Government casting ad requesting 'Caucasian' actors deemed racist by some Yukoners
Gov't says contractor was responsible for the ad, and it has been reissued
A casting call for a new government tourism ad has been called racist by some Yukoners.
The ad was posted on social media, seeking actors for an upcoming winter tourism ad featuring the northern lights, snowshoeing, ice fishing and other traditional winter activities.
It sought three actors for featured roles, in the ad, specifying they be "friendly," "contemplative" and "in decent shape physically."
It also required that two of the actors be "Caucasian" — which garnered some criticism on social media over the weekend.
An 'oversight'
"That was a bit of an oversight, and it's unfortunate that happened," Pierre Germain, the director of tourism with the territory's department of tourism and culture told Sandi Coleman, host of A New Day on CBC Radio.
He said the department values diversity and inclusiveness, and said the post "wasn't reflective of those values."
Germain said a contractor was responsible for the ad.
He said the department didn't review the language before it was posted, but has since spoken to the contractor, who reissued the casting call Monday, without an ethnic preference for the featured roles.
New Approach
Germain didn't specify which market the ad is intended for, but said the department considers Canada, the United States and German-speaking Europe its "primary markets."
Tourism Yukon has previously referred to China as a "Holy Grail" emerging market for the territory as well.
He said demographic information isn't the government's primary focus in its tourism ads.
"The way that we target them is different than the general demographics that were used in the past, like age and educational status and income and ethnicity," said Germain. "We're focusing more now on this concept of market segmentation and it's a way for us to target visitors based on their travel behaviours rather than on their demographics."
Germain said the roles in its latest ad are intended for Yukoners — ideally ones with the ability to display "strong facial expressions without words."
He said they'll be playing tourists.
"We want them to be out there experiencing Yukon, and pretending they're a visitor," he said.
He said the ad is being filmed over the next week, and should be viewable online, and possibly on television next year.
With files from Sandi Coleman