Several brands have run into trouble in the past few years for advertisement which have been called out as problematic. Many have been slammed for sexism and racist content in their commercials, but well known brands still manage to land themselves in difficult situations.
Dove recently faced a lot of flak for a Facebook advertisement where it showed a black woman in a brown shirt. The moment the woman removes her t-shirt, a white woman in a light shirt emerges on the screen.
The ad was a GIF featuring three women removing their t-shirt to reveal the next, but the part with the black woman turning white triggered outrage. Many linked it to other racist ads including one for a firm that was operational till 1921 where a white child asks a black child why his mother doesn’t wash him with fairy soap.
the racist dove ad is a continuation of a long history of racist soap advertising pic.twitter.com/nO7iDT7dxH
— /kaw·reɪdÊ'/ (@kawrage) October 8, 2017
There were many who wondered how such an ad managed to pass through reviews without someone spotting the issue.
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
Meanwhile Dove apologised in a Facebook post saying they deeply regretted the offence caused by the ad and mentioned they had missed the mark in representing women of colour thoughtfully.
An image we recently posted on Facebook missed the mark in representing women of color thoughtfully. We deeply regret the offense it caused.
— Dove (@Dove) October 7, 2017
Although a spokesperson from Dove they are re-evaluating internal process for creating and reviewing content, people on social media didn’t buy their explanation asking how anyone could miss just how offensive the advertisement is.
