Pulau Ujong, July 29: An advertisement promotion featuring a Chinese actor with his skin tone darkened to portray people of different races has sparked a controversy in Singapore. Following this, Mediacorp has apologized for this ad campaign promoting an electronic payment system. Singapore is home to ethnic Chinese, Muslim Malays, ethnic Chinese as well as people from other parts of the world. Dolce & Gabbana Called Out for Their Racist Ad by Diet Prada, Forced to Cancel Shanghai Fashion Show.

In the post, Mediacorp actor Dennis Chew can be seen depicting an Indian Man, with visibly darker skin tone and carrying a name tag “K Muthusamy” printed on it. He also depicted a Malay woman wearing a headscarf as well as a Chinese man and a Chinese woman. Controversial Ads of 2018.

After the controversy, the Mediacorp’s artist management creative agency arm, The Celebrity Agency and the creative agency for the campaign have apologised for the ad. “We’re sorry for any hurt that was unintentionally caused. The message behind this advertising campaign is that e-payment is for everyone,” the statement read.

Meanwhile, the statement did not specifically mention the use of 'brownface' or considering it as problematic. The advertisement has been pulled out from the E-Pay website, except the character depicting a Chinese man.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 29, 2019 03:26 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).