Alitalia's new ad shows a 'blacked-up' Barack Obama

An Italian airline was accused of racism after a non-black actor portraying former US president Barack Obama was heavily made up to appear as a black person. Alitalia announced a non-stop flight from Rome to Washington, DC, last May. The company this week created a series of marketing videos for social media to highlight the route. Each one features actors playing American presidents: Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, Donald Trump and Barack Obama. The ad campaign was not creating any major response until it was Barack Obama's turn to find the flight to Washington. In the video, an actor was covered in heavy black-and-brown makeup to appear African American. Called out for blackface, Alitalia dismissed the issue on Facebook. "You are exaggerating," was the reply. <br/>