Aeromexico and its ad agency have apologized for a producer's casting call for an ad that specified that only light-skinned people need apply.
Mexico's population is largely dark-skinned, but Mexican television ads routinely feature light-skinned actors, sparking accusations of discrimination.
The commercial has not yet been made, but a casting call for actors specified “nobody dark skinned” and requested “white skin.”
The Catatonia ad agency said this week it regretted the situation and that a third company that sent out the casting call had used inappropriate language.
Aeromexico also apologized, and blamed Catatonia for the “discriminatory attitude” of the casting call.
Most Mexicans carry some Indian blood, but Indians have suffered persistent racial discrimination since the Spanish conquest in the early 1500s..