Heineken pulls light beer commercial after racism complaints

A bottle of Heineken beer.
A bottle of Heineken beer.
Scott Olson | Getty Images 2017

Heineken has removed a commercial for its light beer after some complaints that it was racist.

The ad featured a bartender sliding a bottle of Heineken light. The bottle passes several black people before it arrives to a lighter-skinned woman. The tag line: Sometimes lighter is better.

Hip-hop star Chance the Rapper on Sunday tweeted the commercial was "terribly racist." He said he thought some companies were purposely "putting out noticeably racist ads so they can get more views."

In a statement, Heineken says while the ad was referencing Heineken Light, "we missed the mark."

Heineken drew praise last year for its "Open Your World" commercials, which featured people of different backgrounds discussing their viewpoints.

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