Popular toothpaste brand torched for ‘tone-deaf' campaign

News.com.au

22-05-2025

A popular teeth-whitening brand's latest ad campaign has left the public completely stunned, with many questioning how such a 'tone-deaf' slogan ever made it onto the side of public transport.
White Glo's new ad, emblazoned with the phrase 'Make the white choice', has been spotted on Melbourne trams and Sydney buses in recent days, quickly sparking a wave of backlash online.
Communications strategist Kriti Gupta told news.com.au that the campaign isn't just a clumsy misstep, it's deeply problematic.
'The slogan didn't just magically slip through the cracks. It passed through multiple layers of approvals – creative, client, media buying – and somehow no one flagged how racially loaded that phrase is? That's not a slip-up. That's a systemic blind spot,' she said.
'Intent doesn't cancel out impact'
'It's not about what the brand meant, it's about how audiences read it, and you can't control meaning once it's out in public. So when a slogan like this lands? Intent doesn't cancel out impact,' Ms Gupta continued.
'Phrases like this aren't neutral. They come with baggage. The association of whiteness with purity, cleanliness, or correctness has been baked into advertising and media for decades and is often used to exclude or diminish anything that doesn't fit the white mainstream. That's not an over-reaction. That's history.'
Ms Gupta explained that whiteness has always been sold as 'aspirational' to consumers, from soap ads in the 1800s to toothpaste campaigns now.
The difference is, people are now calling it out in real time, and that's exactly what's happened in recent days when the ad hit social media.
Social media responds
One TikTok user, whose video has already racked up more than 130,000 views, didn't hold back and said: 'White Glo, you may want to double-check who's doing your marketing'.
Another person was in disbelief and said, 'Yeah, it's giving 'we really thought no one would think twice about it' energy'.
Others called it 'casually racist' and 'old-fashioned'.
Melbourne-based activist Jeff Kissubi echoed these thoughts and emphasised just how out of touch this messaging is.
'This is not only tone-deaf but very ignorant on the brand's part to miss the mark. In 2025, the lack of cultural awareness around these things is astonishing,' he said.
'Language shapes power and erases Indigenous, Black, and POC voices. Let's call out harmful messaging and demand accountability.'
Could this be a publicity stunt?
Meanwhile, some argued that this wasn't just an innocent copywriting decision, but a deliberate marketing stunt, with the brand knowing exactly what they were doing.
'Any publicity is good publicity I guess,' one person said on Reddit.
'It's been all over the internet. From a marketing perspective, it's somewhat successful,' wrote someone else.
'Simply wordplay', brand says
In response to the criticism, White Glo began commenting on various creators' posts, apologising and insisting the ad was 'purely about teeth whitening, with no other intended meaning'.
White Glo Director Jeffrey Wong told news.com.au, 'Over the course of the last few days, we have seen social media feedback and understand that our advertising campaign has offended many people. We profusely apologise. The last thing we intended was to offend the public or our White Glo consumers.
'The tagline 'Make the White Choice' is a simply wordplay on 'Make the Right Choice,' designed to highlight the effectiveness of our teeth whitening products. Our goal was to emphasise that consumers often feel disappointed when choosing ineffective whitening products, and we encourage them to make a better decision by selecting our brand.'
In response to community feedback, he says they're now working to remove the ads.
The brand also issued an apology statement on its Instagram.
However, Ms Gupta believes these 'tired non-apologies' about 'not intending harm' completely miss the point, sidestepping responsibility rather than addressing the real impact of its decision.
'If you're in comms and you still don't know how messaging can carry harmful connotations, what are you actually doing?' she asked.
Looking ahead, Ms Gupta says the solution to avoiding tone-deaf marketing campaigns isn't complicated – it's as simple as ensuring a genuine mix of perspectives at the decision-making table.
'Diversity in the room matters, like, really matters,' she said.
'If everyone approving your campaign looks the same, thinks the same, and doesn't challenge each other? This is what you get. A public-facing campaign that could've been fixed by one culturally literate person saying, 'Hey, that sounds off'.'
Mr Wong insists that the brand has a 'very multicultural staff and management team'.