Heineken Pulls Offensive "Lighter Is Better" Ad

Heineken was ostensibly trying to promote its 99-calorie light beer, but the company recently pulled a commercial with the tagline "sometimes lighter is better" after it was roundly condemned as racist.

The commercial opens on a rooftop, with a bartender sliding a bottle of Heineken past several black people before it reaches a lighter-skinned woman. Then, the tagline flashes: "Sometimes, lighter is better." Yeah, wow.

The ad came to international attention after Chance The Rapper tweeted about it: "I gotta just say tho. The 'sometimes lighter is better' Hienekin [sic] commercial is terribly racist omg."

CNN Money reports Heineken has since pulled the ad, and Heineken USA spokesman Bjorn Trowery said: "While we feel the ad is referencing our Heineken Light beer, and that light beer is better than other high-calorie options—we missed the mark, are taking the feedback to heart and will use this to influence future campaigns."

Chance sums it up: "I think some companies are purposely putting out noticably [sic] racist ads so they can get more views. And that shit racist/bogus so I guess I shouldn't help by posting about it. ... Like I didnt wanna tweet about it so bad 😂😂 but its like how can u not?"