Heineken Pulls ‘Lighter Is Better’ Ad Some Are Calling Racist
What do you think?
Many brands haven’t really caught up with the times. The latest to stumble with a seriously misguided ad is Heineken, with its “lighter is better” campaign.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=euDi7zqDGMs
While Heineken has received kudos in the past for ads demonstrating finely-tuned racial sensitivity, the ad in the video above gives the strong impression they’ve forgotten that. Chance the Rapper noticed, and he called them out on Twitter.
I think some companies are purposely putting out noticably racist ads so they can get more views. And that shit racist/bogus so I guess I shouldn’t help by posting about it. But 😂 I gotta just say tho. The “sometimes lighter is better” Hienekin commercial is terribly racist omg
— Chance The Rapper (@chancetherapper) March 26, 2018
Im not saying boucott them or go off im just noticing how often it happens and I think they baiting consumers and tweeters and freelancers and shit. Like I didnt wanna tweet about it so bad 😂😂 but its like how can u not
— Chance The Rapper (@chancetherapper) March 26, 2018
To the company’s credit, it pulled the ad almost immediately, but with his “baiting” comment, Chance was clearly stating that he thought Heineken calibrated the spot to gin up controversy. If Chance is right, the brewing company wouldn’t be the first to figure any attention is better than none at all.
Companies slipping up and bumbling into these waters is nothing new. As Fortune notes, Dove has stepped in it and so has H&M.
It’s easy to see the failures here, though it’s likely the ad agencies or departments who created the concepts would say they didn’t intend anything racist at all.
That may be, but it also suggests they don’t have enough people of color on staff to say, ‘hey, that’s probably a bad idea.’ Or maybe just someone with a little common sense.
h/t Fortune