Model Asks Whether Dove Ad is a “Ploy to Go Viral”

Many have condemned a gif that was posted online by beauty brand Dove last week, which has since been removed after it was deemed racist.

The Facebook ad saw a black girl remove her top and turn into a white girl, before then transforming into an Asian girl – to which many took offence, believing that the ad suggested Dove was whitewashing its protagonists and promoting skin lightening.

The Unilever-owned brand found itself at the centre of the storm over the weekend, leading Dove to publically apologise on Twitter and pull the ad.

However the damage may already have been done as transgender model Munroe Bergdorf – who was sacked earlier in the year by L’Oreal over racist remarks – revealed that she wasn’t that shocked by Dove’s apparent insensitivity. She appeared on BBC news this morning and questioned whether the campaign “was a ploy to go viral” (below).

It’s not the first time that Dove has faced the wrath of social media users, having placed models of different skin colours in another campaign (below) to seemingly suggest the transformative effects of its beauty products. And many users are questioning why Dove hasn’t learnt from its previous mistakes.  

The Twittersphere is still kicking off - with some social media users throwing away Dove products and others questioning whether customers are becoming increasingly hyper sensitive. Moral of the story? They should have known their market.

Click here to read about another time Dove apologised for an ad.