The Belo Medical Group apologized early Wednesday, August 11, for a recent video ad, saying they now recognize that the video was “insensitive and upsetting.” 

The minute-and-a-half long video ad released on Tuesday, August 10, features a woman turning on the TV and watching a barrage of bad news. As she does so, her appearance changes – the skin under her eyes darkens, she gets acne, grows facial and body hair, and gains weight. 

The ad ends with a tagline that reads “tough times call for beautiful measures” and a call to book a consultation with Belo. People online spoke up against the ad, criticizing it for being tone deaf and body shaming women in the middle of a pandemic.

The video was part of a larger “Pandemic Effect” campaign, which also tapped Filipino celebrities and influencers on social media.

After drawing flak online, the Belo Medical Group took down the video on their social media platforms late Tuesday evening. They issued the statement hours later, early Wednesday. 

“Thank you for being gracious in letting us know your thoughts about it. We hear you. You helped us see what we failed to see, which is that the film is sensitive and upsetting. Because of this, we have taken the ad down,” they said in the statement.

“We commit ourselves to learning from this and to bring our learnings into the future,” said the brand.

The brand is no stranger to controversial ads. In 2012, the brand was criticized for a men’s line campaign that said “a little whitening makes a big difference.” – Rappler.com