Heineken was praised for its salute to diversity in its Open Your World ad campaign last year—which featured people of different backgrounds, such as a climate-change denier and an environmental activist, discussing their viewpoints over a beer. But now the company has been forced to pull an advert for its light beer after complaints the commercial was racist, spearheaded by Chance the Rapper.
The bizarre advert showed a bartender apparently spying a woman at the end of the bar and sliding a bottle of beer toward her.
On its travels, the bottle passes several dark-skinned people, including some that appear to be caricatures, such as a black man playing a guitar.
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The bottle finally arrives at the hand of a much lighter-skinned woman, before the tag line is delivered: Sometimes lighter is better.
The advert attracted the ire of Chance the Rapper on Sunday night.
Heineken has now announced that it is pulling the commercial, saying that while the ad was referencing Heineken Light, “we missed the mark.”
