Horwang's image darkens to charcoal black
A cosmetics company has apologised over an
advert for a skin-whitening pill with the tagline "You just need to be
white to win" after a backlash on social media.
Thai firm Seoul Secret pulled the advert for its Snowz
product which showed an actress' skin getting gradually darker next to a
rival with light skin.The ad was branded racist and ignorant and sparked a fierce debate in a country where beauty is defined by fairer skin and darker skin is associated with the lower classes.
The video, which was released on YouTube on Thursday, saw movie star Cris Horwang talking about being an ageing actress in a competitive industry.
She said: "If I stopped looking after myself, everything that I have worked for - all the investment I have made to keep myself white - would disappear.
"New stars would replace me, I would fade away."
As she speaks a younger woman enters the picture and Horwang’s image darkens to charcoal black.
A male voice says: "You just need to be white to win."
One prominent critic of the advert was former beauty queen Nonthawan Thongleng who said judging people by their skin colour was "such an old-fashioned value".
She posted on Facebook: "Even if you are black, you can be a winner too.”
Seoul Secret said in a statement: "Our company did not have any intention to convey discriminatory or racist messages.
"What we intended to convey was that self-improvement in terms of personality, appearance, skills and professionalism is crucial."
Wattanapak Jinsirivanich, managing director of the firm's parent company, said: "We may have overlooked this matter, overlooking the fact of being racist because this is something that doesn't exist in Thailand."
Hmmmmm,this is what I'm saying we need to believe in ourselves and be self reliant in Africa to earn respect from people from other parts of the world ,Gbam!
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