Words: Robert Barry

The Advertising Standards Authority chair has ruled there are no grounds to proceed after receiving a complaint that the tune used in a recent Holden Colorado television commercial (TVC) was “a gross and blatant cultural misappropriation of North American First Nation people’s music.”

The Holden Colorado TVC features a man driving the vehicle in a mountain landscape, and then racing a mountain goat to the summit. The music playing in the background is Electric Pow Wow, played by Canadian DJ Collective, A Tribe Called Red.

The complainant R Murray said this was a gross and blatant cultural misappropriation of North America First Nation people's music for use in New Zealand vehicle advertising.

“In the interests of fairness, I find it as equally offensive and hugely disrespectful to the significance of First Nation peoples meaningful and traditional music for financial gain of a vehicle manufacturer,” says Murray.

“As with Maori, I find it offensive that advertisers and manufacturers feel at liberty to use whatever they feel useful to sell their wares or misrepresent the cultural aspect. I, as Maori would, demand a full and open public apology and/or published proof that the appropriate permissions and financial reparations have been made to both the copyright and cultural owner of the music concerned.

“I am sure that the Advertising Standards Authority are be as equally keen to ensure that any cultural value or object are not abused whether they be Maori or other cultures.

The ASA chair noted the complainant’s concerns.

She also noted A Tribe Called Red draws on a range of musical influences including hiphop, traditional pow wow drums and vocals and electronic music, and she was informed by the Secretariat that it has given consent for the music to be used by the Advertiser in the advertisement.

While the ASA chair acknowledged the offence the use of the soundtrack caused the complainant, she says the use of the music in the advertisement did not reach the threshold to cause serious or widespread offence taking into account the context, medium, audience and product.

In light of the above, the chair says there was no apparent breach of the code of ethics and ruled that there were no grounds for the complaint to proceed.