Dove Ad Controversy

I agre that people go over the top finding things racist, but having been in teaching I know how sensitive some people are about this and consequently tried to be careful not too offend. But this ad can easily be ,misinterpreted - it was my first thought actually . I think white people don't always realise how conscious some black and Asian people are of their colour and need to be very sensitive. I have a black friend who is very conscious of being the only non white person in the area and has suffered racial abuse in the past. A passing remark can easily upset her though she won't always say so. When people ask where she is from she says (name of town in England) and then they say - no, where are you really (or originally) from - shr was born in the uk.

Could it be that we have reached that happy place where we are so colour blind that we cannot see how this might cause offence.

I thought the Guardian article was by one of the models - I didn’t see it as a retraction but as a well informed addition to the debate.

Isn't it rather a fuss about nothing? No-one meant to be racist.

POGS

I agree with you and was glad to see that The Guardian had printed this correction (perhaps as a retraction of their earlier critical article).

Grampie

By the time we are old enough to be on this forum we have enough life experience to know that there are many times when we have a choice about how we look at things. We can choose to think positively or negatively, I try to choose positively because I think it is quite rare to find a situation where someone has deliberately offended. Yes, I know one person who does but that is all.

The same goes for my black DiL, she thinks there is far too much outcry from people of colour who choose to be offended when there is no offence, subtle or otherwise. She is very successful in her career and never experienced prejudice. Should my DS be offended when he looks at certain grant applications and knows he doesn't have a chance because he is a white, heterosexual, fully fit male?

I have experienced discrimination because of the colour of my skin (eg. Being ignored deliberately in shops, nasty comments etc.) I'm blonde, blue eyed and pale skinned. So for those of you who have no experience of racial discrimination let me explain that subtle inferences can hurt when you are feeling sensitive and picked upon.
I have looked at the whole advert, not just the doctored version being used to drum up indignation and feel that no racist suggestion was intended. However......it can easily be misinterpreted and this should have been foreseen and the advert pulled.

I understand that some black people have objected to the advert. Since white people, generally speaking, have little or no experience of being discriminated against because of their colour, I don't think it is for them to pronounce that there was nothing offensive about the advert.

Why should the colour of a person's skin have any relevance to the soap they use anyway?

I don't suppose it was intended to be offensive to black people (at least not consciously) but the advert can obviously be interpreted negatively.

Grampie

Thanks for the link to the words from the model in the Dove Ad .

I posted about the context so I was pleased to see her words.

" I can see how the snapshots that are circulating the web have been misinterpreted, considering the fact that Dove has faced a backlash in the past for the exact same issue. There is a lack of trust here, and I feel the public was justified in their initial outrage. Having said that, 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."

Lola Ogunyemi , the model in the advert, is obviously not only a beautiful young woman but a smart one too.

Nonnie, (in response to your post)

I agree with you that there are people who pretend to be offended by a lot of things just to stir up trouble.

In this particular case, my comment is in support of the many people who genuinely find this ad offensive.

The ad in question is at the very least, 'racially insensitive', and where the probability of actually offending someone of color is more likely than not.

Where the public at large is concerned, advertisers need to err on the side of caution....where there is any doubt or question as to whether something is racist or not, that in and of itself should be the same as a resounding 'yes'!

I think the advertisement has been removed and apologies made....

I am actually far more shocked by the new Kinder Surprise Egg advert with it's Hello Kitty in the pink egg and Hot Wheels toys in the blue eggs. Yuck.

Their breastfeeding ad was as bad. It implied that even though no one likes to see a breastfeeding mum Dove would still support both for and against camps.

I agree with Witzend - I find all the Dove ads extremely irritating; they assume that we are all dimwits, and that patronising voice-over! I mute the ads whenever they appear. Perhaps it's time Dove found themselves a new advertising agency.

If you watch all of the advert (thanks FarNorth) surely you can see that it's skin types - black, white and Mediterranean? It's not about changing anybody into anybody! How can one colour be seen to be superior?! Beyond me.

They are trying so hard to be fully 'diverse' because ethnic diversity is the buzz Thing at the moment that they trip over themselves.

Oh willa I cannot agree with you. I have met someone who looks for reasons to be offended and finds them where they don't exist. Perhaps you should read my earlier post.

I get the Dove soap being fine for all skin types.

But colour is not a skin type. Skin 'type' usually refers to the dry/greasy skin scale so using skin colour seems a bit daft. Unless it would be regarded as even more offensive to show dry flakey skin and spotty greasy skin.

Whether subtle or overt, it's definitely racist if people are offended by it.

Having seen this ad numerous times I would not rush to buy as it does not convey to me the message that this is the soap to beat all other soaps because ?
Because what ?.

Most comments here are referring to the ad edited to stir up trouble or clicks.

www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/oct/10/i-am-woman-racist-dove-ad-not-a-victim

First: consider how ridiculously inconceivable it is that an advertisment today would be designed with an intentional racist message.
Second: consider how some people now consider any MENTION of race to be racist.

Elrood - it wasn't controversial unless you have a very warped sense of what is offensive so I don't see how it could be deliberate.

Perhaps this controversial ad was deliberate. Look at all the free publicity it has been given .

Hasn't Dove apologised and removed the ad now?