Woman applies Dove lotion, takes her T-shirt off and voila!

If only Dove had more sense! Photo Courtesy: Twitter

 White is beautiful. Black is ugly. This is what most companies that sell fairness products want you to believe. Needless to say, this is bogus. But, Dove doesn't seem to get this. In fact, their recent ads advocate this hypocrisy.

You must be familiar with a company called Unilever. Dove is one of their products. It's also pretty popular among Indian women. Unfortunately, it is acute racism that the company recently tried promoting through its recent ads. The Facebook advertising campaign of the Dove lotion is vile beyond words. In a series of pictures, it shows a black woman wearing a brown t-shirt. After using the lotion, she takes off her brown shirts and voila! You see a white woman with blonde hair. Funnily enough, the colour of her t-shirts also changes to beige-pink. What does this even mean?

In case you have no idea what we are talking about, then you would want to see this ad first:

'Black' Woman In The Dove Ad Has Something To Say

The 'black' woman who is shown taking off her shirt and truing into a 'white woman is Lola Ogunyemi--a model.  After the ad created a controversy, most people wanted to know how Lola felt. After all, she is a woman of colour herself. So, why did she do an ad that hurt the sentiments of her community?

Interestingly, Lola feels Dove should have 'defended their creative vision'. The model also states that the public was right in feeling outraged, but 'a lot has been left out too.' Most importantly she doesn't feel she is a victim.

"Having the opportunity to represent my dark-skinned sisters in a global beauty brand felt like the perfect way for me to remind the world that we are here, we are beautiful, and more importantly, we are valued," she said in an interview to the Guardian.

"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'. However, the experience I had with the Dove team was positive. I had an amazing time on set. 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," she continued.

But, now the mother of all questions. Did the ad really meant to describe black as ugly? Turns out, no.

"I was the first model to appear in the ad, describing my skin as "20% dry, 80% glowing. And appearing again at the end. I can see how the snapshots that are circulating the web have been misinterpreted. I can also see that a lot has been left out. The narrative has been written without giving consumers context on which to base an informed opinion," she said.

So, basically--the ad has been creatively tweaked and fiddled with. But, this hasn't stopped people from slamming it. 

The Backlash

God alone knows why they came up with a concept like that. Does the company really feel that brown or black is ugly? And you need Dove to change your skin tone to snow white in order to look beautiful? If not, then the marketing campaign is a cheap ploy that sent social media into a frenzy. People were pissed. And rightly so.

"FY apology Dove, you just keep depicting racist imagery and putting out racist products to support your racist beliefs," wrote one user on Twitter.

#BoycottDove FY apology Dove, you just keep depicting racist imagery and putting out racist products to support your racist beliefs. pic.twitter.com/UiZeSMhyHP

- Claudia (@claud1a_1) October 8, 2017

"ENOUGH! IS ENOUGH! Dove Needs to be an example of black boycott worldwide!!! They need to see the power of the black and brown money power (sic)," wrote another.

ENOUGH!IS ENOUGH!@Dove Needs to be an example of black boycott worldwide!!!They need to see the power of the black and brown money power

- A Soldier of the Art (@SelinaNBrown) October 7, 2017

The sentiment is justified. Dove really crossed a line here. Some angry social media users united against the company and advocated boycotting their products. It's the opposition and the backlash that made the company realize their mistake. Not the fact that their ad was really demeaning.

The Apology

Soon after, Dove issued a public apology.

"An image we recently posted on Facebook missed the mark in representing women of color thoughtfully. We deeply regret the offense it caused," the company wrote on Twitter.

An image we recently posted on Facebook missed the mark in representing women of color thoughtfully. We deeply regret the offense it caused.

- Dove (@Dove) October 7, 2017

Once a Mistake, Twice a …?

Fine. Dove says it made a mistake. It misrepresented woman of colour. However, what you do once is called a mistake. But, if you keep doing the same thing over and over again then it's called a habit. And it seems Dove does have the habit of stereotyping so-called 'black' women.

Let's just be honest here and spare the charade. In 2011, Dove had released a similar racist ad. The advertisement had three women of three different skin tones--dark, olive, and white. The women were lined up according to lightest to darkest skin tone. The word 'before' was written above the 'black' woman while 'after' was written above the white woman.

Okay, Dove...One racist ad makes you suspect.Two racist ads makes you kinda guilty. pic.twitter.com/hAwNCN84h2

- Keith Boykin (@keithboykin) October 8, 2017

The ad was about Dove body wash. It again signified the transition from 'black' to 'white' using the product. The ad had rubbed the people the wrong way and Dove had to face major criticism. However, the company then issued a statement clarifying its stance.

"All three women are intended to demonstrate the 'after' product benefit. We do not condone any activity or imagery that intentionally insults any audience," it said.

It's clear. This is not the first time Dove has used racism as a tool to sell their products. It's an ideology that is embedded in their psyche and it makes them use the concept for their gains. Sadly, it's not just Dove that feels this way.

Violence Against People of Colour

Some in general are repulsed by people of colour. And the many cases of violence against them is proof. Recently, a Nigerian man was tied up and beaten for an alleged theft in Delhi.

According to a report published in the Times of India, "A video has surfaced showing a Nigerian man trussed to a lamp post, throwing up his hands to defend himself against the blows being rained down on him. The attackers can be seen hitting the man with stout sticks and shouting, Maaro isse! Chodna mat isko (Beat him up! Don't let him go!)."

#WATCH Nigerian national tied to a pole and beaten up by locals for alleged theft in Delhi's Malviya Nagar (24.09.2017) pic.twitter.com/3zWgbeqvN5

- ANI (@ANI) October 9, 2017

You may argue that race or colour has nothing to do with mob justice, but it's not true. The repulsion and disgust that people feel for the dark-skinned lot is deep embedded in our psychology. Over the last few years, we have heard many reports of violence against people of colour in Delhi. Moreover, it's racism that has fueled the hatred. And it's ads like these that reinstate the stereotype. If only Dove knew what it meant to be a person of colouror 'black,', it would have never made an ad like this. Ever.