The company Dove became the target of a wave of criticism on social media on Monday due to an advertisement for shower gel in which a dark-skinned woman removes her shirt, after which she transforms into a white woman, prompting fierce public reactions.
The 3-second video, posted on Friday on Dove’s official U.S. Facebook page, reminded some social media users of racist soap advertisements from the 19th and early 20th centuries that depicted Black individuals scrubbing their skin to become white.
Dove removed the clip and apologized, stating on Twitter that the post “recklessly portrayed dark-skinned women”.
However, the apology did not succeed in stopping the wave of criticism online. Some users are calling for a boycott of Dove products, and the story has been picked up by mainstream media in the United States and Europe.
In the United Kingdom, this controversy was the main topic of morning shows on Monday, where guests discussed how the advertisement was approved for publication and whether it is indicative of a broader problem of racism in marketing.
On Twitter, posts marked with the hashtag #BoycottDove, which began over the weekend among American users, have spread to users of several European languages.
– In short, racism is back in fashion, and brands want to exploit it, wrote user @Beatrix B. in French.
The entire clip shows a dark-skinned woman removing her shirt, under which a white woman appears, who then lifts her shirt and transforms into a woman of Asian descent.
– The intention of this short video was to convey that Dove shower gel is for every woman and to celebrate diversity, but we made a mistake, Dove stated.
Notorious Advertisements from the Past
The advertisement reminded many viewers of notorious soap advertisements from history, some of which have been shared on social media.
In one example from the 1880s, a Black child is shown bathing in a tub when a white child offers him soap. After using it, the Black child becomes excited when he realizes he has also become white.
Dove declined to comment on how the advertisement was produced and approved, but revealed that it is reviewing its internal processes for content creation and publication.
