Watsons Malaysia has come under fire for using a ‘blackface’ model in its Hari Raya commercial, Legenda Cun Raya, which featured Malaysian celebrities like Kamal Adli, Ruhainies and Uqasha Senrose. 

The 15-minute video, which has since been pulled, tells the story of ‘princesses and beauties’ trying to win the heart of a rich merchant. The merchant falls in love with one of the women after hearing her sing, reports channelnewsasia.com.

He is shocked when it turns out that the woman has dark skin, but all is well again after she ‘washes off’ her face. The ad ends with the quote: ‘Only at Watson’s you’ll be beautiful.’

In addition to labelling the ad racist and insensitive, people took to social media to slam it as ‘sexist’ and ‘tasteless’.

Pulling the ad shortly after it went viral on Wednesday, Watsons Malaysia apologised for the video saying it was not their intention to offend. The company said the ad was about the legend of Dayang Senandong, which is a Malay folklore about a lady ‘cursed with black skin but blessed with a beautiful voice’.

Its statement added: ‘We stand firm on the belief that unity and fairness plays an important role, and we respect people from all nationalities. The video was shot to highlight the Legend and its moral values of inner beauty and that true love exists.’

 ‘A form of discrimination’

Social media users however, were not convinced by Watsons Malaysia’s apology. ‘Making reference to facial features and colour is also a form of discrimination,’ said Twitter user Kanikrish. ‘Is there any law that bans these type of advertisements?’

Anis Audrey Ong said on Twitter: ‘Aside from the horror of the blackface, this ad’s also deeply offensive to the spirit of Ramadan. Lustful men, cavorting women, how more low.’

On Facebook, Ashley Greig said: ‘Your apology doesn’t sound sincere ... you’re making it sound like as if you’re still right and we’re the ones with the problem being sensitive and all.’

Following the feedback, the company issued another response on Thursday to ‘deeply and sincerely apologise’ for the video.

‘Regretfully, we acknowledge that the Legenda Cun Raya video is not in line with the values that we hold dearly in Malaysia,’ it said.

‘Watsons Malaysia takes responsibility for the video and its content and is truly sorry that some elements have offended the general public.’

It added: ‘Moving forward we will continue to listen to the general public and our loyal customers. On behalf of Watsons Malaysia, we humbly seek your forgiveness and deeply regret any harm that we have caused.’