WTF Dove?!?

[Drunken Irishman]

http://www.feministe.us/blog/archives/2011/05/24/dove-visibly-more-white-beautiful-skin/

[ramona come closer]

1. There's already a thread on this...n/t

[Lucian]

2. Already covered:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=439&topic_id=1164562&mesg_id=1164562

[Drunken Irishman]

3. Thanks! I was in so much shock, I didn't bother to check for duplicates.

[Lucian]

4. Shocked from what?

[ZombieHorde]

5. The before and after is not referring to the women, it is referring the to the skin photos. nt

[Lucian]

6. Exactly.

This is all nothing but fauxrage.

[Luminous Animal]

9. As a commenter to the linked article said, "Thank, Captain Obvious...

Way to completely refuse to acknowledge the other messages, intentional or not, communicated within the image. I have to wonder if any designers or executives involved in the creation and approval of this advertisement pointed out the obvious problem, and if so how those criticisms were received.

I dread the denials and cries of “political correctness run amok!” that are likely to be made in response to the criticism."

[ZombieHorde]

10. You are upset about an illusion created by your mind. nt

[Luminous Animal]

12. Funny thing about the mind, one of it's more delightful functions is capturing and

interpreting images. In this case, it is easy to miss the details (especially if one is myopic like me) of the dry skin. It simply is not clear to me that the background photos are images of skin. Esthetically, it looked

What is clear to me is that the black woman stands under the before label and the white woman stands under the after label.

I do not believe that Unilever did this intentionally but that is not the point. The point is that is out there and it is offensive.

[Prometheus Bound]

13. If you saw Dove ads in India and the Philippines you would not say that.

[ZombieHorde]

15. I am not familiar with Dove ads in India or the Philippines,

so I don't really know what you are referring to. Can you give me some more information?

[Prometheus Bound]

16. I had Philippines satellite TV for a couple of years. Their ads make it clear white is beautiful.

I know they're just giving women what they want, but I find it repulsive.

Real Beauty... If You're White
http://thetyee.ca/Views/2007/08/30/RealBeauty/

Unilever = Dove and Fair & Lovely

[ZombieHorde]

19. Wow, they are trying to lighten their skin, while so many women in the US go to tanning salons.

No matter what a woman does, the media will tell her she is wrong.

[Autumn]

7. There is a black woman, a hispanic woman.

and a white woman, wearing nothing but towels. WTF. What's the problem? It's an add for a body soap that is really good.:shrug:

[notadmblnd]

8. well if you look at the photos of the skin behind the models

they are showing- that by using Dove, there will be less soap residue left on the skin or that it improves the look of your skin by moisturizing it. Why they didn't put up photos of all three skin colors, I don't know. But just looking at it, I did not get the message that a Black or Hispanic woman could become white if she were to use Dove.


Some people, just look for reasons to keep their panties in a bunch. If anyone got a different message from the add, then they just weren't paying attention.

Disclaimer: I don't use Dove.

[Raine]

11. Totally agree nt

[Luminous Animal]

14. The problem with the ad, is that you have to look to find the skin. The labels "before" and "after"

are more prominent. So, on first impression, the ad looks racist thus the ad is a failure.

[notadmblnd]

17. Not at all my "first" impression

My first impression was- 3 beautiful ladies wrapped in towels. Why?

The pictures of the skin are the biggest items on the page. I didn't have to look for it.:shrug:

[Luminous Animal]

20. And this isn't all about you.

This is about the collective you and there are plenty of people (enough that Dove had to issue a non-apology apology) who didn't see the difference in the 2 background panels but rather it was the words on the women who stood out so that their initial reaction was disgust.


For those who missed the details on the skin panel, the image is racist. And once seen, it is impossible to put that reaction back into the bottle.

[notadmblnd]

22. No, apparently it is about you and your opinions being more valid than mine

And I mean the collective "you" "your"

The ad I saw, the words were on the panels, not the women. And I can't possibly be the only one that saw the ad as intended. However, if one looks for it hard enough- I guess they'll find something to bellyache about.

[Quantess]

23. The first thing I saw was the before-after with a progression of skin color.

The second thing I saw was the skin texture with labels on it. I am able to see the ad both ways, but I saw it the racist way upon first glance.

[Quantess]

18. Agreed.

It looks like the implication is that using Dove makes you progressively whiter.

[notadmblnd]

24. The message that a Black or Hispanic woman could become white if she were to use Dove, is absurd

[Quantess]

25. Of course! Most underlying messages in advertising are absurd.

Glade air fresheners will make you the queen of the party circuit.

Mick Jagger sings, "a man comes on the radio...says I can't be a man cause he does not smoke the same cigarettes as me"

And as has been pointed out, women in Haiti bleach their skin.

It's all subtle manipulation.

[hlthe2b]

21. The cluelessness behind the ad is arguably amusing...

Don't bite my head off, but I strongly suspect what we are all seeing totally escaped the creators, who probably thought they were being politically correct by including a Caucasian, African American and what seemingly may be a Latina.

Yes, the ad's seeming message sucks, but I'm willing to bet it was unintentional.