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By DOREEN ASASIRA
KAMPALA, Uganda [SHIFTMEDIA] Following a public outcry, MTN Uganda announced that it was withdrawing the Gaga Vibes ‘hair raising ‘ advert that the public felt was sexually offensive. The giant telecom company announced on Friday that it was retreiving the data bundle campaign advert due to massive negative feedback from the public.
The advert had been running on most television channels and social media pages showing a young man pulling a hip-thrust dance along with other colleagues.
The move of the hips was described by Ugandans especially church leaders as highly sexualized and offensive.
MTN Uganda CEO, Ms Sylivia Mulinge said on Friday the move followed an appeal by Pastor Martin Ssempa of the Makerere Community Church.
According to Mulinge, Ssempa visited the MTN offices to raise his concerns regarding the advert.
“For now, we have made a decision as MTN to listen to our customers and we thank you for your feedback. We have retrieved the ad. It will not be running anywhere,” Mulinge said.
“We shall try to figure out how we are going to bring you the Gaga Vibe in the next few days.”
Mulinge also announced that the company will soon hold a workshop to have a conversation about what the company stands for.
The workshop, she said, will be attended by young people to express themselves in terms of what they want to see.
Pastor Martin Ssempa of the Makerere Community Church led the charge against the telecom company, demanding the pull down the advert,
“This is the sexualisation of our culture. Whereas I expect this from other brands I did not expect this from MTN a, respected brand,” said Ssempa in a rant on X.
“I as a leader in youth development have watched the impact of sexualised music on young children. Young kids can imitate what they see. MTN, you are crossing over with this advert into dry-humping and making it mainstream,” he said.
In the rant, Pastor Ssempa made a direct call to the MTN top leadership to take down the ad, noting; “Many of you are parents and do understand the challenge of raising children in a very sexualised environment. We have to protect out children because our laws and culture demand it.”