London —

UK regulators have banned a TV commercial for Sanex shower gel after ruling that it “could be interpreted as suggesting that white skin was superior to black skin.”

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) acted after receiving complaints about the ad from two people “who believed the ad perpetuated negative stereotypes about people with darker skin tones,” it said in a statement Wednesday.

The spot, which aired in June, featured a Black model whose skin is covered with red scratch marks and another covered with a cracked material that looks like clay.

“Try to take a shower with the new Sanex skin therapy and its patented amino acid complex. For 24-hour hydration feel,” a voice-over said, accompanying video of a White woman showering.

“Relief could be as simple as a show

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