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International brands just have a way of pissing everyone off with their campaigns.
Call it good or bad publicity stunts whatever the case it somehow works in their favor because the whole world will get to hear about it.
This is the case of Dove’s new body wash ad that was generally termed as offensive and even racist.
The three second video clip that was posted on the beauty brand’s Facebook page was received with anger.
It shows a black woman wearing a brown t shirt in the motion of removing then appears to have transformed into a white woman removing a similar shirt.
‘’We hear you loud and clear DOVE.Stunned. Disgusted. Done. #NODOVE.’’ Julie Gichuru posted.
However, not everyone seems to see anything wrong.
‘’I hear those saying we have misunderstood their campaign. I disagree. Subliminal messaging is powerful. The underlying message could not have been lost on their world class communication teams. #NoDove.’’ She went on to add.
After the gross ad, Dove issued an apology on Saturday.
‘’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.’’ They posted on their Facebook page.
Despite their apology this is not the first time the brand has released racist campaigns.
In 2011, a body wash ad showing three women with a range of skin tones standing in a row with the word ‘before’ above the head of a woman with darker skin and ‘after’ above the head of a woman with lighter skin was not well received.
Creating the impression of remorse, the company published another statement in the Guardian regarding its controversial ad.
