Dunkin’ Donuts criticized for ‘bizarre and racist’ ad campaign in Thailand

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A leading human rights group has called on Dunkin' Donuts to withdraw a "bizarre and racist" advertisement for chocolate doughnuts in Thailand that shows a smiling woman with bright pink lips in blackface makeup.

The Dunkin' Donuts franchise in Thailand launched a campaign earlier this month for its new "Charcoal Donut" featuring the image, which is reminiscent of 19th and early 20th century American stereotypes for black people that are now considered offensive symbols of a racist era.

...

"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."

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The CEO for Dunkin' Donuts in Thailand dismissed the criticism as "paranoid American thinking."

"It's absolutely ridiculous," said CEO Nadim Salhani. "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?"

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/life-sty...t-ad-campaign-article-1.1441538#ixzz2dTdhYkZ3
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Update:
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/aug/30/dunkin-donuts-racist-thai-advert-blackface

Dunkin' Donuts chief executive in Thailand defended the campaign, but a spokesman for Dunkin' Brands told the Guardian on Friday it would immediately pull a planned television spot featuring the imagery.

"Dunkin' Donuts recognizes the insensitivity of this spot and on behalf of our Thailand franchisee and our company, we apologize for any offense it caused," Karen Raskopf, chief communications officer for Dunkin' Brands, said in a statement provided to the Guardian. "We are working with our franchisee to immediately pull the television spot and to change the campaign."

The Thai arm of Dunkin' Donuts had planned a poster and television campaign around the image, which it shared on Facebook. The advert shows a woman apparently wearing dark make-up and bright pink lipstick, with a 1950s beehive hairstyle. She is holding a "charcoal donut", out of which a bite has been taken. The slogan next to the image reads: "Break every rule of deliciousness."
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I think painting a Thai person black might not have the same connotation that a white person doing black-face might.

Not my place to decide that though.
 
Bizarre, yes.

Racist, no.

Thailand doesn't have a 400 year history of institutionalized racism against people with darker skin, and the ad itself seems to be an accurate portrayal of what would happen if you rubbed charcoal all over a nude woman with pert lips.

Also, this is Phil

image
 
Cultural differences.

Cannot say it's racist though, and it's silly to compare it to American blackface considering this is in...Thailand.
 
Pink lipstick is a dead giveaway of back-handed racism.

BUT...this is gaf, everything gets a pass when it comes to black people.
 
jordan0386 said:
Pink lipstick is a dead giveaway of back-handed racism.

BUT...this is gaf, everything gets a pass when it comes to black people.
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Blackface traditionally used white lip paint, did it not?
 
What a joke. Now we're going overseas to be offended on the behalf of black people? Doesn't have the same meaning over there.
 
It's not racist. Have you ever seen a coal miner? No matter what skin color they go in with they come out black as that except less pretty.
 
Hey...

"Dunkin' Donuts should immediately withdraw this ad, publicly apologize to those it's offended and ensure this never happens again."

They're actually ASKING for a non apology?
 
... I think it's the red lipstick that does it.

Yup, if it were white or blue or green lipstick I wouldn't have a 2nd thought about it.

Either way, Asian places are very strange when it comes to this kinda stuff. But w/e, it's not like they're gonna have a outrage over there about this so who cares.
 
Flo_Evans said:
I would probably agree if she was all black... but the red lips.
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It's to show the smile. It would be harder to see if the lips were black too.

What point is having a blackface donut ad in thailand going for? What would be the intent of the racism if it existed?
 
Just like there was nothing wrong with those Playstation ads from last year.

You can barely get away with the slickness in the states, so they take the non-sense overseas. As if nobody would notice. lol.

Just the way I feel on it.
 
Divvy said:
It's to show the smile. It would be harder to see if the lips were black too.

What point is having a blackface donut ad in thailand going for? What would be the intent of the racism if it existed?
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It's also not Red - it's the pink from the Dunkin Donuts logo.
 
Black-Wind said:
... I think it's the red lipstick that does it.

Yup, if it were white or blue or green lipstick I wouldn't have a 2nd thought about it.

Either way, Asian places are very strange when it comes to this kinda stuff. But w/e, it's not like they're gonna have a outrage over there about this so who cares.
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Someone explain this to me. Red/pink lipstick is far and away the most popular colour is it not?

It looks like they're using to express the lips/smile.
 
Divvy said:
It's to show the smile. It would be harder to see if the lips were black too.

What point is having a blackface donut ad in thailand going for? What would be the intent of the racism if it existed?
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What's the point of this ad anyway?

When did Dunkin Donuts become some kinda strange fashion mag?
 
Black face does exist in Thai, but this isn't it.

Darkie_Toothpaste.jpg
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I mean, Thailand is pretty race conscious. We have stereotypes of Chinese, Indian, Farangs, Blacks in mainstream media. but this isn't it. This is a model with the same color as donut.
 
Dali said:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Y7eg0REXZM&feature=youtube_gdata_player


Thailand, home of the wtf inducing commercial about thai people being afraid of a dude just because he's black.
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At least the kid wasn't shook lol

How the hell does a Thai toothpaste commercial encapsulate the black experience in America better than thousands of movies and tv shows...

notworksafe said:
Who the fuck wants a black doughnut? And it's advertised as "Charcoal"? Gross.
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Edible charcoal's pretty popular in Asian countries for health reasons. Doesn't taste bad either.
 
notworksafe said:
Who the fuck wants a black doughnut? And it's advertised as "Charcoal"? Gross.
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Black-Wind said:
What's the point of this ad anyway?

When did Dunkin Donuts become some kinda strange fashion mag?
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Alligatorjandro said:
I dont understand why the woman has to be black.
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The product is a weird-looking jet-black donut. Hence, they're showing a oddly toned all-black (color, not the race) woman done up like a fashion/makeup advertisement to try and make the analogy between the two. "She still looks good = it still tastes good." The ad definitely gets your attention, although I'm not sure it does a good job conveying that message.
 
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