Posted on January 17, 2011

Jax Bargain Plywood Ad Racist?

WJXT-TV (Jacksonville, Florida), January 14, 2011

Rachel Baldwin is defending her company’s new commercial that has gone viral for all the wrong reasons.

The Jax Bargain Plywood ad has received more than 4,000 hits on YouTube and is the subject of jokes on Comedy Central.

Ruth Taylor, a woman in the commercial, sings: “Save me a nickel. Save me a dime. Jax Bargain Plywood can do it every time.”

Bloggers claim the jingle contains the “N” word.

“The e-mails that we’ve gotten are that we are being racist,” Baldwin said. “They can’t believe we got an African-American woman to say that. They’re making a lot of derogatory comments about her.”

Baldwin said she’s disgusted at the growing number of online comments targeting her staff and Taylor, who’s a Gospel singer.

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Taylor said in a phone interview Friday that the allegations are ridiculous, even moreso because she herself is black.

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Customers admit Taylor’s pronunciation could have been more precise.

“Not everybody puts the ending on her words. So that’s what it sounds like,” one customer said.

The owners said they have no intention of pulling the commercial from the air or adjusting the audio. Instead, they’re going to continue to sell their plywood, cabinets and tile, saying they have nothing to be sorry for.

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[The Jax Bargain Plywood commercial can be viewed here.]