A Beauty Company Is Claiming That You'll Only Succeed "By Being White"

People criticized the advertisement for a Thai skin whitener as racist. The company has since removed the video.

Rachael Krishna

by Rachael Krishna

BuzzFeed Staff

Posted on January 8, 2016, 3:28 pm

Thai company Seoul Secrets recently released a controversial advert for a skin-whitening pill that shows a model with blackened skin.

The video for the product, called Snowz, begins with a model stating, "If I stop taking care of myself everything I have worked for, the whiteness I have invested in, may be lost", according to a translation of the video on The Guardian.

The video then shows another model, who watches as the first woman turns black.

The two women are compared with the narrator saying "whiteness makes you win."

And that Snowz can "help you not return to black".

Seoul Secret's social channels were bombarded with negative feedback about the video.

One person on Facebook asked: "Why cultivate the idea that white is better than black? Did the brand owner think this slogan out?"

Another said, "Racist ad."

In response to the backlash the company has removed the video and released a statement saying that they didn't intend to "convey discriminatory or racist messages."

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Rachael Krishna is a reporter for BuzzFeed News and is based in London.
Contact Rachael Krishna at rachael.krishna@buzzfeed.com.
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