Is This Racist Chinese Detergent Ad For Real?

By Bridget O'Donnell

A commercial that appears to be advertising a Chinese laundry detergent brand has been widely circulating on WeChat recently due to its heavily racist 'undertones.'

The ad, which seems to be promoting the Qiaobi Laundry Detergent Ball, depicts a woman shoving a black man into a washing machine after sticking one of the detergent balls in his mouth. After going through a complete spin cycle, he magically emerges from the machine as a Chinese man.

Watch the spot below:

https://v.qq.com/txp/iframe/player.html?vid=m0302u1xzrz&width=500&height=375&auto=0
The ad appears to be a poorly executed parody — or perhaps a completely ripped off version — of another racist laundry ad from Italian brand Coloreria Italiana that went viral in 2006.
https://v.qq.com/txp/iframe/player.html?vid=u0118r3yupr&width=500&height=375&auto=0
The ad reportedly appeared in movie theaters and television stations across China, according to a post by a Weibo user. The detergent ball, which doesn't appear to be sold from any one particular website or retailer, can be found widely distributed through different sellers on Taobao and WeChat. A call to the national hotline number advertised in the commercial returned no answer.

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