Dunkin' Donuts has issued an apology for an ad it, and critics, have deemed insensitive for its advertising campaign in Thailand that features women in blackface makeup in order to promote a new chocolate-flavored doughnut.
The controversy began when a Human Rights Watch called the advertisements "bizarre and racist" on Friday, according to Fox News. Although the company's executive in Thailand defended the ads initially, the corporate headquarters in the U.S. quickly issued an apology.
"We are working with our Thailand franchisee to immediately pull the ad. DD recognizes the insensitivity of this spot," the company wrote on its Twitter account after it caught wind of the controversy.
The ads are there to promote the new "Charcoal Donut." The posters, TV spots and Facebook ads depict a smiling woman in black makeup with pink lipstick holding one of the new pastries with a slogan in Thai that translates to: "Break every rule of deliciousness."
"It's both bizarre and racist that Dunkin' Donuts thinks that it must color a woman's skin black and accentuate her lips with bright pink lipstick to sell a chocolate doughnut," said Phil Robertson, the deputy Asia director for Human Rights Watch. "Dunkin' Donuts should immediately withdraw this ad, publicly apologize to those it's offended and ensure this never happens again."
It's important to note that the poster didn't upset too many people in Thailand where racial stereotypes in advertisements is a common thing. Hours before the apology was issued by the company, its chief executive in Thailand called the sudden outrage "paranoid American thinking."
""It's absolutely ridiculous," the CEO Nadim Salhani said in a telephone interview. "We're not allowed to use black to promote our doughnuts? I don't get it. What's the big fuss? What if the product was white and I painted someone white, would that be racist?"
To see a photo of the ad in question, find it HERE via Fox News.
