Oh the irony. What if I told you that a company’s pitch to motivate their customers to make a change for the better would be better off directed towards the company itself? We see this often as the ones who tend to contradict are sitting themselves upon a stool of foolishness. It’s like that kid we all know who would bicker about all the people in the line ahead taking too long to order, and then when it’s his turn to order, he doesn’t know what to get. Sadly, these fools extend beyond those salty freshman in line and into the hands of corporations and people in powerful positions. I introduce to you, Heineken, a dutch brewing company that has been around since 1873. So long that you would think they would be able to adjust through the shifting times that rightfully encourage diversity and equality. Well, this brewing industry staple would even tell you that they “missed the mark.”
During an ad campaign in the summer of 2018, Heineken released a commercial promoting light beer which inherited a slogan prompting that “sometimes lighter is better.” In the commercial a beer is slid down a table by a bartender, past 3 more black people, and into the hands of a white customer. Sure, the company wanted to emphasize the value in its product only having 99 calories. Having 99 calories may be a strong suit for them, but being ethical ain’t one. We all understand that health related topics are vital in today’s society, put we can throw that away when racism is on attack.
First, take away the visuals and just digest the punchline, “lighter is better.” Depending on your background you may have interpreted this meaning differently, for better or for worse. On a larger scale that was proven to be true. The commercial first aired in Europe with no backlash. Fast forward a few months later to its showing in the United States, the internet is in a frenzy. Thanks to Chance The Rapper calling the ad “racist,” Heineken was under some serious pressure as it was being negatively shared in the media. The United States may be more diverse than Europe may be; however, it shows that we, as a nation, are heading down the right path towards the acceptance our differences. Throw away the political debates, yes there is still work to be done, but it shows that when we as people come together, we can make a change. It leaves you to wonder if this campaign was actually made to be edgy on purpose. The commercial would not have received the attention it did if it was a typical mainstream promotion like the ones we flip through on TV or the ones we anxiously wait 5 seconds for to skip on YouTube. Most times the ads we hear about most are the ones that have stirred the pot of questioning. Next, the juxtaposition of the tagline and the people in the commercial blend together to make the overall meaning quite disgusting. If you read just the punchline it could fly right over your head when given the context, but if you pair it with the imaging, it’s obviously racist. Finally, the stereotypes seen within. As the bottle slides past people along the bar, we can notice a racial pattern. The black people in the commercial are there to entertain the white customers such as the man is performing guitar for the white customers. When will it be that these stereotypes are not over looked? Social class is no longer determined by the ethnicity in which we inherit. If you dream it, you can do it. It is for nothing but for internal ignorance. I wonder what the people looked like who designed this commercial. I’m sure we all have a pretty good guess. Sometimes desperate times for desperate measures, and for Heineken they may have reached towards racism to make their product known though skepticism. No matter what the motive may be, a better world can start with us and a little less Heineken.
When our egocentric pride consumes our awareness of our surroundings, we may reach a day that we look back and wish we could have acted in a different way. We think we are invincible when our actions are failed to be carefully thought about. Coming from a company that encourages its customers to “open your world,” you would think that they would do the same, but no. Stuck in the days of 1873, they have not evolved. We are passed the days of racial stereotypes. Careers and lifestyles have no boundaries. Today we are striving for a society that is one for all. There is work to be done, but it starts by simply breaking those molds. So Heineken, I say to you, open your world. Our differences bring us together no matter how hard your beer is trying to bring us apart.