Heineken has removed a commercial after severe social media backlash. (iStock)
Heineken has removed a controversial commercial after several online called the advertisement “terribly racist.”
In the 30-second commercial, a bartender slides a beer down the bar, and past several customers to a woman standing in the distance. The slogan “sometimes lighter is better” is then flashed on the screen.
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Several on Twitter took issue with the ad and brought up that before the slogan, the light-skinned bartender slides the beer past a dark-skinned man at the bar, under a black man playing guitar and past a black model before reaching the light-skinned woman in the distance.
Chance the Rapper, who may have been the first to comment on the commercial, tweeted, “I think some companies are purposely putting out noticably racist ads so they can get more views. And that s--- racist/bogus so I guess I shouldn’t help by posting about it. But I gotta just say tho. The ‘sometimes lighter is better’ Hienekin commercial is terribly racist omg”
“This Heineken light beer commercial is definitely racist. What idiots do they have approving this ad? Fire that person. And the ad agency who developed it should be fired. Period. No excuse for this. I watched the ad. It's racist,” one person tweeted.
“Imagine creating a racist commercial and being proud of it? LMFAO never giving @Heineken my business again,” another wrote.
However, some felt the ad was not offensive.
“I would love to know how the Heineken Commercial is racist. When the say light I’m pretty sure they are talking about how it is a 99 calorie beer not the color,” one person wrote.
“They were definitely not addressing race.. people really out here making something out of nothing. Y’all need to find better ways to spend your time lol,” another tweeted.
“Bro, now this is a real reach. It's a beer commercial that features a variety of people. I don't see anything sinister. Heineken is in the business to sell as much beer as possible. I doubt they are pushing some hidden racial agenda,” another said.
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Despite the differing opinions, Heineken decided to remove the ad from television and online.
“For decades, Heineken has developed diverse marketing that shows there’s more that unites us than divides us,” a spokesperson for Heineken told Fox News. “While we feel the ad is referencing our Heineken Light beer, we missed the mark, are taking the feedback to heart and will use this to influence future campaigns."