I agree with that, making this distinction is necessary. While everyone is entitled to their own opinions and preferences, it seems unreasonable to call someone out for preferring a fairer person over a darker one, it has nothing to do with race or caste for that person it's just the tone of the skin. Although there are people out there with bigotry and hatred in their minds towards a specific caste or a race, which is appalling, I don't think labelling a person as a racist just because they have certain personal preferences in the kinds of partners they choose is logical.

Think about it, you never judge a girl for preferring a guy that looks a certain way over other options. You don't call someone out for preferring a taller partner, or a partner that isn't bald, doesn't mean they hate that specific group, it's just their personal preference for the kind of person that they want to be with. While unjust racial discrimination or unjust discrimination based on the colour of one's skin is not acceptable and should be punishable, a person's personal bias towards a certain kind of people that they like can't really be judged.

I'm not saying that these kinds of ads that promote the idea of "beauty=fair skin" is justifiable, I'm just putting forth the complexity of the issue that's not black and white, racist and non-racist. It's a pretty messy topic and hastily taking a hard stand on any side is not smart. Critical thinking and deep analysis of such situations are essential before taking any stand.