A German DIY company has been accused of racism over an advert which shows an Asian woman sniffing dirty clothes after they have been worn by white men.

A thousand people signed a petition calling for Hornbach to apologise over the advertising campaign, dubbed 'smell of spring'.

The video caused a particular stir in South Korea, where women accused the firm of playing into harmful stereotypes about sexually subservient Asian women.

German DIY firm Hornbach has been branded racist over an advert which showed an Asian woman sniffing dirty clothes worn by white men

The advert shows men working in their gardens before handing their dirty clothes to men who package them to be sold in vending machines in cities

Explaining her issues with the advert, Twitter user Sung Un wrote: 'Asian people in Germany are confronted daily with the sexual violence and racial discrimination that often go hand in hand.

'I am sure that the Hornbach advertisement will cause another real challenge for Asian people living in Germany, because the ad offers an additional reference that ridicules the imagery of Asian women.

'Hornbach knowingly picked Asian women because they are often consumed as sexual exotics with no voice.

'Hornbach claims that the advertising campaign is simply about the spring fragrance and diversity—that everybody loves some kind of spring scent.

'If so, why is not there a version with Muslim and Jewish people, or even German white children? Because Hornbach knows very well that this will trigger a huge scandal.

Hornbach has defended the advert online, saying there are several versions which don't feature the Asian woman, and that it is supposed to be a commentary on life in cities

'I want Hornbach to remove the advertising from all communication channels and apologize to Asian, particularly Asian women, living in Germany.'

The commercial shows white men working outside in a garden before removing their sweaty clothing and dumping it in a box.

The ad then cuts to a grey, industrial city, where an Asian woman buys a bag of dirty clothes - previously worn by the men - opens it and moans with pleasure, as the commercial ends with a slogan saying: 'That's how the spring smells'.

The German firm has defended the commercial, tweeting that it was not 'racist' and showed the 'decreasing quality of life in cities'.

The firm also said that the industrial town featuring the Asian woman was meant to be a 'fictional city', not one based in Asia.

It also pointed out that there were other versions of the advert, which showed the clothes being smelled by Caucasian men and women.

But its critics were unimpressed, with another South Korean woman tweeting: 'No matter what you say, the ad was inappropriate'.

'Asian women in Western society have gone through numerous sexual assaults based on racial slurs.'