A new Hypo bleach ad currently running in Nigeria, features Barack Obama in the traditional white robe of a Muslim sheikh instead of his trademark blue or grey suit.
Explaining the reasoning behind the new ad campaign, creative director, Abolaji Alausa of Nigerian ad agency, Noah’s Ark, said, “Simply put, the bleaching power of Hypo has a force that attracts the most unlikely characters to love wearing white regardless of their strong social beliefs.”
Hypo bleach has a history of creating odd and often controversial advertisements. Recently, the company also created an ad with South African civil rights leader Desmond Tutu dressed up as a member of the Ku Klux Klan.
In an effort to highlight his knowledge of American pop culture and politics, Alausa also made an advertisement that showed the talk show host Ellen DeGeneres wearing a white wedding dress.
Alausa explained that DeGeneres’ wife wore a white gown to their wedding, “Ellen would not be caught dead in one.”
At the bottom of every ad, the company flaunts its motto, “Damn good whites.”