Source: Alain Schroeder / Getty
“You just need to be white to win.”
That was the tagline used by a Thai beauty company to promote a skin-whitening product. The commercial features a fair-skinned Thai actress who implies that the product helps her compete in the entertainment industry.
According to Huffington Post, “As she speaks, a smiling, younger woman enters the picture and Cris’ own image darkens to charcoal black. A male voice says, “You just need to be white to win.”
The company, Seoul Secret has pulled the commercial and issued this statement:
“Our company did not have any intention to convey discriminatory or racist messages. What we intended to convey was that self-improvement in terms of personality, appearance, skills and professionalism is crucial.”
Skin-whitening products are a big business in Southeast Asia. Darker skin is associated with people being of a lower class. Lighter skin is seen as beautiful.
