Hello 2016, can you believe in this day and age people are still okaying commercials featuring blackface?
Enter Seoul Secret, a Thai cosmetics company who have been forced into a rapid backpedal and apology following the airing of their latest ad. I’m guessing you’re not going to understand much of the advert itself, but how about this for a slogan – “you just need to be white to win”.
But wait, we’re not done here. Huffington Post with more:
The online ad for the new product called “Snowz” featured porcelain-skinned Thai movie star Cris Horwang talking about being an aging actress in a competitive industry.
“If I stopped looking after myself, everything that I have worked for — all the investment I have made to keep myself white — would disappear,” says the 35-year-old actress. “New stars would replace me, I would fade away.”
Naturally the backlash was swift and vehement, leading to the following apology:
“Our company did not have any intention to convey discriminatory or racist messages,” the statement posted on its Facebook page said. “What we intended to convey was that self-improvement in terms of personality, appearance, skills and professionalism is crucial.”
Now Penny Sparrow currently holds the record for worst apology but Seoul Secret aren’t too far behind. Sies man, just think about how many people signed off on this at every level before it was aired on TV.
[source:huffingtonpost]
