In the ad for the Chinese detergent company, Qiaobi, a woman places a black man inside the washing machine that later emerged as a light-skinned Asian man. (Photo : YouTube/ Qiaobi)
A black man that turned out to be a fair-looking Asian man in a detergent ad has drew racist criticisms from the international media. The Chinese detergent company has apologized, but claimed that the foreign media is too sensitive for fueling the controversy.
In the ad made for Qiaobi laundry detergent, a black man was forcefully placed inside the washing machine and later came out as a light-skinned Asian man. The ad posted on YouTube has been viewed more than 17,000 times since it was published.
The Chinese detergent company has issued a public apology since the internet users and media outlets circulated reports of accusing the former of ethnic discrimination. The report was passed by American media and now has drawn attention among the United States, the United Kingdom and other parts of the world.
"We have no intentions to discriminate against people of color... Ethnic discrimination is something we strongly reject and condemn," the Chinese detergent company wrote on its official blog.
"We express regret over the controversy the ad has created and do not intend to shirk responsibility," the company continued. "We have already stopped the ad's circulation and have canceled several online streaming links. We hope that internet users and the media will cease sharing the video."
The Chinese detergent company has not stopped the ads online streaming, in fact it can still be accessed on YouTube. In the same letter of apology, the company said that they were sincerely sorry for hurting people of African descent.
They also requested the internet users and the media not to overanalyze the situation. The Chinese detergent company blamed the foreign media for playing a part of the outrage because their reports reportedly generated public interest.
A huge proportion of Africans are living in China and most of them can be found in Southern Guangdong province. Most of them face discrimination from the locals due to the stigma against dark skin.
Apart from labeling the ad as blatantly racist, it appeared to be copied from an Italian commercial released a few years ago, according to Quartz. The ad drew more ire in the social media with people requesting the ad to be taken down because it had no originality.
It was not the first time for China to face international scrutiny from the media. In December, the promotional poster for "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" stirred controversy after the character portrayed by John Boyega,who is black was marginalized.
Check out the ad made for the Chinese detergent company that drew racial criticisms from the foreign media:
