Chance the Rapper Calls Out RACIST Heineken Ad

Boy oh boy, it seems like sometimes advertisers really want to push the boundaries of good taste, but in attempting to get people talking sometimes, maybe they don’t really care WHY exactly people are talking. That’s what Chance the Rapper is saying, in any case, when he looks at a Heineken ad with the tagline “Lighter is Better,” and calls it out for being racist. And the ad — which can be watched here — is indeed very much on the questionable side.

The original commercial shows a white bartender looking through binoculars at a glamorous lighter skinned woman. He sends a Heineken her way as it slides through black person after black person who gaze at the beer lovingly before it lands in front of the lighter skinned woman. The words “Lighter is Better,” quietly appear and the commercial is over, with the ads feelings towards both the tastiness of beer AND racial politics becoming screamingly obvious.

So — it’s hard to imagine this was done by accident. It might have been, but like Chance the Rapper, I just feel weird for taking the bait here. We should call out racism whenever we see it, but why would Heineken straight up put out an ad seemingly created to be called out? Heineken has since removed the ad from their site, but our memories and Chance’s description of this advertising error, remain true.

What do you think of the Heineken ad? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter at @WhatsTrending.