A TV advert for Sanex shower gel which showed black skin as cracked and white skin as smooth has been banned for reinforcing a racial stereotype.
The ad shows two models with dark skin - one has itchy skin and the other has dry skin - followed by a white woman with no skin problems.
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) upheld two complaints which said the depiction of dark skin as dry, cracked and itchy "could be interpreted as suggesting that white skin was superior to black skin".
Colgate-Palmolive, which owns Sanex, said it used models with different skin colours as part of its commitment to diversity.
The brand said it made products for all skin types and the use of different models was to show a "before and after" scenario, not to compare different skin colours or ethnicities.
