Dunkin’ Donuts has been urged to withdraw a “bizarre and racist” advertisement for chocolate doughnuts that shows a smiling woman in black face makeup.

The Dunkin’ Donuts franchise in Thailand launched a campaign earlier this month for its new Charcoal Donut, featuring an image reminiscent of 19th and early 20th century American stereotypes for black people that are now considered offensive symbols of a racist era.

Human Rights Watch said yesterday that it was shocked to see an American brand name running an advertising campaign that would draw “howls of outrage” if released in the US. Dunkin’ Donuts’ CEO in Thailand, Nadim Salhani, dismissed the criticism as “paranoid American thinking” and called it “absolutely ridiculous.”

The campaign hasn’t ruffled many in Thailand, where it’s common for advertisements to inexplicably use racial stereotypes. A Thai brand of household mops and dustpans called Black Man uses a logo with a smiling black man in a tuxedo and bow tie. One Thai skin whitening cream runs TV commercials that say white-skinned people have better job prospects than those with dark skin. A herbal Thai toothpaste says its dark-coloured product “is black, but it’s good.”

Mr Salhani said: “We’re not allowed to use black to promote our doughnuts? I don’t get it. What’s the big fuss? What if the product was white and I painted someone white, would that be racist?”