Dark skin makes you stupid and undesirable, seems to be the message of a new campaign by Citra Thailand, who is putting its money where its pasty, bleached mouth is.

Challenging young women to get ahead in life with whiter skin, the Thai division of Anglo-Dutch Unilever recently announced its “3D White-Skinned Girls Search” for the most sallow students, the winners of which will receive educational scholarships.

This hasn’t exactly gone over well, with Thai netizens expressing dismay and outrage over the campaign, which they complain promotes the unhealthy, white-skin craze in the least tasteful way possible.

First airing on Thai television last month, the commercial is set at a university and shows a dark-skinned student being interviewed as she is asked: “What would you do to stand out in your uniform?” The stumped student gives a clueless look before the scene cuts to a cadaverous gang of students whose skin luminesces like radioactive moon rock. Their confident reply: “Apply whitening cream!”

Later, the video focuses on one alabaster adolescent who we’re told is the perfect candidate for Citra Thailand’s search, which requires female students to submit photos of themselves wearing university uniforms. The winners will be awarded scholarships.

The commercial and campaign are attacked widely by the public, most of whom feel it is ridiculous and irresponsible to link white skin to higher education. Most netizens agree the video emphasizes the unhealthy values about skin color.

“This country is for white people only,” one Pantip user commented and illustrated her post with a photo representing Abraham Lincoln, the U.S. president who was assassinated after bringing an end to slavery.

Citra is not the first brand to have a campaign backfire on them. Earlier this year, Verena L-Gluta Berry Plus and Dunkin’ Donuts also drew accusations of racism for their ads.

Citra Thailand is a division of Unilever, the consumer mega-multinational headquartered in England and the Netherlands.

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