As you’ve probably already seen, Indonesians are mighty upset with a Malaysian ad for a robotic vacuum cleaner that urged potential buyers to “Fire Your Indonesian Maid” in favour of purchasing a Neato BotVac.
Ire over the ad turned from internet hate into an international incident with the Indonesian embassy in KL looking into possible legal action against the advertiser and Vice President Jusuf Kalla demanding an apology.
Today Coconuts Media received a press release from the sole distributor of the Neato BotVac in Malaysia, Corvan Technology, denouncing the inflammatory ad, which the company says came from an unauthorized dealer:
Although the apology refers specifically to the advertisement above, the same “Fire Your Indonesian Maid” message was also used on this website up until yesterday. At some point in the last day it seems somebody finally deleted the word “Indonesian.”
Update (6/2): We received the following statement from Neato Robotics, the California-based manufacturer of the Neato Botvac this morning:
We are terribly offended by this derogatory advertisement and we support the immediate termination of this and any related activity. The implications in the ad are contrary to Neato’s own core beliefs and ethics.
We are company with strong ethical standards, respectful of all people and nationalities. We build robots that help make people’s lives easier – all around the world. Thank you for helping us set the record straight.
