A television advert for Sanex shower gel has been banned in the UK for appearing to suggest that black skin is “problematic” and white skin is “superior”.
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) acted after investigating two complaints that the ad fed negative stereotypes about people with darker skin tones.
The ad, broadcast in June, included a voiceover that said: “To those who might scratch day and night. To those whose skin will feel dried out even by water,” alongside scenes of a black woman with red scratch marks and another covered with a cracked clay-like material.
The ad then showed a white woman taking a shower with the product, and stated: “Try to take a shower with the new Sanex skin therapy and its patented amino acid complex. For 24-hour hydration feel.” It ended with text and the voiceover stating: “Relief could be as simple as a shower.”
The UK arm of Colgate-Palmolive, the $68bn (£54.4bn) US consumer goods group that owns the Sanex brand, argued that its ad did not perpetuate negative racial stereotypes and was unlikely to cause serious or widespread offence.
It said the ad illustrated a “before and after” effect, and that the models demonstrated the product was suitable and effective for everyone. It told the regulator that when the model with darker skin was depicted, her skin tone was not a focal point.
Clearcast, a body that approves or rejects ads for broadcast on television, also argued that the Sanex ad did not perpetuate negative racial stereotypes but demonstrated the product’s inclusivity.
However, the ASA said the use of different skin colours as a means of portraying a “before and after” created a negative comparison.
The watchdog said the ad was “structured in such a way that it was the black skin … which was shown to be problematic and uncomfortable, whereas the white skin, depicted as smoother and clean after using the product, was shown successfully changed and resolved”.
The ASA added that although it understood that message was not intended and may pass unnoticed by some viewers, it considered “the ad was likely to reinforce the negative and offensive racial stereotype that black skin was problematic and that white skin was superior.
“We concluded that the ad included a racial stereotype and was therefore likely to cause serious offence,” it said.
The regulator told Colgate-Palmolive that it must not show the ads again in their current form “to ensure they avoided causing serious offence on the grounds of race”. Colgate-Palmolive was approached for comment.
Earlier this week the ASA issued a plea to advertisers to stop using “irresponsible” images of unhealthily thin-looking models. In 2024 it received 61 complaints about the size of models in adverts, and it has reported that 45% of the public are concerned about ads that include idealised body images of women.
