Milka ad casting call - awful

[Dippypippy1980]

I have just red the really creepy casting call for a little girl to advertise milka chocolate.

While there is lots and lots wrong with the call, I am outraged by the no red hair. I have red hair, so does my daughter. We will now be boycotting* this product.

But it has got me wondering, why are unkind comments about red heads still a thing? I endured nasty comments through my childhood, and within the last decade distance myself from a friend who was making nasty comments about a friends baby with red hair. What the hell is wrong with people.

Why do people who would be (quite rightly) outraged by comments about skin colour think it’s okay to target people because of hair colour?

I've worked in that industry. And I have red hair. Agree that there are lots of jobs for red headed children. These calls often have colouring in mind, such as 'must have dark hair and blue/green eyes'. Agree it could have been worded better though

The red hair bit is the least concerning of that advert

It’s so creepy. Has it been written in another language then translated to English?

I was told years ago that red hair is seen as a very British/Irish thing and that it is unusual in the rest of Europe. My old German teacher said that Germans think all English people have red hair. This was a long time ago though! (A friend was telling me of being stared at in Switzerland in the 1970s as she, her DH and DC all had red hair, it was perceived as so unusual.) Could it be down to that, that it's seen as a "British look" which isn't what they want?

But by gosh that advert is creeeeeeeeeeeepy! < shudder >

There are ways of saying things. Rather than saying ‘no redheads’ they could specify ‘blondes and brunettes’. Not quite so discriminatory given gingerism.

I don't think yabu, I think that's awful, it's very creepy and "eye colour and hair colour are not important, but no red hair" . Terrible!

As a redhead with redhaired children I notice that we are way over represented in the advertising world. My child who does not have red hair has done modelling and a TV commercial and redheads are always very much sought after. I think Milka just don't want to be the same as everyone else by having a "quirky" redhead.

There are plenty of Germans with red hair. Think of Boris Becker.

I think you're overthinking it.

They may not like the aesthetics of red hair against the purple.

Red hair for me is the most beautiful colour hair, by far. But the colour can clash with others in a way blonde and brown don't because they're more neutral.

I suspect this is an international product and so red hair wouldn't work so well in that context (I have red hair, I don't take this personally).

Red haired kids appear a lot in commercials as they are seen as cute and quirky. Red-haired women are over-represented in the States in ads apparently too- it attracts attention quickly.

There is a bit of silliness in the UK around 'gingers', as a red-head, I have not thought of this as a disadvantage, minor teasing at school, but nothing since except people who say they like my hair occasionally.

Don't get hung up on this if you can. It's a major advantage in life to have amazing hair that shines gold/red in the sunshine! Especially when you are in your 50's with no grey. The red haired guys I know have all aged fine as well.

As someone who acted a fair bit as a child and did many casting calls - that brief is super creepy and weirdly specific. I’ve never seen anything like it

I think but I could be wrong, it could be that red hair is very "iconic" so they are worried that the red headed child could become more of a face for Milka than they want? Not sure if you've heard of Wendy's?

As someone who acted a fair bit as a child and did many casting calls - that brief is super creepy and weirdly specific. I’ve never seen anything like it

Yep.

Models are chosen on the basis of their appearance. That's the point of the industry. Anyone who doesn't fit what the casting director has in mind won't be considered. Anyone whose appearance is average or below-average is excluded from the industry, full stop. It's shallow and annoying, but modelling is far from the only area of life in which beauty-privilege triumphs, and at least in modelling, they don't try to disguise it.

As for the rest - it's a ten-a-penny character sketch of the pretty-but deep-and-slightly-quirky-child, such as you'll find in thousands of films and commercial literature. Nothing to get excited about. People, on the whole, like cliches; that's why they become cliches.

Is the rest of the ad creepy and inappropriate- yes! I can't understand how a parent would put a child forward in that context.

My impression is that the add was written by someone whose first language is not English, but even allowing for that, it is creepy as f*ck

There are ways of saying things. Rather than saying ‘no redheads’ they could specify ‘blondes and brunettes’. Not quite so discriminatory given gingerism.

That's kind of how the business works, they are only stating what they want/don't want, and they don't want redheads for this ad.

I think Milka just don't want to be the same as everyone else by having a "quirky" redhead.

Which is fine in principle. In which case they can specify ‘blondes or dark brown hair + eye colour’.

Sometimes ad campaigns are specifically looking for a black/mixed race kid. I’ve never seen one that says ‘no white children’.

If you read the advert, vetoing red hair is the least troubling aspect of the whole creepy thing.

"Not reached puberty" "Angelic" "Innocent"

Ew!

Had to do a lot by the time they where 9. I think this has come over bad as a translation.

That's kind of how the business works, they are only stating what they want/don't want, and they don't want redheads for this ad.

I know how the business works. As I said my kids have done modelling and one has done quite a bit of acting too.

I’ve never seen a casting call like that though.

It's modelling. Otherwise as a fifty-something size 18 blotchy-skinned short-arse I'd be a Victoria's Secrets model.

I'd also demand that my poor teen son who is currently in a bad way with his acne and somewhat on the pudgy side - (still waiting to "grow into" his looks - ) be a Calvin Klein poster boy, (or maybe he'd be a good ad for Milka chocolate instead)

BTW - the thing about red hair not being common outside the UK. I'm Italian and I have red hair! It's actually very common in the Venice region (red hair, white skin and dark eyes).

It’s a bit of a confused casting call.

Must not be over 11. But may be 12.

Hair and eye colour not important. But must not have red hair. And later- has brown eyes.

So why not just say 9-12 with brown eyes?

All, I wasn’t saying the rest was ok, but the creepiness of it has been discussed at length elsewhere and I fully agree.

I focused on the red hair thing because I have been bullied over my hair colour.

But if you read the full thread I have accepted I am being oversensitive.