My Take | US media outrage over detergent ad is pot calling the kettle black
Chinese television commercial was certainly offensive and racist but criticism from America – which was founded on slavery – is a bit rich
The Qiaobi detergent TV commercial on the mainland is indeed racist and offensive. Yet, even more interesting, is why it seems to provoke outrage only in the US media and not anywhere else in the world.
US and English-language news media have been quick to report on the commercial, yet few bother to tell their audiences that the long version with the black actor that went viral online was never broadcast; only the shorter version was shown without him.
Americans are quick to condemn.
The popular Vox.com waxed indignant: “This ad is blatantly racist... it’s also a reminder that attitudes over race and skin colour in China can be very bad.”
CNN editorialised along a similar vein.