Sanex released an advertisement that showed extreme visuals of scratched and cracked Black skin alongside a voiceover describing itching and dryness, then cut to a White woman shown healed after using the product. Viewers complained that the ad framed Black skin as 'problematic' and white skin as superior through a before-and-after structure. The Advertising Standards Agency reviewed complaints and concluded the ad included a racial stereotype likely to cause serious offence, and banned the advert in the UK. The case joins recent controversies over racially insensitive marketing and raises questions about advertiser responsibility when portraying diverse skin.
The ad begins with a voiceover saying, "To those who might scratch day and night. To those whose skin will feel dried out even by water," alongside extreme visuals of scratched and cracked Black skin. "Try to take a shower with the new Sanex skin therapy," the ad continues, cutting to visuals of a White woman showering (sans bodily ailments), "Relief could be as simple as a shower," it concludes.
After receiving multiple complaints, the Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) assessed the ad, concluding that it "included a racial stereotype and was therefore likely to cause serious offence." Citing the 'before and after' framing of the ad, the ASA claimed "the ad was likely to reinforce the negative and offensive racial stereotype that black skin was problematic and that white skin was superior."
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