UK regulator bans Sanex advert for racial stereotype

A UK television advert for Sanex shower gel has been banned for reinforcing an offensive racial stereotype by depicting black skin as problematic and white skin as superior. Broadcast in June, the ad showed a black-skinned model with red scratch marks and another with cracked, claylike skin, followed by a white-skinned model Showering, with the message that the product provides 24-hour hydration. The regulator ruled that the format suggested a contrast in which white skin was portrayed as smoother and more resolved after using the product, while black skin appeared to be troubled, a portrayal deemed likely to cause serious offence.

The ruling concluded that the advertisement's structure created a juxtaposition in which darker skin was associated with itchiness and dryness, and lighter skin with relief, which could be interpreted as white skin being superior. Although the governing body accepted that the message was not necessarily intentional and might go unnoticed by some viewers, it stated the ad included a racial stereotype and was likely to cause serious offence. As a result, the ad was banned from being aired in its current form.

Colgate-Palmolive, the owner of Sanex,...