Our world has evolved vastly from its old discriminatory and violent ways, yet at times it seems as though we are in the same place as we once were. With social media allowing for nothing that anybody does nowadays to go unnoticed, people are now more than ever aware of exactly all that is going on in the world. This means that nobody can ever catch a break if they make a mistake- not even the multi-billionaires. Some of the biggest names to have been under fire for messing up are Pepsi, Urban Outfitters, and Dove — due to their mistakenly disastrous ads.
H&M has now be added to that list thanks to its recently released photo of a young black boy wearing a sweatshirt that said “coolest monkey in the jungle.” Shortly after the photo was added to their website the Swedish brand faced massive criticism for it once it went viral across various social media sites. Even celebrities such as LeBron James, Trey Songz, and The Weeknd (who has now cut off ties with the brand he once collaborated with) have spoken out in some way against the ad. Protestors from South Africa are so outraged by it that they have taken to destroying some of the H&M locations, causing the brand to make the decision to temporarily close its doors.
Seeing as this is not the first big name brand to make such a large mistake it makes you begin to wonder how such experienced companies can be so careless. It is the failure of these companies to try to see things from every person’s point of view that is the most disappointing. We have come a long way, but still have an even longer way to go.