WeBuyCars Ad Mocking White SA Refugees Sparks Fierce Backlash Online

• WeBuyCars released a new advertisement featuring a white South African family who arrived in the US as refugees during the FIFA World Cup
• The ad, produced by the Freckle Agency, drew immediate criticism from viewers who called it tone-deaf and disrespectful
• South Africans flooded the comments section, with many threatening to take their business elsewhere

A new advertisement by WeBuyCars has divided South Africans after it appeared to make light of white South Africans fleeing the country as refugees. The ad, titled 'Selling makes dreams come true,' was posted on the company's YouTube channel and social media platforms last month, shortly after the FIFA World Cup kicked off across the US, Canada and Mexico.

WeBuyCars ad hits a raw nerve

In the clip, a black South African family dressed in Bafana Bafana colours arrives at a US airport, where they are greeted by a white South African family. The black father, played by actor Themba Nomfemele, explains he sold his car to fund the trip to watch the national team play. The white father, played by veteran actor Dirk Stoltz, responds casually: 'Trump flew us over. He thinks we're going to stay.' He then adds: 'No! We only came over to watch the World Cup. And he's paying!'

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The WeBuyCars production was handled by the Freckle Agency, co-founded by actor and musician Bouwer Bosch and writer Bennie Fourie, who wrote on Instagram that they ‘had so much fun creating this commercial.’

Watch the YouTube video below:

Viewers call it cruel and tone-deaf

Not everyone shared that sentiment. Viewers took to the YouTube comments in large numbers, many accusing the brand of trivialising a deeply painful reality for thousands of South Africans.

ReanCombrinck wrote:

"Disgustingly disconnected with reality."

Lizdoodles9128 commented: "Imagine using the fear of being murdered in your own home to make a joke. Screw you guys."

Jjswazi said:

"This isn't a joking matter. It's real stuff; people are fleeing because of their lives being in danger with no help from their own country. Bad career move."

alanmartheze1943 wrote:

"Crass to be making fun of people who have left SA due to its entrenched racist policies. No more WeBuyCars for us."

Deonzar commented:

"Making fun of the people who sold their cars to you to go to America... BAD TASTE JOKE. No business from me."

jwswanepoel4819 wrote at length:

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"Do you know how painful the decision to leave your home is when you decide to leave it? They had to lose everything they had and everyone they knew for the privilege of survival, the opportunity to be treated as a person instead of a problem and to experience what it's like to be allowed to earn a living without being severely discriminated against. Very few people would leave because they want to. They leave because they have to."

Netwerk-vs8xe added:

"For what it's worth, you lost me as a client."

SkyeBlue9395 said:

"What an absolutely insulting advert! You are insulting minorities while you built your company on their business. Voetsek! I hope you fall hard."

3 Other Briefly News stories that triggered netizens

• Authorities are planning to revamp Robben Island's former homes on the premises into tourist accommodations for overnight stays.
• Western Cape content creator CoolStory Bru shared a clip of Kurt Darren's brand new song, and the title alone was enough to get South Africans talking.
• A chase between police and three suspects left two of the men dead at a petrol station near the Pavilion Mall in the Westville area.

Source: Briefly News