Hornbach, a German DIY store chain, is under fire for a 'racist' ad.
The controversial ad starts off with white men getting sweaty and dirty as they do yard work.
The men then take off their sweaty shirts and toss them to men in lab coats.
The sweaty shirts get transferred to a factory for packaging.
And ultimately ends up at a vending machine of what seems to be an Asian city.
An Asian woman eagerly purchases the dirty shirt and inhales it.
'So riecht der Fruhjahr,' meaning 'How spring smells,' is shown on the screen as the woman continues to sniff the dirty shirt.
The ad became controversial as the Asian community accused of Hornbach of racism. Koreans, as well as other international viewers, expressed discontent.
2. Few days ago, I watched the new advertising campaign from the German DIY chain Hornbach. The advertisement shows an Asian woman and I find the way she is represented extremely problematic.
No matter what you say, the ad was inappropriate. Asian women in Western society have gone through numerous sexual assaults based on racial slurs. If diversity is the thing you
You are nothing but racists who addicted to anime porn. The facial expression of Asian woman is discusting, and your ad pushed white men to insult Asain women in this way. A lot of Asian women already have been attacked from white men like you at this moment.
Hornbach has denied all racism accusations and asked people to, "View the ad as a discourse on the increasing urbanization and decreasing quality of life in cities."
Our ad is not racist. View the ad as a discourse on the increasing urbanization and decreasing quality of life in cities. The smell of the spring only available in vending machines. For everyone. Not only asian people.
Hornbach also announced they're taking the issue very seriously and therefore will be holding an 'open dialogue' about the 'how spring smells' ad. The company tweeted, "We want to listen, learn, have an open dialogue and understand the feelings and anger that arose through this advertisement."
Einladung zu HORNBACH für einen offenen Dialog zu „So riecht das Frühjahr“
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It’s not even racist. Considering Germany’s past they are actually very careful not to repeat it.
Let’s be honest Asian commercials are a hundred times more racist than this.