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Racism is in the eye of the beholder
When this defence did not work, the makers of this Italian ad were forced to take counter measures
In the global advertising arena, racism, or the perception thereof, appears to be one of the biggest levelers.
A recent Italian public service message, aimed at fixing the country's low birth rate and promoting 'National Fertility Day', was perceived as racist by its citizens. The controversial promotional message was released on a physical pamphlet that bore a picture of two smiling white couples and another (clearly demarcated on the page from this one) of a few black people shown using substances of questionable repute.
If you know what the lines 'Le buone abitudini, da promuovere' and 'I cattivi “compagni” da abbandonare' mean, you're much better placed than the next person to decide whether the copy is racist or not.
Or maybe that's not necessary. A picture speaks a thousand words, after all.