Dove apologises for 'racist' Facebook advert

Beauty brand Dove has courted yet another controversy with a questionable advert that stormed Facebook.

In the video advertising body wash, a black woman can be seen taking off her T-shirt to reveal a white woman underneath. Then, the white woman does the same to reveal an Asian face.

Over the weekend, several people took to social media to question the ad, calling it racist and a form of whitewashing for appearing to show that black people were ‘dirty’.

Although some people pointed out that Dove were trying to say that the soap could be used by all races, the brand decided to remove the ad and issue a statement of apology.

“An image we recently posted on Facebook missed the mark in representing women of colour thoughtfully. We deeply regret the offence it caused,” Dove tweeted, adding in a later statement: “”This did not represent the diversity of real beauty which is something Dove is passionate about and is core to our beliefs, and it should not have happened.”

“We have removed the post and have not published any other related content. We apologise deeply and sincerely for the offence that it has caused.”

This didn’t stop people calling out Dove for its previous ‘racist’ campaigns, focusing on a 2011 advert which appeared to depict a black woman as the undesirable ‘before’ option while a white woman stood in front of the desired ‘after’ effect.

The black model featured in the ad, Lola Ogunyemi, has now spoken out, writing in the Guardian that she “jumped” when Dove asked her to be the face of their new body wash.

“I’ve grown up very aware of society’s opinion that dark-skinned people, especially women, would look better if our skin were lighter,” she wrote, adding that she was “overwhelmed by just how controversial the ad had become.”

Noting that her experience with the Dove team was both “positive” and “amazing”, Lola was shocked by the outrage that ensued: “If I had even the slightest inclination that I would be portrayed as inferior, or as the “before” in a before and after shot, I would have been the first to say an emphatic “no”. That is something that goes against everything I stand for.”

“All of the women in the shoot understood the concept and overarching objective – to use our differences to highlight the fact that all skin deserves gentleness. I can see how the snapshots that are circulating the web have been misinterpreted. Having said that, I can also see that a lot has been left out.”

“While I agree with Dove’s response to unequivocally apologise for any offence caused, they could have also defended their creative vision, and their choice to include me, an unequivocally dark-skinned black woman, as a face of their campaign. I am not just some silent victim of a mistaken beauty campaign. I am strong, I am beautiful, and I will not be erased.”

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