Russian Obama ad criticized for racism

A Russian advertising company has been heavily criticized for creating a racist ice-cream advert featuring Barack Obama, SkyNews reported.

The advert for the Duet chocolate and vanilla bar shows Obama standing in front of the US Capitol Building with the slogan “The Flower of the Week – Black in White.” The ad appeared at the Ads of the World website and spurred waves of protests, with one blogger asking, “Is the ice cream as tasteless as the ad?”

According to SkyNews, the Voskhod (Sunrise) company, which produced the advert, has defended itself, saying the image is not consciously or unconsciously racist, "We see nothing wrong with this... We believe pointing to race is not racism. With our ad we are celebrating the fact there is a black president in the White House."

The color of the President's skin has already been used in a campaign by a tanning salon, and a leaflet has also been produced with his image and slogan “Full Dental Democracy!” to promote a chain of dental clinics.