"Is your skin color holding you back? Are you tired of systemic prejudice ruining your day?"
So begins the infomercial-style narration -- delivered by an earnest white guy who looks and acts as if he could just as easily be peddling Viagra or Cialis -- in MTV's ballsy new minute-and-a-half spot for its "Look Different" anti-prejudice initiative.
The center of his pitch: "White Squad," a team of "carefully selected white representatives" who will stand in for people of color during moments in which their skin color might pose a disadvantage, or, as the narrator euphemistically puts it, "life's racially unbalanced situations."
Scattered amongst spoof scenes of overeager fair-skinned team members helping people of color do things like hail cabs, appear in court and rent apartments are real-life statistics on racial inequality cleverly disguised as selling points for the service.
#WhiteSquad employs people with a wide variety of specialties, so we can help you in any situ… http://t.co/C5Z73pY3YP pic.twitter.com/bNDgMF1bPD— White Squad (@WhiteSquad) July 16, 2015
The commercial comes complete with a fake website, Twitter account and toll-free help line, 1-855-WHT-SQAD, which points callers to MTV's "Look Different" hub of resources.
Reactions on social media predictably varied widely. Some praised MTV for tackling racial issues head-on, while others charged it with taking the issue too lightly. Still others charged them with racism against white people and blasted for touching on such a divisive topic.
@blackvoices This is hilarious? People fighting for equality find this funny? As long as there is this stuff, there will never be peace.— Enigma (@ParasiticEnigma) July 20, 2015
@MTV This is a great way for people to see that white privilege does exist. Racism is still around us and its important to educate.— yara. (@yara_zayas) July 16, 2015