''They say that black people don't read...''

It begins with a guy saying something like: "They say that black people don't read - so what if you put a black person in a book?" It is for, of all things, a Financial Mail publication on who's who in black business.

Firstly, I just don't get it. Is it meant to be funny? Cynical? Ironic? Clever? What does it actually mean? But mainly, how on earth can you start an advert with such a ghastly blanket racial stereotype? Anyway, who is "they" that say this?

The copywriter should be suspended. I can't believe the Financial Mail approved the ad. And the guy who did the voiceover should be ashamed of himself that he agreed to read it.