Brand says it ‘missed mark’ after being accused of racism in campaign promoting body lotion


Dove has apologised after publishing an advert on its Facebook page which showed a black woman turning into a white woman.

The brand was accused of racism over the online advertising campaign and it later admitted it had “missed the mark” with an image posted on Facebook.

The advert showed a black woman removing her top to reveal a white woman underneath supposedly after using Dove body lotion.

Habeeb Akande (@Habeeb_Akande )
Dove apologised for 'racist' Facebook advert showing a black woman turning white after using @Dove lotion.
October 8, 2017


The campaign has since been removed from Facebook but was shared by Naomi Blake, an American makeup artist who goes by the name Naythemua.

“So I’m scrolling through Facebook and this is the #dove ad that comes up … ok so what am I looking at,” she wrote as the caption.

Under the post, she was asked if people would be offended if the white woman had turned into a black woman. She said: “Nope, we wouldn’t and that’s the whole point. What does America tell black people? That we are judged by the color of our skin and that includes what is considered beautiful in this country.”

She added that Dove’s marketing team should have known better and said “the tone deafness in these companies makes no sense”.

Following the removal of the advert, Dove, which is owned by Unilever, tweeted: “An image we recently posted on Facebook missed the mark in representing women of colour thoughtfully. We deeply regret the offence it caused.”

However the damage was done and the nearly 3,000 comments below the tweet were almost exclusively negative. Many social media users called for a boycott of Dove’s products.

A Soldier of the Art (@SelinaNBrown )
Nubian Heritage @NubianHeritage https://www.nubianheritage.com/ #blackowned #supportblackbusiness pic.twitter.com/rNYLE7ntEm
A Soldier of the Art (@SelinaNBrown )
ENOUGH!
IS ENOUGH! @Dove Needs to be an example of black boycott worldwide!!!
They need to see the power of the black and brown money power
October 7, 2017
Ava DuVernay, the director of the film Selma, was one of many prominent people to criticise both the advert and the apology. She said on Twitter: “You can do better than ‘missed the mark’. Flip + diminishing. Deepens your offence. You do good work. Have been for years. Do better here.”

The trans model Munroe Bergdorf, who recently was at the centre of a racism row with L’Oreal, tweeted to say: “Diversity is viewed as a buzzword or a trend. An opportunity to sell product to women of colour. Dove – Do better.”

Others pointed out this was not the first time the company has been accused of racism. In 2011 Dove’s before-and-after advert charted the transition of a black woman to a white woman after using its body wash.



Keith Boykin (@keithboykin )
Okay, Dove...
One racist ad makes you suspect.
Two racist ads makes you kinda guilty.
October 8, 2017
At the time, Dove said in a statement: “All three women are intended to demonstrate the ‘after’ product benefit. We do not condone any activity or imagery that intentionally insults any audience.”






https://flipboard.com/@flipboard/-dove-apologises-for-ad-showing-black-wo/f-29542a2fec%2Ftheguardian.com

lol lmao they played themselves

But on a serious note that's racist. but still I think it kinda funny

I blame the black ladies who allowed themselves to be used.

Who cares? We'll buy the dove

they're trying to tell us that black people are not beautiful

I still don't see anything wrong with the advert!

That advert seems exclusively for skin toners.

Don't be surprised if many black people who aren't comfortable with their skin color go for the product....It is for them. Their target audiences understand the game plan.

Enough of 'racism-advert-hunting' mbok! �

Dove just lost one of their customer