bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

sponsorType

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Laura Zhou

A laundry detergent firm in China has come under fire for its racist commercial.
The advertisement by Shanghai-based Qiaobi begins with an attractive Chinese woman preparing to load her washer with laundry as a black man, with his face and white T-shirt stained with paint, wolf-whistles at her.
Thai advert for skin lightening pills sparks outrage with tagline ‘white makes you a winner’
She beckons him over seductively.
As the man approaches and tries to kiss her, she suddenly pops a Qiaobi laundry detergent pod into his mouth, pushes him forcefully into the washing machine, closes it and turns it on.
WATCH: Qiaobi ad turns black man into fair-skinned Chinese


When the washing cycle ends, the woman opens the lid as a fair-skinned Chinese man in a fresh white T-shirt slowly emerges from the machine.
She appears delighted upon sight of the second man.
“Change, it all starts from Qiaobi laundry detergent pod,” the commercial says.
Hair today ... new Chinese ad aims to raise pollution awareness
The advertisement, which quickly went viral after it was shared on social media, sparked heated debate as internet users slammed it for its racist overtone.
Some also pointed out that the Qiaobi ad appeared to be a rip-off from an Italian commercial years ago – except that the Italian ad turned a skinny Caucasian into a fit-looking black man with the slogan “coloured is better”.
WATCH: Italian version of the Qiaobi ad


“Many Chinese companies fail to understand the sensitivity of racism, which is a shame, but common in China,” one microblogger said.
“How can these Chinese marketing people have no knowledge of racism,” another asked.
Facebook apologises over ban of 'undesirable' plus-sized ad
“Or the next second, the woman should throw the man into the machine again until he turns into a white guy,” one wrote.
Qiaobi could not reached for comment on Friday morning.


From solo dining to safety apps, China’s ‘loneliness economy’ is booming

Foreigners flock to China’s ice and snow attractions, with 130% inbound tourism spike

China’s youth unemployment rate falls slightly in December as Beijing pledges more support

In China, the pressure on women to marry is deadly serious

China society

‘Racist’ laundry detergent ad slammed for turning black man into fair-skinned Chinese after spin in the washer

The Qiaobi laundry detergent advertisement spawned heated debate on Chinese social media. Photo: SCMP Pictures

News

China

People & Culture

‘Racist’ laundry detergent ad slammed for turning black man into fair-skinned Chinese after spin in the washer

.css-1mniedq{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;}WATCH: Qiaobi ad turns black man into fair-skinned Chinese

WATCH: Qiaobi ad turns black man into fair-skinned Chinese