Social media reacts to ‘racist’ Heineken ad

Last week, Heineken released an advertisement for the new Heineken Light beer.

The ad sees a bartender sliding a bottle of Heineken Light across the bar towards a dissatisfied customer. The bottle passes a few dark-skinned people before reaching the white woman who is speaking to a group of white men. The ad used the tagline “sometimes lighter is better”, Alberton Record explains.

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Grammy-award-winning musician Chance the Rapper took to his Twitter page to condemn the ad as racist, which spiralled into a trending topic.

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

Some people sided with Chance, while others called it a reach. It eventually led to Heineken removing the ad and apologising in a statement.

“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.”

Chance then clarified that he was not calling for a boycott, but was merely bringing attention to the issue.

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

Here is how people have reacted to Chance’s take on the advertisement:

https://twitter.com/ttttara21/status/978130781548691456

I see the point, but issa reach lol

— xandria♥️ (@liteskinnedgirl) March 26, 2018

https://twitter.com/helenehrenhofer/status/978351994103648256

Pepsi: We made the worst ad of the decade.
Heineken: Hold my beer.
Everyone: No.

— Amanda Mancino-Williams (@Manda_like_wine) March 26, 2018

'Heineken Light' ad though. Do people in those boardrooms just like triggering the racial debate on purpose?

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— MichDaddy (@michstizzy) March 27, 2018

I can see your point Chance. It's the subtle and subliminal messages that do the most harm. This may be intentional, then again maybe not. Only the marketing team knows the true intent.

— Kim The Incredible (@OhSoKimcredible) March 26, 2018

Yeh like some people that make a comment how racist something (totally not racist) might be, to get some extra attention aye mate…

— Ferdi (@fferrddii) March 26, 2018

https://twitter.com/SugarBeats/status/978083766986989568

https://twitter.com/SugarBeats/status/978083438409392128

I think the bigger issue is the corporations and companies exploiting the use of minoritized groups in order to pander to our more liberal/inclusive society. Commercials like these show exactly how disconnected they are from such groups by missing clearly apparent red flags.

— Michael (@thsteez_) March 26, 2018

Protests in Johannesburg over ‘racist’ H&M ad

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