[ad_1]
South African women have turned an offensive hair care ad into a rallying cry to celebrate the beauty of their natural hair. This after an advertisement for Clicks Group described natural black hair as “dry, damaged, frizzy and dull.”
The backlash started on Friday when a Clicks ad describing different hair types started trending. In the ad there were pictures of four women: two black and two white.
The ad described the hair of the two black women as “dry and damaged” and “frizzy and lackluster”, while the hair of the white women was labeled “fine and straight hair” and “normal hair”.
Clicks Group has since removed the images and apologized.
“We acted quickly and immediately removed the offending images, which were provided by a vendor as part of their marketing campaign,” said Clicks Commercial Director Rachel Wrigglesworth.
“As a brand, we recognize that we have a responsibility to use whatever influence we have to remove implicit and explicit biases from society, the workplace and our advertising.”
TRESemmé South Africa, the brand that was being advertised, also apologized saying that the images do not endorse the brand’s values.
“The campaign was set out to celebrate the beauty of all hair types and the range of solutions that TRESemmé offers, but we were wrong,” says the statement on the company’s website.
“We are investigating how this happened and why it was not detected, and we will take all necessary steps to ensure that it does not happen again.”
An apology issued by Tresemme South Africa after the Clicks hair debacle | Image: Twitter
In response to the announcement, #clicksmustfall has been trending on social media and women have been posting pictures of their natural hair, celebrating their beauty.
My hair is not dry, frizzy, dull or damaged… it is normal, beautiful and defines me. AFRICAN! #clicsmustfall pic.twitter.com/anUIE4qsnu
– Phumeza Mdabe (@PhumezaMdabe) September 4, 2020
Fine straight hair could never ???????? ♂️ #clicsmustfall pic.twitter.com/RE6VAtfPku
– Sailen Naidoo (@SailenNaidoo) September 4, 2020
And we will continue to flaunt our crowns ✨ #clicsmustfall pic.twitter.com/B9fiatnGXR
– IG: @sgontsana_cpt (@sgontsana_cpt) September 4, 2020
#clicsmustfall @Clicks_SA When it comes to dull and damaged hair, Fuzzy Hair, you and your team are a disgrace to our democracy. pic.twitter.com/5UX7LSahp1
– Lumka Tamboer (@Lumkatamboer) September 4, 2020
Only here to flaunt my dry, damaged and frizzy hair. #clicsmustfall pic.twitter.com/Hk22py0EN5
– Matefo (@matefo_m) September 4, 2020
my hair is normal hair !! #BlackHairIsBeautiful #clicsmustfall pic.twitter.com/0qqSWn49t8
– ke veryfied ➐ YT: link in the biography ❤️ (@ke_veryfied) September 4, 2020
my hair is normal hair !! #BlackHairIsBeautiful #clicsmustfall pic.twitter.com/0qqSWn49t8
– ke veryfied ➐ YT: link in the biography ❤️ (@ke_veryfied) September 4, 2020
READ NEXT: EFF gives Clicks 24 hours to fulfill its list of demands … or
For more news your way, download The Citizen app to ios and Android.
[ad_2]
