred to as “racist.” This description of the commercial was not the language used by the CRCT. We all need to take a step back.

In the first place the radio interview was not solicited by the CRCT. In fact on Friday morning May 11, 2007 CRCT chair received two emails at two different email addresses from CBC’s Nina Corfu who introduced herself by saying: “I’m a reporter with CBC Radio in Halifax. We’d like to do a radio interview with you about the McCain’s tv commercial for our show this afternoon. Please call if and when you get this message… Thanks, Nina.”

I was at my desk when the phone rang and the voice on the other end introduced herself as Nina Corfu. She was from the Mainstreet Program of CBC Radio. She asked if I would be prepared to be interviewed on the program. I have Nina some background on the purposes of the CRCT. How it was founded and what its purpose is, namely, to do content analysis on racial content on television and in other forms of telecommunications.

At no time during that conversation with the CBC reporter was the McCain International Pizza commercial described as “racist.” Also the commercial is not described as “racist” on the blog either. The “R” was introduced during the CBC Radio interview only at the time when the McCain Foods spokesperson denied that the commercial was “racist.” How the “R” word entered the CBC Radio program was far beyond the intention of the CRCT and a total surprise to me.

Our role, the role of the CRCT, is to analyze the use of racial content that is, image manipulation, in the media, not to place "harmful" labels like the term “racist” on commercials in this case. The CRCT's role is to be constructive.

During the interview on the CBC I referred to McCain Foods as a Maritime company that has earned a world class reputation for excellence. I said “McCain Foods employs some 20,000 people, with 55 production facilities in 12 countries spanning six continents. The company processes 1 million pounds of potato products each hour and sells one-third of the world’s frozen French fry products in over 110 countries.” In other words McCain Foods had earned a world class reputation for excellence but the racial content of its commercial falls short of its world class caliber.

For example, if this commercial contained a role reversal, namely, the black woman was surrounded by the international men and the white woman had the grocery cart in her hands and ran to the freezer to buy McCain Foods International Pizza, the commercial would have caused even a greater stir. Why was this role reversal in the commercial not presented to the customers of McCain Foods International Pizza, placing the commercial in line with the hopes and aspirations of Canadians in the twenty first century?

To a large extent, oddly, commercials define who we are as a people, and as a nation and in this sense McCain Foods, a Maritime company of which we are justly proud, missed a “Golden Opportunity” to make a difference with this commercial.

For CRCT I am, Frank Boyd.

If you wish to make a contribution by way of a media review, or a financial contribution to the CRCT please contact Frank Boyd at fsjboyd@yahoo.com.