Heineken has withdrawn a television advert after it provoked an online storm and accusations of racism.

Chance the Rapper was among those who complained about the ad which showed a bartender slide a bottle of low-calorie, reduced alcohol beer past three black people before it stops at the hand of a lighter skinned woman.

“Sometimes lighter is better,” reads the tagline.

The brewer said the slogan was a reference to the light beer but many observers thought otherwise.

“I think some companies are purposely putting out noticeably racist ads so they can get more views,” wrote Chance the Rapper, before dismissing the Heineken commercial as “horribly racist”.

Others said the skin colour of the people involved could not have been a coincidence or that it was tone deaf at best.

The ad has since been deleted from Heineken’s YouTube channel.