A brilliant new Human Rights Day campaign by fast food franchise Nando's is looking to correct the autocorrect functions on most spellcheck dictionaries, hoping to remind people that their South African names are "not a mistake".
The #rightmyname campaign asks the country to go to the rightmyname.co.za website, where they can enter their names into a database that corporates and private individuals can copy into their computer systems, so that new names can be used by spellchecks to rectify outdated name databases.
"If you're here, it's probably because you're seeing red. We don't blame you. Our diversity is part of what makes Mzansi great, and we think it's totally crazy that the tech we use every day still tells us that our names are a mistake. So let's fix our sh*t. Add your name below to a new database of South African names, and help us #rightmyname by Human Rights Day 2018," Nando's says on its website.
Advertising agency M&C Saatchi Abel is behind the new campaign, say South Africans are tired of having their names underlined in red.
M&C Saatchi Abel's Gordon Ray says: "It's pretty ridiculous that in 2018, everyone with a non-traditional or non-English name gets told that their name is a mistake – Nando's doesn't think that's good enough."
"Any company in South Africa will be able to download this database, and pretty much just cut and paste into your dictionary – and hopefully people who work in your company will never have to feel like they are a mistake ever again."