Toothpaste brand White Glo has been slammed online over an “insensitive” ad campaign using the slogan ‘Make the White Choice’, which was displayed on trams, light rails and buses across Sydney and Melbourne.
Update 23/5/25: White Glo has confirmed to B&T that advertisements are in the process of being removed.
Freelance social media strategist, Kriti Gupta took to TikTok to voice her concerns on the “jarring and unacceptable” campaign.
@kritieow This isn’t about being offended. It’s about the legacy of messaging like this, and why it should never have made it to print. 🏷️ #auspol #medialiteracy #brandresponsibility #inclusivemarketing #culturalawareness ♬ original sound – Kriti Gupta
She begins the video by labelling the deep and engrained history of utilising the insensitive phrase, highlighting that historically “whiteness” was in a superior position.
“It’s language that’s been used by far-right groups and white supremacist campaigns for decades, and whether this is intentional or not, the association carries harm,” Gupta added.
“Look, this isn’t about being outraged for the sake of being outraged,” she said.
“It’s about understanding the impact of language, especially in public campaigns, and these types of decisions go through multiple teams, agencies, approvals, and in this case, also a government body. So how did no one flag it?”
The social media strategist also highlighted the impact of rolling out the ad campaign in a diverse area such as Melbourne: “In a city like Melbourne, which is multicultural, diverse, and deeply shaped by migration, seeing this on your morning commute is not just jarring, it’s actually unacceptable. The ad lacks any clarity around its intent, and without that context, it reinforces dangerous and racially loaded narratives,” Gupta said.
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Amidst the backlash White Glo released a statement via Instagram apologising for the controversial advertising campaign:
“Over the last few days, we have seen the response to our current advertising campaign, that has offended our community, and we want to take this opportunity to sincerely apologise. This was not our intention.”
“White Glo is an Australian teeth whitening specialist brand established 30 years ago in Sydney. Our mission has always been to provide affordable teeth whitening solutions that deliver effective stain removal results.
“Our ads feature the tagline “Make the White Choice” which is intended to be a wordplay on “Make the Right Choice”, to highlight the effectiveness and reliability of our products, versus some less effective products we are seeing emerge in the market. Whilst this campaign was accepted by Australia’s Advertising Regulator in April this year, the response in the last couple of days has indicated that we have missed the mark. We have heard your concerns and feedback and are committed to our community.
“We can assure you we are now taking steps to revise our messaging to resonate better with our consumers and the broader Australian public.
“We deeply apologise. Our intention was never to offend the public or our valued customers and we thank you for your insightful feedback.”
This social media post created a stir in itself with one user commenting, “tell us you don’t have anyone that works for you of colour without telling us that. I don’t understand how nobody looked at this and thought yep this is fine.” As well, another user stated, “maybe pay people of colour to advise you on how to avoid tone deaf marketing like this moving forward.”
However, there was other users coming to the defence of White Glo, “imagine being offended by that”, with another user doubling down, “how can anyone be offended by white teeth???”
