Black man is washed whiter in China’s racist detergent advert; Guardian, 5/28/16

Emma Graham-Harrison, Guardian; Black man is washed whiter in China’s racist detergent advert:

"The company behind a Chinese advert for detergent that has been dubbed the most racist ever has defended the bizarre content, saying any discrimination is in the eye of the viewer.

In the advert a pouch of Qiaobi cleaning liquid is forced into the man’s mouth and he is then bundled into a washing machine by a smiling woman. After a cycle of muffled screams, she opens the lid and a grinning Asian man climbs out. He winks at the viewer before the slogan flashes up on screen: Change begins with Qiaobi.

The commercial had apparently aired for months in China, without generating much debate, until a flicker of online discontent was picked up by a local English-language website. It posted a link to the ad and within hours it had gone viral, sparking a global conversation about racism in a country that is officially home to 56 ethnic minorities but is dominated by Han Chinese, and can feel very monocultural.

“Qiaobi Detergent Ad Might Be The Most Racist TV Commercial Ever Made,” said the Huffington Post, as global outrage grew. But a spokesman for Leishang cosmetics company, which produces the detergent, said critics had overreacted. “The foreign media might be too sensitive about the ad,” a man named only as Wang told the local Global Times tabloid. “We meant nothing but to promote the product, and we had never thought about the issue of racism.”"