Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 30, Number 8, 1 August 2013 — Cultural sensitivity and the media [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Cultural sensitivity and the media

/A no'ai kakou ... /\ My office has recently received /^^^ several complaints / \from beneficiaries outraged about a commercial using our Hawaiian language and ieonie Hawaii landmarks such as Waikiki Beach and Diamond Head to promote their aleoholie beverage. The commercial portrays a "loeal" eouple who have set up a cooler on Waikiki Beach (in view

of Diamond Head) in the middle of the day to openly consume aleohol. The commereial ends with the phrase "E 'imi kou wahi kahaone/Find your beach" appearing across the screen. It is my understanding that the company 's loeal distributor was looking for a "fun and effective way" to promote its beer and was trying to maintain elements of the nahonal advertising campaign ("Find Your Beach") while including "strong geographical cues that would suggest this commercial was a loeal production that was focused on reaching loeal audiences." However, after viewing the commercial, I found it to be offensive, misleading and culturally insensitive for the following reasons: (1) DRINKING ALCOHOL ON WAIKIKI BEACH IS ILLEGAL Everyone knows you can't set up a cooler on Waikiki Beach and start drinking. Not only is it blatantly illegal, it irresponsibly gives the mistaken impression that this type of behavior is tolerated by the loeal eonununity. Let's hope that any tourist who saw the conunercial doesn't get the wrong idea. (2) WAIKIKI BEACH IS FOR FAMILIES - The reason why aleohol is banned from Waikiki Beach is that Waikiki is primarily promoted as a family destination and attraction. No parent wants their child to have to watch young adults dragging huge coolers through the sand and partying drunk

while half-naked. Waikiki Beach is not a spring break party destination like Cancun (and we would never want it to be). (3) NEGATIVE STEREOTYPE - Portraying locals drinking on the beach in the middle of the day also promotes and perpetuates the negative stereotype that all "loeal" people (Hawaiians) do all day is get drunk on a beach. The beer conunercial is reminiscent of the controversial 2006 ad in a magazine that depicted

King Kamehameha's statue holding a glass of champagne to promote cruises to Hawaii. While the beer conunercial is nowhere near as offensive, it nonetheless shows that there is a laek of cultural sensitivity within the media, both here and on the mainland, and that OHA must be vigilant and vocal in speaking out against them. I highly reconunend that any ad agency or marketing firm thinking about using the Hawaiian language, culture or historical figures in its advertisement to show some basic courtesy and take the time to consult a respected Native Hawaiian Cultural Practitioner frrst. At the very least, they could eall OHA and we will be happy to assist them. I have sent a letter to the beer company's loeal distributor asking that they please show some consideration and courtesy to the Hawaiian Conununity by innnediately ceasing all future broadcasts of the beer conunercial. I also asked them to remove the conunercials from video websites such as YouTube. Let your voices be heard on this subject. If you have conunents to share, please write to our editor or eall the loeal distributor. Aloha Ke Akua.B Interested i.n Hawaiian issues and OHA? Please visit my website at www.mwena akana.org for more information or email me at rowenaa@oha.org.

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