See Chinese racist advert that got the world talking

There has been a world outcry against a recent Chinese advert by a Shanghai-based Leishang cosmetics.

In the video, a paint-splattered black man confidently approaches a young Chinese woman, only to have detergent placed in his mouth and his body shoved into a washing machine for a thorough rinsing. Once the wash cycle is done, out pops a pristine young Chinese man, as clean as can be.

Many people have interpreted the advert as disparaging to the black race.

In response to the criticisms, the cosmetics company responded that people were rather too sensitive to the ad.

A spokesperson for Leishang, the company that owns Qiaobi, told the state-run Chinese newspaper Global Times Friday the company "meant nothing but to promote the product, and ... never thought about the issue of racism," and that "the foreign media might have been too sensitive."

"We express regret that the ad should have caused a controversy. But we will not shun responsibility for controversial content," the company said. "We express our apology for the harm caused to the African people because of the spread of the ad and the over-amplification by the media. We sincerely hope the public and the media will not over-read it."

See it for yourself: