A Russian furniture maker has apologized for publishing an advertisement that seemingly compared different skin colors with shades of upholstery after the ad ignited backlash.
The Home Collection furniture factory’s ad shows a group of models of different races next to a range of upholstery swatches. The ad, which was first published on the factory’s VKontakte page on Jan. 30, resurfaced this week after the “Ruthless PR” Telegram channel republished it.
“Each skin color is self-sufficient and unique,” the ad’s text reads. “At the same time, the combination of several skin colors allows you to create natural color solutions.”
Users quickly expressed outrage at the ad, calling its comparison of races to furniture colors “racist.”
Others, however, failed to see the problem, with one user writing “Only those obsessed with racism could see it here.”
Vasilisa Karpukhina, the brand manager for Home Collection, told the Govorit Moskva radio station Thursday that the post had been deleted and that the company would “take the necessary measures to prevent such situations” in the future.