Belo Medical Group faces social-media backlash for ad linking skin color to success

The campaign, which launched less than a month ago, features a successful young man with fair skin, who attributes his confidence to his complexion.

The man is pictured in a bar, surrounded by three women giving out their numbers, and also on a golf course basking in the approval of his future father-in-law. 

The campaign took an ugly turn when a photo showing the young man throwing his car keys to a valet ran with the description '100% lighter, 100% sosyal', a Filipino slang word describing a person who is classy, or someone who is ostentatiously wealthy.

Netizens took to Twitter and Facebook to accuse the campaign of being racist and shameful.

It is understood that Belo has since retracted the campaign.

The social media backlash comes less than a month after women’s fashion brand Bayo faced a similar situation for its 'What’s your mix' advertising campaign.

An ad featuring Filipina-Australian model-actress Jasmine Curtis-Smith on Bayo.com.ph and its Facebook page with the description of '50% Australian and 50% Filipino', drew criticism for implying that Filipinos of mixed descent are superior to others.

Bayo subsequently issued a public apology and took down the ads.