SINGAPORE: The E-Pay advertisement featuring Dennis Chew did not breach the Internet Code of Practice, the Info-Communications Media Development Authority (IMDA) said on Wednesday (Aug 14), following an assessment.
It had, however, been "done in poor taste and had caused offence to minority communities", the IMDA spokesperson added.
AdvertisementAdvertisement[h=3]READ: "I feel terrible": Dennis Chew apologises over controversial E-Pay ad[/h][h=3]READ: NETS apologises for "any hurt" caused by controversial E-Pay ad[/h]"IMDA has thus issued a stern reminder to the parties involved in the Ad on the importance of paying attention to racial and religious sensitivities.
"IMDA expects all advertising companies and other content producers to be similarly mindful of these sensitivities. IMDA will not hesitate to take action against any content that is found to be in breach of our Codes of Practice and guidelines," said the spokesperson.
AdvertisementAdvertisementThe ad, which saw Chew portraying people of different races, drew widespread flak online for its use of "brownface". Chew's skin had been made up to look darker to portray an Indian man. The ad also showed him cross-dressing as a Malay woman and a Chinese woman.
[h=3]READ: Preetipls and Subhas Nair given conditional warning for "offensive" rap video - Police[/h]On Aug 7, the actor and deejay apologised for his part in the controversial ad, saying it had caused "much disappointment".
"I feel terrible about how things turned out," he said, adding that he would set "higher expectations" of himself.
The financial services firm NETS as well as the creative agency engaged for the E-Pay campaign, Havas Worldwide, have also apologised.
Earlier on Wednesday, police said brother-and-sister entertainer duo Preeti and Subhas Nair have been given conditional warnings for a rap video they had produced in response to the ad.
Let's block ads! (Why?)
More...