Dunkin' Donuts blackface ad to be pulled

It appears that the local Dunkin' Donuts franchise, under pressure from its US parent company, is going to stop its controversial "blackface" advert campaign that appeared 'racist' to some, harmless to others.

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Skytrain passengers sit next to a Dunkin' Donuts poster featuring a woman with black face make-up on Tuesday. AFP

Dunkin' Donuts pulls 'racist' ad

Dunkin' Donuts said it is pulling a Thai advert featuring a woman with black face make-up after a human rights group criticised it as "racist".

The US firm apologised for the "insensitivity" of the ad for its "charcoal donut", with the slogan, "break all rules of deliciousness".

Human Rights Watch deputy Asia director Phil Robertson criticised Dunkin' Donuts for "using racist images to sell donuts".

Protests during the late 1980s led to a change in the name and a much more offensive image used for a popular toothpaste in Thailand.

The image of the woman in black face make-up and bright pink lipstick was said to be an unwelcome reminder of the blackfaced performers in the United States in the 19th and early 20th centuries. They portrayed black people in what is now considered to be a very negative way.

Most of the criticism came from abroad, particularly the United States where the Dunkin’s Donut’s franchise has its headquarters.

Here in Thailand, the chief executive of the local franchise was clearly upset by the criticism which he said totally missed the point of the advert.

"It's absolutely ridiculous," 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?"

"Not everybody in the world is paranoid about racism," said Mr Salhani, a Lebanese expatriate who said his teenage daughter was the model featured in the campaign.

Many in the local social media agreed with Mr Salhani that there was no racist intent behind the image, but that did not ease the concerns of the US parent company.

"We are working with our Thailand franchisee to immediately pull the ad. DD recognises the insensitivity of this spot," Dunkin' Donuts said in a tweet posted on Twitter.

As of yesterday, however, the charcoal donut was still being prominently displayed in a poster on BTS skytrains.

Story contains information from AFP and AP as well as the Bangkok Post.

For some insightful commentary on the controversary, see this interview with well-known local observer Kaewmala: http://bit.ly/17LPS3W