Ad for product to lighten skin pulled

A televised commercial in Thailand for a skin-whitening product stirred controversy and was eventually withdrawn after a backlash against its perceived racism.

The commercial for Thai cosmetics firm Seoul Secret featured a popular model and singer talking about the merits of having light-coloured skin.

“If I stop taking care of myself, everything I have worked for, the whiteness I have invested in, may be lost,” says Cris Horwang.

“The new kids will replace me, will make me a faded star,” says the actress, standing alongside another light-skinned woman. Her own skin then steadily turns darker.

“White makes you win,” intones the video’s narrator, adding that the product, “Snowz,” has special compounds that will help “you not return to black.”

The ad precipitated a heated response on Thai social media and online forums. The BBC cites one commenter on the Thai-language forum Pantip.com: “I’m perfectly fine being dark-skinned, and now you’re saying I’ve lost? Hello? What?”