Dunkin apologizes for racist ad campaign

The boss in Thailand had dismissed Human Rights Watch's criticism with "paranoid American thinking," but Dunkin' Donuts headquarters has now apologized for the "insensitivity" of an advertising campaign for the new Charcoal Donut.

The posters and TV commercials show a smiling black woman with heavy pink lips and a 'jet black 1950s-style beehive hairdo', holding the new donut in her hand after taking a bite. The slogan in Thai reads: 'Break every rule of deliciousness'.

The US-based organization HRW described the ad campaign as "bizarre and racist" on Friday. She said she was shocked that an American brand name is running an advertising campaign that would lead to a storm of criticism in the US.

Despite the defense of the Thai management, DD's headquarters were quick to apologize. The Thai franchiser has been asked to end the campaign. "DD acknowledges the insensitivity of this ad," the company wrote in a tweet on its official US website.

Nadim Salhani, director of the Thai franchise, says sales of the donut (English spelling) have increased by 50 percent since the campaign was launched. "Not everyone in the world is paranoid about racism," said the Lebanese expat, whose daughter posed for the ad. "I'm very sorry, but this is a marketing campaign and it's working very well for us."

Incidentally, racist advertisements are more common in Thailand. The Thai brand 'Black Man' of mops and garbage cans uses a logo with a black man in a tuxedo and bow tie. A Thai whitener (cream) says in her TV commercials that white-skinned people have better job prospects than dark-skinned people. And a Thai herbal toothpaste says that although the dark toothpaste is black, it is 'good'.

(Source: AP/Bangkok Post, Sept. 1, 2013)