Dove is facing a furious backlash after airing a ‘racially insensitive’ advert depicting a black woman appearing to take off her shirt and skin to become a white woman.
The beauty giant is the source of debate this morning, with transgender model Munroe Bergdorf questioning whether its latest campaign was deliberately attempting to spark outrage.
Presenters Susanna Reid and Piers Morgan echoed her sentiments, with Piers questioning whether Dove had launched the controversial campaign for publicity.
The model – who was sacked by L’Oreal after labelling ‘all white people’ racist – told Good Morning Britain: ‘There is a precedent in the beauty industry that white is pure and light and fresh and black isn’t.’
Soap Company Dove is facing a wave of criticism after a four-panel shot shows a black woman in a chocolate brown shirt taking it off and revealing herself to be a white woman in a off-white shirt
Speaking on Good Morning Britain today, Munroe Bergdorf said Dove ‘missed the mark’ with the advert and needed to look at the team behind its marketing campaigns
In the now deleted picture, the four-panel Dove shot shows a black woman taking off a brown shirt and revealing herself to be a white woman in an off-white shirt.
Speaking on Good Morning Britain today, Bergdorf said Dove ‘missed the mark’ with its advert and needed to look at the team behind its marketing campaigns.
She said: ‘This harks back to nineteenth century feelings, to adverts where children are depicted as black, scrubbing off their blackness and turning white.
‘It makes you wonder if the crew is as diverse as the cast. There is a precedent in the beauty industry that white is pure and light and fresh and black isn’t.
‘They had a bottle that said from normal to dark skin – so what is normal? Why are they getting it wrong so many times? It makes you think, are they doing it on purpose?’
Bergdorf became the first trans woman to appear in a L’Oreal Paris UK campaign when she was cast as part of a diversity initiative.
However, the cosmetics giant terminated her contract after claiming the model was at odds with their values of ‘diversity’ and ‘tolerance’.
Bergdorf later told Sky: ‘Who is getting it wrong consistently and why is it the bias with white skin being the final product?’
Bergdorf said the advert was ‘racially insensitive’.
And Piers added: ‘I thought what on earth was going through the minds of Dove…the imagery was just so stark and so obviously liable to cause offence.
Bergdorf became the first trans woman to appear in a L’Oreal Paris UK campaign
‘It does make you a bit cynical and wonder if Dove are doing this to get publicity.’
Bergdorf said: ‘I think there is a bit more to it than just a little bit of insensitivity – to go viral.’
Susanna added: ‘This is so ironic because Dove try to project this image that they’re about embracing difference, this has been part of their marketing strategy and in doing so they are stumbling at every block.’
Bergdorf later told Sky: ‘Who is getting it wrong consistently and why is it the bias with white skin being the final product?
‘It doesn’t make sense. And it fits the narrative of the beauty industry discriminating against women of colour in this way.
‘The narrative is of black people being seen as dirty, scrubbing their skin and becoming white – that was actually used in advertising historically.
‘In these advertising companies how many people is this going through to get green lit?
‘Is it shown to people of colour?
‘It is tone deaf so we need to make sure advertising companies are as racially diverse behind the scenes as they are in front of the camera.
‘We need to push things forward.
‘All people deserve to see themselves in aspirational imagery and it can be done correctly as long as the consultants behind the scenes are diverse.
‘If you want to shift a product to everybody you need to make sure that your company is diverse otherwise you are going into no man’s land and you don’t know what you are doing.’
After make-up artist Naomi Leann Blake first shared the now viral photo to which the company took to their social media to apologize
‘An image we recently posted on Facebook missed the mark in representing women of color thoughtfully. We deeply regret the offense it caused,’ added the company
After make-up artist Naomi Leann Blake first shared the now viral Dove photo, the company took to their social media to apologise.
‘Dove is committed to representing the beauty of diversity,’ the company said on Facebook.
‘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. The feedback that has been shared is important to us and we’ll use it to guide us in the future.’
They also took to Twitter to try to ease the anger felt by many.
‘An image we recently posted on Facebook missed the mark in representing women of color thoughtfully. We deeply regret the offense it caused,’ added the company.
But social media users were unimpressed by what some called an insincere apology, blasting the company for its insensitivity following a similar incident by hair care company Shea Moisture in April.
One user said: ‘Lol did this even look right to y’all? I mean your whole team sat down and cleared this b******t right here? How?’
‘Dear dove, I assure you us ‘women of colour’ have actual skin with colour, not a tan that you can remove. Thanks,’ added another.
‘How many people saw this ad? If someone raised a concern and you didn’t listen, please make them head of advertising,’ said a user.
One user said: ‘Lol did this even look right to y’all? I mean your whole team sat down and cleared this b******t right here? How?’
‘Dear dove, I assure you us ‘women of colour’ have actual skin with colour, not a tan that you can remove. Thanks,’ added another
‘How many people saw this ad? If someone raised a concern and you didn’t listen, please make them head of advertising,’ said a user
And many had issues with the lackluster apology Dove offered to its customers and followers.
Sonia Gupta said: ‘This is the most non-apology apology I’ve seen all week. Are you joining the Trump administration now? WTF is that ad even supposed to mean?’
It was a sentiment shared by user Senzelwe Mzila who added: ‘White supremacy alive and well in boardrooms. Don’t apologise @Dove we are the foolish ones thinking that black people mattered to you.’
‘Your image has me scared s**tless at taking my clothes off and there is no way I’d consider turning white a good result. Shameful,’ added another.
Sonia Gupta said: ‘This is the most non-apology apology I’ve seen all week. Are you joining the Trump administration now? WTF is that ad even supposed to mean?’
Senzelwe Mzila added: ‘White supremacy alive and well in boardrooms. Don’t apologise @Dove we are the foolish ones thinking that black people mattered to you’
‘Your image has me scared s**tless at taking my clothes off and there is no way I’d consider turning white a good result. Shameful,’ added another
A few users brought up instances when the brand had other questionable marketing ploys that seemed to paint blackness as undesired.
Showing a campaign where two panels show ‘before’ and ‘after’ as three models from darkest to lightest stand in front of them, Nonhlanhla Mabhena simply said: ‘You have done it in the past.’
Another user showed labeling on one of their products bottles that said ‘nourishing lotion for normal to dark skin.’
Showing a campaign where two panels show ‘before’ and ‘after’ as three models from darkest to lightest stand in front of them, Nonhlanhla Mabhena simply said: ‘You have done it in the past’
Another user showed labeling on one of their products bottles that said ‘nourishing lotion for normal to dark skin’
That same user also posted an advert from Pear Soap from the early 19th century that featured a black baby being scrubbed clean and eventually becoming white.
‘TALK ABOUT DISGUSTING!!! Uhg. This is beyond disappointing what the f**k?’ they said.
A photo also circulated on Facebook showing other examples of brands with racist marketing strategies and showed the comparison from those advertisement campaigns to the one Dove did.
And to put a comedic spin on it all, a man filmed himself copying the popular trend of throwing things down the toilet and emptied a Dove bottle down the drain.
That same user also posted an advert from Pear Soap from the early 19th century that featured a black baby being scrubbed clean and eventually becoming white
‘TALK ABOUT DISGUSTING!!! Uhg. This is beyond disappointing what the f**k?’ they said
A photo also circulated on Facebook showing other examples of brands with racist marketing strategies and showed the comparison from those advertisement campaigns to the one Dove did