by TV One Staff

October 10, 2017

Photo Credit: Dove body wash commercial

Earlier this week, Dove went under fire for releasing an ad selling body wash that made more than a few of us raise an eyebrow.

Initially when the ad caused an uproar, only a portion of the commercial was shown: A woman with a dark skin complexion taking a t-shirt off and becoming a fair-skinned Caucasian woman. After more research, a full version surfaced featuring a woman with a medium complexion appearing after the fair-skinned woman–which to some, became less alarming:

Over the weekend, Dove apologized for their ad, which social media users deemed as racist after a screenshot of the ad went viral. Now, the entire ad has surfaced and many believe it was taken out of context.  What are your thoughts?

A post shared by Baller Alert (@balleralert) on Oct 9, 2017 at 4:16am PDT

Once negative reactions were received about the ad, the home goods brand went into apology mode:

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

pic.twitter.com/3wCK97h2x9

— Dove (@Dove) October 9, 2017

Racist or not, this ad is indicative of a larger problem: Were any of us (and by us, I mean Black) at the table when this concept/execution was presented? If so, were they comfortable enough to blow the whistle? It doesn’t seem like it. Diversity Inclusion should have a say when it comes to these kinds of decisions. Also, doesn’t Dove make chocolate as well? We won’t EVEN go into the irony of it all.

Overall, Black Twitter was unforgiving and made their disapproval known on the interweb via #DoneWithDove:

Nope. NO PASS. Unforgivable. #DoneWithDove forever pic.twitter.com/5sJulfrH4p

— jonalisa (@jonalisag) October 8, 2017

African Black Soap is better for your skin than Dove anyway #DoneWithDove

— PASSIONE 👑 🇹🇹 (@look2good) October 8, 2017

one of these is from 2017 right? they all look the same to me. #DoneWithDove #Boycottdove #DoveAd #dove pic.twitter.com/ozS3zjP1ZQ

— ari 💕 (@ariedward_o) October 8, 2017

TELL US: Are you #DoneWithDove or is this blown way out of proportion?

TV One

Black CoverGirls: Past & Present

10 photos Launch gallery

Black CoverGirls: Past & Present

1. Lana Ogilvie - The FIRST Black CoverGirl

Source:Laura Cavanaugh/FilmMagic 1 of 10

2. Ayesha Curry

Source:Robin L Marshall/Getty Images 2 of 10

3. Queen Latifah

Source:Frazer Harrison/Getty Images 3 of 10

4. Eva Marcille

Source:Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic 4 of 10

5. Paula Patton

Source:Michael Loccisano/Getty Images 5 of 10

6. Rihanna

Source:Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Fenty Beauty 6 of 10

7. Tyra Banks

Source:Photo by Desiree Navarro/WireImage 7 of 10

8. Brandy

Source:Paul Archuleta/FilmMagic 8 of 10

9. Issa Rae

Source:Robin Marchant/Getty Images 9 of 10

10. Janelle Monae

Source:Jamie McCarthy/FilmMagic 10 of 10

Skip ad

TV One Continue reading Dove Apologizes For ‘Racist’ Ad But Was It Really?

Black CoverGirls: Past & Present