After Pepsi and Nivea, Dove has become the latest brand to face the ire of social media for its latest ad, which has now been called out for racism. The ad showed a black woman taking off her brown shirt to reveal a white woman in a shirt of a lighter shade.
Thought that Dove ad was fake until the apology happened. People actually sat at a table and said "Yeah post that picture"? ? pic.twitter.com/DZyj2jMned
— xoNecole (@xonecole) October 8, 2017
While the GIF ad has now been taken down, it received a massive backlash with many people saying that it showed a black woman transitioning into a white woman after using Dove body lotion, which implies that black is dirty and unlikeable.
Post the uproar on social media, Dove issued an apology for the same. "An image we recently posted on Facebook missed the mark in representing women of color thoughtfully. We deeply regret the offense it caused."
"Dove is committed to representing the beauty of diversity. In an image we posted this week, we missed the mark in thoughtfully representing women of color and we deeply regret the offense that it has caused," it added on Facebook.
Later on, spokesperson for Dove Marissa Solan said in a statement that the ad was taken completely out of context and didn't mean to hurt anyone's sentiments. "The visual was intended to convey that Dove Body Wash is for every woman and be a celebration of diversity, but we got it wrong and, as a result, offended many people. We are deeply sorry," she said, according to the New York Times.
Solan also explained that the firm was now re-evaluating their process through which ads are usually created and released.
Meanwhile, social media users are clearly not happy with Dove's "missed the mark" apology and believe that the racism in the ad is evident. "What was the mark?" Facebook user Ariel Macklin wrote. "I mean anyone with eyes can see how offensive this is. Not one person on your staff objected to this? Wow. Will not be buying your products anymore."
Here are a few other reactions:
Lol did this even look right to y'all? I mean your whole team sat down and cleared this bullshit right here? How? pic.twitter.com/WzsZfpkxAr
— Musimbwa (@UNcubeOthungayo) October 7, 2017
I'm never buying Dove again.
— Tshwanelo Fokazi (@TshwaneloFokazi) October 8, 2017
Y'all think my brown skin symbolises dirt.
You can do better than "missed the mark." Flip + diminishing. Deepens your offense. You do good work. Have been for years. Do better here.
— Ava DuVernay (@ava) October 8, 2017
@Dove that apology is weak. People always want to apologize after doing dumb things before they THINK. No more Dove products for me.
— bella butterfly (@ClemsonCutie) October 7, 2017
Normal to DARK. Cause dark ain’t normal? @Dove yeah, done with you.
— I Am (@ThisisDeidra) October 8, 2017
Meanwhile, this is not the first time that Dove has courted such controversy. In 2011, Dove, owned by British brand Unilever, was slammed for an ad that showed three women standing before a board that said "before" and "after." While the "before" board had an African-American woman in front of it with cracked skin, the woman in front of the "after" board showed a white woman with smooth glowing skin.
Okay, Dove...
— Keith Boykin (@keithboykin) October 8, 2017
One racist ad makes you suspect.
Two racist ads makes you kinda guilty. pic.twitter.com/hAwNCN84h2
Apart from Dove, skincare brand Nivea too courted similar controversy with its Invisible For Black & White deodorant, in which the tagline said "White is Purity." The ad was later pulled down and Nivea apologised for it.
"We are deeply sorry to anyone who may take offense to this specific post," the company said in a statement. "Diversity and equal opportunity are crucial values of Nivea."
