RALEIGH, NC - A Raleigh dentist is apologizing for an ad she called "ignorant and offensive" that ran in a local magazine.
Dr. Jill Sonner with Renaissance Dental Center said there was no ill intent behind the ad that shows her and two other dentists advertising a free whitening system.
In the ad, Sonner is dressed in a Native American costume while the other dentists are in a geisha costume and a Scottish outfit.
The ad appears in the May/June edition of Midtown Magazine.
"The idea behind the ad was just the message that a smile is universal, and we all smile in the same language. We did not realize at the time that it would be offensive or insensitive. We are truly sorry," Sonner told CBS 17.
The ad has been removed and replaced from Midtown's online version with an ad they created for March Madness.
An apology was posted to the Renaissance Dental Center's Facebook page Thursday morning:
Sonner said they hope to learn and grow from this.
"We are a family practice and we always try to create ads that appeal to different patients of our practice, and after running this ad and realizing the impact, we are definitely going to be more thoughtful and intentional when we do our future ads," she said.
