UK hardware retailer B&Q withdraws advert that featured book on white supremacy

The UK equivalent of Bunnings has taken swift action after an eagle eyed customer noted what appeared to be a racist book in one of its ads.

A massive UK hardware retailer has gone into damage control after a book which appeared to be promoting racism appeared in an advert.

British chain B&Q, which is similar to Australia’s Bunnings, said it “deeply apologised” after an image of a product on its website showed a book called White Supremacy.

White supremacy is a racist belief that white people are somehow superior to other races and as such should be able to dominate them. It’s associated with Nazi Germany and the Ku Klux Klan.

B & Q is the UK’s largest hardware retailer.

The bizarre image on the B&Q website spruiked a wooden cover to box in and hide a radiator. Resting on the cover were two books which appeared to have the offending title.

“Uhhh B & Q can you explain why you have a product picture featuring two books that say ‘white supremacy’????” posted a Twitter user.

Uhhh B&Q can you explain why you have a product picture featuring two books that say "white supremacy"???? @BandQpic.twitter.com/5Bh25xSP3D

— professional moron (@absolutemadma15) August 10, 2023

Another customer told UK newspaper the Doncaster Free Press that he “couldn’t believe” when he was seeing.

“I’m sure lots of people would be massively offended seeing something like that. I can’t believe how it managed to get on there.”

The DIY retailer, one of Europe’s biggest, replied on social media that the confronting title wasn’t seen when the advert was being approved.

“We deeply apologise for the offence this may have caused from a product that was offered for sale by a third-party seller.

“B&Q is committed to creating an inclusive place for our colleagues to work.”

The offending book featured in an ad on the UK retailer’s website. Picture: B & Q.

It added that it had suspended the seller, the product and all images associated with it.

“We are actively reviewing our screening process to prevent this happening again, as we are committed to maintaining a respectful and inclusive online environment.”

However, one online sleuth suggested the book might not be as repugnant as first assumed.

“It looks like a stuff-up,” he said.

The book’s cover design, colours and font looked similar to a book published by Stanford University Press in 2011 called State of White Supremacy.

It’s possible a book critiquing white supremacy, not celebrating it, was actually in the advert,

This book didn’t celebrate white supremacy, but rather looked at the “deeply entrenched patterns of racial inequality in the United States” and posited the theory that white supremacy remained a dominant influence in the country.

But that still doesn’t explain how a book discussing white supremacy found its way into an advert for homewares.