The recent commercial from Dove has brought about debate over interpreting what is truly racist and when to define what “going too far” actually is. The ad involved women of different races and ethnicities. In the commercial, a black woman took off her shirt to reveal a white woman which caused a lot of dismay from viewers who immediately thought that it was racism. Dove did not intend on it having those views or implications in any way, shape or form, however they removed the ad from Facebook, publicly apologizing for it and for the effects that it had on those who had seen it.
There were three women of different ethnicities in the thirteen-second clip and seven women in the thirty-second TV commercial who all changed into one another. Lola Ogunyemi, the black woman who appeared in the commercial, does not feel that she has been a victim of racism. It was not just a commercial involving her changing into a white woman; the white woman removed her shirt as well to reveal a Latino, and then loops back to Ogunyemi. There was a variety of races and ethnicities involved. The idea of the commercial was attempting to reveal that all shades of skin are beautiful and deserve gentleness from Dove care. However, the public viewed it in an entirely different light.
(Source: Pixabay)
In her article on The Guardian, Ogunyemi agreed that an apology from Dove was needed and appropriate, but she wished that the company had tried to explain the intention of their message and stand by it in order to disprove the claims made by the audience. She herself had a great experience while filming the commercial and was surprised to find how controversial it had become. Claiming that she would have “walked right off the set and out the door” if she had thought that the commercial would be degrading for her or her skin color, Ogunyemi argues that the original idea that Dove presented for the commercial was admirable, but the company failed to present it in a way that the world would easily see.
In today’s society, it is important to look at different aspects and perspectives in order to gain true understanding, but advertisers must also be responsible for thinking about all the possible outcomes that their products, advertisements, etc. will have on the public. Unfortunately, Dove did not consider this before publishing this commercial which has in turn led up to all of this controversy. Even though their hearts were in the right place with the vision, the resulting product did not live up to those expectations for the rest of the world.
(Source: Pixabay)