Chance the Rapper labels Heineken’s ‘ Sometimes, lighter is better’ ad as racist
Chance the Rapper took to Twitter Sunday to decry a new ad from Heineken as “terribly racist” after the Dutch beer company used the tagline “Sometimes, lighter is better” to promote Heineken Light beer.
“I think some companies are purposely putting out noticably ( sic) racist ads so they can get more views,” he tweeted.
The ad in question, which features several black people as extras, shows a bartender sliding a bottle of Heineken Light across a patio before the phrase “Sometimes, lighter is better” appears on screen.
In a statement to AdAge, Heineken USA acknowledged that the company “missed the mark.”
“For decades, Heineken has developed diverse marketing that shows there’s more that unites us than divides us,” Heineken USA stated. “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.”
NBC reported Monday afternoon that Heineken had pulled the ad.
Chance the Rapper later stated that he was not calling for a boycott of Heineken and said he didn’t even want to tweet about it, “but its like how can u not.”
On Monday, after several media outlets wrote about his initial tweet, Chance said that those who covered what he said had “missed the entire point.”
“I was pointing out that alot of these marketing agencies are doing willfully so we overreact and tweet about it, and you write an article and tweet, and we all say their brand name 50 times,” he tweeted.