This Insanely Racist Chinese Detergent Ad "Cleans" a Black Man

An ad for Chinese detergent Qiaobi posted on YouTube Thursday has left many viewers slack jawed at its racism: It promises to wash the black out of a black man. Yes, you read that right.

The ad begins with a Chinese woman suggestively inviting a black workman covered in paint over to her washing machine while she does laundry. As he moves in for the kiss, she stuffs detergent in his mouth and shoves him into the machine instead. After a complete cycle, the black workman comes out as a pristine, fair-skinned East Asian man.

One woman wrote on popular microblogging site Sina Weibo that the ad had appeared in cinemas and on television, Shanghaiist reported.

The publication also noted the short video is a complete replica of an Italian detergent ad campaign from around a decade ago, right down to the music — except it at least had a racially inverted message, with a white, dirty dude getting converted into a clean, sexy black man.

The overt racism of the Qiaobi ad was not lost on some viewers:

The unacceptability of the racial overtones appears pretty black and white to most people.