Publications
Partners
UPDATE: 2019-01-15
14:55
"It was worth all the risk in the world"- Drive Dry responds to backlash over #VWDriveDry campaign featuring Nomuzi
VW and the Drive Dry initiative's latest campaign against drinking and driving sparked a big debate over the weekend. W24 spoke to the brains behind the campaign for further insights.
Cape Town - South African TV personality Nomuzi Mabena, professionally known as Moozlie, is facing heavy backlash after a viral video of her being involved in a fake car crash was confirmed to be part of a drunk driving awareness campaign.
On Thursday at 23:00 the local rapper shared an Instagram Live video while driving. Seconds into the video viewers witness what is staged to look like a car accident, before the footage cuts out.
After watching the traumatic video, fans and followers flooded social media with messages of shock and concern.
What followed was 14 hours of silence, with no communication from the 26-year-old's management team.
The Juice reached out to Nomuzi's PR team to confirm whether or not the rapper had been injured, but they refused to comment at the time.
On Friday, Nomuzi confirmed via Twitter that the "accident" was part of a road safety awareness campaign.
The campaign has been met with mixed reactions on social media, with the majority labeling the publicity stunt as "distasteful."
The hashtag "Roast Nomuzi" started trending soon after the revelation, with fans expressing their anger and frustration.
Local DJ Das Kapital took to Twitter to express his opinion on the matter, saying in a video: "You've forced people to watch a death to get your point across." He also called the viral campaign "watered down and pointless."
WATCH THE VIDEO HERE:
Several social media users stated that death is "not something to play around with" and that the video could be a trigger to many people who had been involved, witnessed, or lost a loved one to a road accident.
"This is disappointing. Probably could've been done in a different way. Death isn't something to play around with," tweeted @Morganmathews_x.
@lungi_mandla agreed with several other Twitter users, posting: "People with photosensitive epilepsy or trauma from past accidents would have been triggered so badly."
@noss_myeki labelled the execution of the campaign "insensitive."
Many users agreed that the campaign could have been more powerful if it was confirmed as a "stunt" shortly after the staged accident, instead of "playing with their emotions."
Despite the public backlash, users have also come out to support the campaign, saying that the execution was impactful and thought-provoking.
Nomuzi, Volkswagen and Drive Dry are yet to comment on the public outcry.
SEE MORE REACTIONS HERE:
