Heineken Beer Ad - Pulled after online backlash

[Pacolovestacos]

And if it was a black bartender and a black patron and a dark Porter sailed past a bunch of white patrons and then the tag line was "Sometimes darker is better" you'd better bet your bottom dollar that there would be an uproar.

Disagree 100%. Reverse racism (against whites) doesn't generate outrage. Usually when a white person cries racism, other races laugh and accuse them of being snowflakes. And they may say things that have no relevance such as "you guys have had it really tough over the past 200 years."

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

Disagree 100%. Reverse racism (against whites) doesn't generate outrage. Usually when a white person cries racism, other races laugh and accuse them of being snowflakes. And they may say things that have no relevance such as "you guys have had it really tough over the past 200 years."

Ok now I've seen everything. Only on the Dis could a Heineken commercial of lighter is better generate complaints of reverse racism.

Oh and by the way, if reverse racism doesn't generate outrage, how did everyone hear of it and why are the usual suspects in the media always screaming it at the top of their lungs every time anything having to do with race comes up even if it isn't a case of reverse racism?

 

[tarheelmjfan]

I would encourage you to actually count and keep track some time. There are many studies that show that white people tend to overestimate the percentage of minority people in a given setting. And if the racial percentages in a room are actually reflective of the area, then many white people will say that white people are being left out. The same is true with people overestimating how much women speak - when the speaker is a woman 50% of the time, people usually say that women dominated the conversation, even though it was split appropriately for the proportion of people there.

As I mentioned in my previous post, I don't care what race an actor in a commercial is. Color of skin is irrelevant to me. I'm definitely not going to spend time keeping track of commercials to see what race the actors are. Are people really so obsessed about the color of someone's skin that they would do stuff like that?

 

[Pacolovestacos]

Oh and by the way, if reverse racism doesn't generate outrage, how did everyone hear of it and why are the usual suspects in the media always screaming it at the top of their lungs every time anything having to do with race comes up even if it isn't a case of reverse racism?

The usual suspects (I'm not even sure who those would be) may scream it, but nobody pays them any attention.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

Heineken Beer is offensive.

 

[DopeyDame]

As I mentioned in my previous post, I don't care what race an actor in a commercial is. Color of skin is irrelevant to me. I'm definitely not going to spend time keeping track of commercials to see what race the actors are. Are people really so obsessed about the color of someone's skin that they would do stuff like that?

Huh.
In your first post you said " It seems to me most companies are making an effort to include all races or leave white people out completely."

I am suggesting that what "seems to you" is inaccurate. That's fine if you don't want to figure out if your perceptions are factual, but I wouldn't say that someone wanting to base their opinions on fact is "obsessed about the color of someone's skin"

 

[CarolAnn856]

Well I'm white so I don't see racism in everything. If this commercial was reversed with a slogan darker is better, I wouldn't think anything of it.
Would a black person think that was blatantly racist?

So much to comment on, so little time.

But, to keep it brief, I'm white, and the ad is racist. Just because you don't think it is doesn't mean it isn't. Rather, it suggests that you are okay with at least one thing that is racist. In my opinion, of course.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

Huh.
In your first post you said " It seems to me most companies are making an effort to include all races or leave white people out completely."

I am suggesting that what "seems to you" is inaccurate. That's fine if you don't want to figure out if your perceptions are factual, but I wouldn't say that someone wanting to base their opinions on fact is "obsessed about the color of someone's skin"

I also said I couldn't care less what color an actors skin is. Why would you think that someone who finds skin color irrelevant would want to waste time watching commercials to count the number from each race? I find anyone doing that bizarre. I definitely won't be doing it myself. FWIW, I haven't seen this particular commercial & I won't be seeking it out. I avoid as many commercials as possible. I definitely won't go looking for something to make me upset.

You obviously care way more about being 100% correct about everything you perceive, but really don't care about, than I do. You definitely care a lot more about actors in commercials than I do or maybe it's just a particular race you care about. Whatever the case, I'm not going to argue over something that I don't care about. It makes no difference to me what race people are.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

So, did anybody watch the ad?

The beer slid past three black people. Not one. Three. This wasn't a mistake. It was intentional. Whether or not the ad was deliberately trying to be racist, they deliberately slid the beer past three dark-skinned people.

This was a stupid idea. A very, very bad, stupid idea.

 

[Colleen27]

It doesn't matter, that poster can feel whatever they want, but they can't make a claim about what it is for EVERYONE to feel based on their interpretation of that commercial.
And, this is a discussion board so if you are going to share your feelings then you should expect others to share theirs and they may not be in agreement. Or, are topics like this only allowed to be discussed IF you agree?

Of course we can all share our opinions, but the idea that white people are the best the arbiters of what is and isn't racist is probably going to prompt some fairly strong opinions in response. Especially when opposing views are painted as "seeing racism everywhere", "fake internet outrage", etc.

So, did anybody watch the ad?

The beer slid past three black people. Not one. Three. This wasn't a mistake. It was intentional. Whether or not the ad was deliberately trying to be racist, they deliberately slid the beer past three dark-skinned people.

This was a stupid idea. A very, very bad, stupid idea.

Exactly. They took a tag line with a lot of humorous potential and went in a direction that any thinking person would have realized would be controversial. Maybe they did it on purpose - I'll bet that ad they pulled has gotten a lot more views from the controversy than their ads usually get over the entire run. Maybe someone just wasn't thinking about how it would come across. But there's no question that there are better ways they could have gone with the concept.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

The combination of gin and juice is quite synonymous with blacks given it's usage in rap music and consumed by famous people.

I really don't think this is true.

 

[Iya]

So, did anybody watch the ad?

The beer slid past three black people. Not one. Three. This wasn't a mistake. It was intentional. Whether or not the ad was deliberately trying to be racist, they deliberately slid the beer past three dark-skinned people.

This was a stupid idea. A very, very bad, stupid idea.

I watched it on tv last night. It got a raised eyebrow from me and the same comment I posted here.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I really don't think this is true.

I suppose it depends on who you are around.

Doesn't mean that others don't drink gin with juice though.

It's just become a popular combination due to being featured in hip hop/rap culture. Snoop Dogg for instance has been credited for making and keeping the drink combination relevant. And when someone says "gin and juice" the song by Snoop Dog and that type of culture comes to mind for a lot of people though I'm sure age can play a role in that.

I suppose more accurately I should have phrased it as it's synonmous with the hip hop/rap culture irrespective of race.

If you say Corona my mind immediately goes to either a beach or a lake type kind of setting for example.

 

[LSUmiss]

So, did anybody watch the ad?

The beer slid past three black people. Not one. Three. This wasn't a mistake. It was intentional. Whether or not the ad was deliberately trying to be racist, they deliberately slid the beer past three dark-skinned people.

This was a stupid idea. A very, very bad, stupid idea.

Maybe that was their attempt of “including more black actors” like ppl have said is happening more.

 

[disneyjunkie]

Your originals statement (Well I'm white so I don't see racism in everything.), to me, implies that nonwhites see racism in everything. That is how it comes across to me.

EXACTLY

Her comment was a passive aggressive slap at people of color who have the audacity to call out racism when they see it.

 

[Poohforyou]

Fair enough. I could have worded that differently, but as a white person I don't see racism in things like commercials, or ads, or statues, or flags, among other things I won't mention. That doesn't mean I think that non-whites do, but it sure seems that there is always something popping up as racist when that may not have been the intent.
I use these as an example because in recent times these are the things that so often get "called out", just like in this case.

Of course you don't, that's called white privilege. Like someone else said, it difficult to sometimes see racism if you've never experienced it and you often have to step back and consider things from a different perspective.

 

[RedAngie]

Disagree 100%. Reverse racism (against whites) doesn't generate outrage. Usually when a white person cries racism, other races laugh and accuse them of being snowflakes. And they may say things that have no relevance such as "you guys have had it really tough over the past 200 years."

Usually when a white person cries racism, even most white people laugh and accuse them of being snowflakes.

 

[Marchand63]

Ok now I've seen everything. Only on the Dis could a Heineken commercial of lighter is better generate complaints of reverse racism.

Oh and by the way, if reverse racism doesn't generate outrage, how did everyone hear of it and why are the usual suspects in the media always screaming it at the top of their lungs every time anything having to do with race comes up even if it isn't a case of reverse racism?

Heineken Beer is offensive.

Now if we could throw in guns & MILs we could cover all the DIS triggers

 

[Pacolovestacos]

Usually when a white person cries racism, even most white people laugh and accuse them of being snowflakes.

Well that just proves my point even further. Thanks Angie.

 

[Ariel Wanna-be]

Whether or not it was meant as "racist", it can certainly come off that way. Optics count for a LOT nowadays.

It is mind-boggling to me that no one in the Heinie marketing department watched this and thought "Hmmm....better not."