renard_ruse
Break up Amazon
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- Aug 30, 2007
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Phil Robertson, the deputy Asia director for Human Rights Watch, said: ‘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.
‘Dunkin' Donuts should immediately withdraw this ad, publicly apologize to those it's offended and ensure this never happens again.’
Human Rights Watch said that American customers would have reacted with outrage
They added that American audiences would react with ‘howls of outrage’ if the advert had been used there.
Despite this, the campaign has not caused outrage in Thailand, reportedly because the use of racial stereotypes in advertisements is common.
Sales of their doughnuts have increased 50 per cent since the campaign was launched One product, a Thai brand of household mops and dustpans, is called ‘Black Man’ and uses a smiling black man in a tuxedo and bow tie as its logo.
The CEO for Dunkin' Donuts in Thailand, Nadim Salhani, dismissed the criticism.
He said: ‘It's absolutely ridiculous. 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?’
Mr Salhani’s teenage daughter was the model for the campaign.
He insisted that the Thai franchise of Dunkin’ Donuts is entirely separate from the American version.
Sales of their doughnuts have increased 50 per cent since the campaign was launched two weeks ago.
He added: ‘Not everybody in the world is paranoid about racism.
‘I'm sorry, but this is a marketing campaign, and it's working very well for us.’
‘Dunkin' Donuts should immediately withdraw this ad, publicly apologize to those it's offended and ensure this never happens again.’
Human Rights Watch said that American customers would have reacted with outrage
They added that American audiences would react with ‘howls of outrage’ if the advert had been used there.
Despite this, the campaign has not caused outrage in Thailand, reportedly because the use of racial stereotypes in advertisements is common.
Sales of their doughnuts have increased 50 per cent since the campaign was launched One product, a Thai brand of household mops and dustpans, is called ‘Black Man’ and uses a smiling black man in a tuxedo and bow tie as its logo.
The CEO for Dunkin' Donuts in Thailand, Nadim Salhani, dismissed the criticism.
He said: ‘It's absolutely ridiculous. 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?’
Mr Salhani’s teenage daughter was the model for the campaign.
He insisted that the Thai franchise of Dunkin’ Donuts is entirely separate from the American version.
Sales of their doughnuts have increased 50 per cent since the campaign was launched two weeks ago.
He added: ‘Not everybody in the world is paranoid about racism.
‘I'm sorry, but this is a marketing campaign, and it's working very well for us.’