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Sanex advert banned for 'problematic' portrayal of black skin
The Guardian
|August 20, 2025
A TV advert for Sanex shower gel has been banned in the UK for appearing to suggest that black skin is "problematic" and white skin is "superior".
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) told Sanex it must not show the promotional clip again after it investigated two complaints that it fed negative stereotypes about people with darker skin tones.
The ad, which was broadcast in June, included a voiceover saying: "To those who might scratch day and night. To those whose skin will feel dried out even by water," alongside scenes of a black woman with red scratch marks and another covered with a cracked clay-like material.
This story is from the August 20, 2025 edition of The Guardian.
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