We’ll Do Beauty Better
The following Op-ed was written in response to a Dove advertisement that enraged millions of people on social media. The backlash decried the ad as racist in that the ad showed an African American woman taking her shirt off to reveal a Caucasian woman underneath (Astor, 2017). The stakeholders of this advertisement want to boycott the brand for its insolence.
Media Images of women perfectly retouched to create beauty standards that are almost impossible to achieve. The pressure to be young, hour glass shaped and sexy comes from the world of advertising, entertainment, and media. At Dove, we strive to change the culture of adverting by challenging the societal norms of beauty by selecting real women from all nationalities untouched by photoshop that are relatable to provide a fresh perspective in the world of media. However, we missed the mark with our Real Beauty campaign and instead of our company wanting to represent woman’s empowerment we’ve shifted into unwanted territory of highlighting a racist fueled soap advertising history of African Americans being washed “clean” into a Caucasian individual, this was not our goal moreover, we at Dove are deeply sorry.
Recent news stories and opinions, online conversations and questions from our families and friends have been read and reflected on and our eyes are opened now. As Muhtar Kent, CEO of Coca-Cola once said “When you are shown from a different perspective harness it, embrace it, and promise to do better for a brand is a promise, but a good brand is a promise well kept (Kent, 2017). I know that Dove can do a better job at advertising to the public and our community about women’s diversity in the health and beauty sector.
We are committed to serving our consumers and our communities with integrity. Dove has always believed that the unique differences between women should be honored and not ignored, what’s more, that physical appearance ought to be changed from a wellspring of uneasiness to an origin of trust.
Dove will continue to evolve and meet our customers and the community’s needs. We are redefining what our Real Beauty campaign should encompass. We are instituting an internal reviewing process for all content, including an employee culture that discards off-mark messaging in terms of gender, race, and cultural identity. Also, in order to ensure that messaging is examined from a variety of perspectives, we are performing a weekly audit of diversity and inclusion practices. For example, throughout the campaign process, staff from different ethnic groups will provide context.
I hope that our critics will receive us with an open heart as we continue to learn. We care, and we want real change to be our focus. In, addition, we have a great opportunity to start again because we are determined to do beauty better.