Sanex showed dark skin as cracked and itchy, white skin as smooth — the ASA banned the ad

In June 2025, Sanex broadcast a TV ad for its Skin Therapy shower gel range. The ad showed two models with dark skin — one scratching their body, leaving bright orange paint-like stripes, another covered in cracked, clay-like material. It then showed a white woman showering with water and foam, her skin smooth and unmarked. The voiceover addressed 'those who might scratch day and night' and 'those whose skin will feel dried out even by water'.

The ASA upheld two complaints on 20 August 2025, ruling that the ad reinforced a racial stereotype. The ASA said the depiction of white skin as 'smoother and clean after using the product' and 'successfully changed and resolved' could be interpreted as suggesting that white skin was superior to black skin. The ad was banned from being shown again in the same format.

Colgate-Palmolive said it used models with different skin colours as part of its commitment to diversity, and that the ad was intended as a 'before and after' scenario, not a comparison between ethnicities. Clearcast, which had approved the ad for broadcast, said it did not perpetuate negative racial stereotypes. The ASA accepted the message was not intentional but warned Colgate-Palmolive to avoid causing serious offence on the grounds of race.