Dove's Incredibly Racist Ad Angers People, And It's Hard To Believe It Actually Happened In 2017
World-renowned soap company Dove is officially knees-deep in controversy, and it’s definitely not something that’s going to wash away. They’re being accused of racism after publishing an ad which shows a black woman taking off her shirt to reveal a white woman ‘underneath.’ Understandably, we’re all pretty confused as to how this made it out of the boardroom.
Dove was quick to pull the offending video, and has since apologized for ‘missing the mark’ on their representation of diversity. The damage is done, however, and hell hath no fury like an Internet scorned. People all over Twitter and other social media are calling BS on the company’s claimed ‘regret,’ and are comparing the ad to the infamous Pears’ Soap campaign from the 1800’s, which displayed black children being ‘scrubbed clean’ and turning white. Some are even calling for a boycott, highlighting previous problematic Dove commercials as further grounds.
“Dear Dove, I assure you us ‘women of colour’ have actual skin with colour, not a tan that you can remove. Thanks,” one user poignantly commented. Scroll down to see more reactions, and add your own voice at the end.
Dove recently launched a body wash ad that has people feeling just a little bit confused
You’ve probably guessed by now that people were raging
Even more embarrassingly, it seems that Dove is a repeat offender when it comes to offensive ads
People are even comparing Dove’s ads to the infamous Pears’ Soap campaign of the 1800’s
Dove pretty much had no option but to apologize
It wasn’t exactly accepted, however
Some argued that the whole thing was an honest mistake, and that people are overreacting
What’s the biggest issue here in your book? Tell us below!
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I am a black woman and I don't use Dove. I must say, I don't see how this ad is racist. Yes when I looked at the above picture I was like, "ok, there might be something here". But then I searched for and watched the video and ow, the white lady turns into a Mexican, is that racist too? I think sometimes people can be too sensitive or maybe they were affected by racism so bad that they see it everywhere and in anything. I may be wrong here but I thought Dove was trying to show that the soap can be used by any one for any skin color. I understand that there are racist people out there and that it is very bad and life threatening in some places, but to see racism in everything can't be right. But then again people are free to have their views. I
It's too bad that a lot of people aren't going to go find the ad to see for themselves, but just get angry at the out-of-context bit that has been presented to them.
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Exactly. That's why only the first sequence is shown. Because black -> white is racist and white -> Latina is no problem. White -> black is probably not a problem either. Sad that this culture of feeling offended by everything hardly ever tackles the roots of the issues we have with racism (positive AND negative)
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This ad is showing a black woman turn into a white woman and a white woman turn into a Hispanic woman. When will the world see this as a sign of unity, that we can all use dove soap...
Knowing our society now, probably never.
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I am a black woman and I don't use Dove. I must say, I don't see how this ad is racist. Yes when I looked at the above picture I was like, "ok, there might be something here". But then I searched for and watched the video and ow, the white lady turns into a Mexican, is that racist too? I think sometimes people can be too sensitive or maybe they were affected by racism so bad that they see it everywhere and in anything. I may be wrong here but I thought Dove was trying to show that the soap can be used by any one for any skin color. I understand that there are racist people out there and that it is very bad and life threatening in some places, but to see racism in everything can't be right. But then again people are free to have their views. I
It's too bad that a lot of people aren't going to go find the ad to see for themselves, but just get angry at the out-of-context bit that has been presented to them.
Load More Replies... Exactly. That's why only the first sequence is shown. Because black -> white is racist and white -> Latina is no problem. White -> black is probably not a problem either. Sad that this culture of feeling offended by everything hardly ever tackles the roots of the issues we have with racism (positive AND negative)
Load More Replies... This ad is showing a black woman turn into a white woman and a white woman turn into a Hispanic woman. When will the world see this as a sign of unity, that we can all use dove soap...
Knowing our society now, probably never.
Load More Replies...
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