Shampoo ad featuring Hitler promises to turn Turks into macho men

BIOMEN, a Turkish shampoo brand, has come under fire for a television commercial featuring Adolf Hitler declaring that “real men use Biomen”.

The 12-second ad features black-and-white footage of Hitler delivering one of his famously impassioned speeches. It is dubbed to Turkish, with a male voice shouting: “If you don’t wear women’s clothes then you shouldn’t be using women’s shampoo either. Now you can get the 100 per cent male shampoo Biomen. If you’re man enough then use Biomen.”

Perhaps it was an attempt to emulate the popular Downfall videos, but Turkish Jews were not amused. They have protested vocally against the ad, which is apparently still running on state television. The chief rabbi of Turkey issued a statement demanding a public apology from the advertising company “to repair the damage this commercial has caused to society’s conscience”.

According to the ad, in addition to turning Turks into macho men, Biomen shampoo can also prevent dandruff and hairloss. But apparently, it has little effect on a bad sense of humour.