Bratislava, Feb 7 (CTK) – An advertisement of the Slovak sporstwear making firm Nebbia, which features a dark-skinned male model, has provoked hate commentaries on social networks, but the firm’s managing director stood up for him.
“The man in our photo is our good friend Dennis. He is a European just like you. He has university education, a figure you will never have, a beautiful wife at home (she is white and blonde). Dennis’s fantastic figure and sport results were the reasons for which we chose him for our team,” Pecko wrote.
Dennis Johansen, 28, was born in Kenya and he was growing up in Norway from the age of two. The Slovak firm cooperated with him before already.
Pecko said his firm was disappointed by the racist commentaries.
Nebbia has been in he market since 1997.
“You have no right to speak like this about people who are here with us, who have a different colour of complexion than you and who work ten hours a day, train much harder than you and live according to the rules of this society!!! There is no room for racism either in sport or anywhere else,” Pecko wrote.
A similar case occurred in the Czech Republic where the international retail chain Lidl used a black male model in a leaflet.
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