This weekend, Twitter exploded with calls to boycott soapmaker Dove after the company posted an incredibly tone-deaf and insensitive Facebook ad that shows exactly what happens when unconscious bias makes its way into advertising.
Dove has removed a Facebook ad that sparked outrage over the weekend for showcasing its body wash alongside a black woman who was shown pulling off her brown T-shirt to reveal a white woman wearing an ivory T-shirt.
This seems to be a pattern for Dove—which ironically, in the recent past, has launched a number of campaigns to represent inclusivity and acceptance of all shapes, sizes and colors. But clearly, those efforts haven’t made their way into the highest levels of decision-making in the company because someone signed off on not one but two ads that demonstrate, at best, racial insensitivity and at worst, flat-out racism.
It makes one wonder where in the world the folks at Dove got the idea that in 2017 this would be an acceptable form of advertisement. Unfortunately, it’s not at all new. For years, soap companies used images of black people suddenly becoming clean after someone whitewashed their skin using a specific brand of soap. The message this sends is that black skin is inherently dirty.
Of course, one cannot really get rid of their blackness—no matter how hard they try (not that Sammy Sosa and the late Michael Jackson haven’t already). But this fact hasn’t stopped companies from making loads of money peddling skin bleaching and lightening creams all across the world. In fact, Unilever, Dove’s parent company has made billions on these products in Asia.
After a swift and fierce backlash, Dove gave a very insufficient non-apology for the folks that it hurt with this ad. On Saturday, they tweeted out this statement:
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. The feedback that has been shared is important to us and we’ll use it to guide us in the future.
Here’s the thing though—this wasn’t about “women of color.” This was specifically anti-black racism directed at black women. It is built from a shameful history of demonizing black people and black skin as inferior and less than. Watering this apology down to include all women of color dilutes the fact that black women, specifically, are dehumanized in ways that other women of color are not. While women of color broadly can and are often subjected to racism, they are not portrayed with the same stereotypes that black women are. Acknowledging the unique nature of anti-black racism is essential to achieving racial justice in this country. It is also imperative to getting companies to do way better in their advertising.
Actress Danielle Brooks from Orange Is the New Black penned a letter responding to Dove’s ad and apology. In her piece, aptly titled “Did Dove Just Call Me Dirty?” she said this:
I pause. Scratch my head. Think for a minute. Wait. Dove, you want me to believe that using your soap will turn my skin into that of a white woman? No — that can't be it. You want me to believe being black isn't clean? You want me to believe that black = dirt and white = purity and using your soap will make me clean? Got it. You're telling me my skin, the deep, rich melanin that I was born with and cannot change, is filthy. Got it.
That's painful.
That stings. [...]
You were disrespectful, Dove. Thank you for the apology, because I was hurt by this. Thank you for reminding me that it's not only about seeing more representation. The way in which we see representation is what truly matters. And thank you for reminding me that the whispering monster [that for years has been telling black and brown kids that the color of our skin is dirty] still lives, that it has not been vanquished. Thank you for reminding me that the "Black Girl Magic" and "My Melanin Is Poppin" T-shirts and jewelry I rock aren't just statements of pride. They are armor, armor against the sneak attacks like the one I experienced over my breakfast yesterday.
This was an epic fail, Dove. If you are really about inclusivity like your campaign for Real Beauty suggests, not only will you do better in your advertising. You will hire black people and other people of color to help guide your marketing efforts so this never, ever happens again.
To read the rest of Brooks’ letter, click here.