Update: Heineken has removed an ad which drew criticism from Chance the Rapper for its seemingly racist undertones. The beer distribution company admitted to "missing the mark" according to a statement obtained by The Guardian.
Original story: Unfortunately, there's no shortage of tone-deaf advertisements or brand campaigns. The influx of racist or otherwise insensitive ads makes one wonder: was there no black employee in the room? Or, if there were black employees, why didn't anyone listen to them?
Heineken stepped up to the offensive ad plate recently with a commercial promoting their light beer. The way the company chose to play on the word "light" is leaving some with the side-eye.
Actress Gabrielle Union retweeted a clip of the ad on Twitter on Monday morning:
Come on man… ???????????????????? https://t.co/fQtEe1Dgjy— Gabrielle Union (@itsgabrielleu) March 26, 2018
"Come on man…" she wrote, accompanied by an array of suspicion-themed emojis.
Twitter user @LeftSentThis tweeted a summary of the clip in the original tweet, explaining why something didn't curl all the way over about the ad.
"Watch this Heineken commercial where a fair-skinned bartender slides a beer past 3 dark-skinned Black folks (2 women 1 man) to a racially ambiguous fair-skinned woman, and when the drink reaches its desired destination, the words 'sometimes lighter is better' pops up on the screen," he tweeted.
Union wasn't the only part of Black Twitter that peeped the jig. Some accused the major beer brand of racist/colorist subliminal messaging:
This ad is just as disgusting as @Heineken beer.— Whynot (@PoetryDefined) March 26, 2018
Lighter is better to them, we as blacks we are very proud of being black we wont be intimidated by these ad— Thando Gawula (@gawula_thando) March 26, 2018
Wtfffffff…. no more @Heineken for me!!— Donna Stazzone (@Stazzone) March 26, 2018
Damn. That's not even subliminal. That's overt.— Terrance Hamilton (@ilanik369) March 26, 2018
@heineken who? #heinekenisoverparty pic.twitter.com/TT6yZF8cPO— Blank (@onejadedmf) March 26, 2018
One user referenced Dove's racially insensitive mishap from last year:
Someone at Heineken should Google Dove.— Bashon Mann (@bonsaidream) March 26, 2018
Oh, and Chance had something to say, arguing that not only was the ad racist, but purposely racist:
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
I found that joint ????????https://t.co/r4cgSLE8Uz— 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
Despite the outrage, there were some folks who thought people might be taking it too far:
I don’t see a problem with this. People are reaching now. It’s a LIGHTER version of their regular beer.— Decourcy Williams (@courcy1973) March 26, 2018
Hear me out, the beer is Heineken Light Beer, and bartender is rescuing her from drinking a glass of wine, which has more cals than the ????, what y'all think?— Sir Dee (@SirDee69) March 26, 2018
For its part, Heineken said it didn't mean to be racist.
"For decades, Heineken has developed diverse marketing that shows there’s more that unites us than divides us … While we feel the ad is referencing our Heineken Light beer — we missed the mark, are taking the feedback to heart and will use this to influence future campaigns," Heineken told Newsweek in an official statement.
