“Sometimes lighter is better”, the advertising slogan of a prestigious brewery, Heineken, has was criticized as a racist advertisement in 2018. Heineken, a Dutch brewing company that has been in the industry for over 140 years, is not only known for its alcoholic beverages, but also for the impression it leaves with its advertisements attractive. However, the "Sometimes Lighter is Better" commercial video showed a white bartender passing a bottle of Heineken Light to a black woman, a black guitarist, another black woman, and finally to a white girl. The caption “lighter is better” is then displayed at the end. The intended meaning of "lighter" in this video describes a more diluted, lower calorie drink, but "lighter" is potentially a sensitive and misleading word that could be related to skin tone and the black or white issue due to to the way they conveyed the message of the ad. Additionally, this advertisement can easily be misunderstood that white is better than black. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay First of all, this advertisement does not obey accountability, one of the AMA codes of ethics, because the company did not act rationally and responsibly towards society . while promoting the products. Children learn easily through television and advertisements (Seiter, 1999). “Lighter is better” can mislead young children into associating “lighter” with a “lighter” complexion. Bad moral values ​​will be instilled since children are too young to have enough knowledge about alcoholic beverages. In addition to its liability, Heineken also violated the principles of the AMA Code by showing disrespectful actions and unfair treatment towards different races. The word “lighter” makes it seem like the company is only focusing on marketing to white people and neglecting black people. In addition to limiting their target groups, black employees will also feel offended, which will affect productivity. Thus, lack of respect can constitute an obstacle to the development of the company. Despite all this, Heineken still openly accepted the criticism. Snider (2018) reports that Heineken pulled the ad from the media, apologized for its mistake, and explained that it was supposed to clearly explain the word “lighter.” They accepted consumer judgment and acted accordingly. However, the fact that Heineken has a professional marketing department inevitably leads viewers to wonder: "How could such a famous company make such a big mistake?" It's hard not to think that they might use the topic of racism to get others' attention. This is because controversial topics always receive more media attention (Bearne, 2015). Additionally, using sensitive words to promote products is unethical as it can negatively impact world peace. Gutiérrez, Santiago and Soska (cited in McLuhan, 1960) believe that the concept of the “global village” spread rapidly through communication (p. 1). However, if we do not respect each other's cultures and languages, the essence of globalization will be lost. Even though this 30-second ad appears to have little negative effect on the community, the power of language can cause a huge global problem. Finally, Heineken should avoid using sensitive words related to skin tone. To promote a light Heineken alcoholic drink, sunlight could be used to.