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Dove launched a marketing campaign that showed a black woman “turning white” after using Dove Body Wash. Photo: Screengrabs
In the wake of the Clicks hair product advertising debacle, one of the biggest questions is how and why these ads keep popping up, and how this can be stopped.
South Africans were outraged when the Clicks retailer, on its website, showed an ad for TRESemmé that showed a white woman’s hair as “fine and flat” and “normal”, while a black woman’s hair was described as ” dry and damaged “and” frizzy and dull. ” . How did one of the largest retailers in South Africa get so wrong?
“Representation is important and it matters … Black women have been subject to the European aesthetic of beauty for centuries,” said Nelisa Ngqulana, CEO of PR Trendz ZA.
“Now we are at a time when African beauty in all its forms has its rightful places … For a brand that sells to black women, not knowing that portrays a sense of deafness and lack of respect for the dignity of people black, “Ngqulana said Daily maverick.
When asked about the impact of the images, Ngqulana said, “They take us back. They put us in a position where we must constantly explain ourselves and why we deserve respect … We shouldn’t have to be subject to this. It is not our place to educate constantly ”.
Shortly after the outrage began on social media, Clicks issued a statement on September 4: “We would like to issue an unequivocal apology. We have moved quickly to remove the images, which go against everything we believe at Clicks. We do not tolerate racism of any kind and we are strong advocates of natural hair, ”said the statement (posted on social media).
In recent days, a senior executive responsible for the ad has resigned, while the other people who were part of the Clicks team have been suspended and are awaiting disciplinary action.
All this while the EFF has protested in Clicks stores nationwide. The company has locked itself up in meetings with the political party over the images. Clicks has subsequently removed the TRESemmé range from its shelves and committed to replacing it with locally sourced hair products.
On September 8, Clicks wrote in a statement: “In addition, Clicks has been involved in extensive discussions with the Labor and Trade and Industry departments over the past few days and will work closely with them to help develop the local beauty market in South Africa.”
TRESemmé and its parent company, Unilever, have since apologized, and Shoprite Group (Shoprite and Checkers), Dis-Chem, Woolworths and Pick n Pay have removed TRESemmé products.
Clicks is just one of many companies that have been criticized for their underrepresentation.
In 2018, popular Swedish clothing brand H&M apologized after images showed a black boy wearing a T-shirt that read “Coolest monkey in the zoo.” In South Africa, the EFF took offense at this, calling it racist, and protests turned violent in stores. At the time, branding and advertising expert Thebe Ikalafeng said News 24 the ad was unacceptable as the word ‘monkey’ had been used against blacks “in a derogatory way to dehumanize them.” H&M issued an apology and said, “We agree with all the criticism this has generated, we have been wrong and we agree that even if involuntary, passive or casual racism should be eradicated wherever it exists.”
Retailer #HM has apologized for using a black boy to model a sweatshirt with the slogan #coolestmonkeyinthejungle after he was accused of racism. Users of social networks pointed out that white children were used to model 2 other shirts of the same line. The top is still available online pic.twitter.com/NoRavnBunr
– Voice of the Cape (@VOCfm) January 9, 2018
In 2017, the beauty brand Dove was criticized. The brand (coincidentally also owned by Unilever), launched a marketing campaign that showed a black woman “turning white” after using Dove Body Wash. The ad on social media showed Lola Ogunyemi, a dark-skinned model, removing her shirt to reveal a white woman underneath.
The ad received a global backlash, with Dove offering what many viewed as a frivolous apology: “An image we recently posted to Facebook failed to portray women of color thoughtfully. We deeply regret the offense it caused.
The ad was quickly withdrawn. This was not the first time Dove had failed. In 2011, a print ad for another body wash product showed three women standing in front of “before” and “after” blackboards: the black woman was the “before”, the white woman was the “after.”
The popular alcohol brand Savanna was criticized in August 2020 for an ad that did not show black women, although they are considered to be the main consumers of Savanna. The brand quickly responded with this tweet:
Well, this is a lot like the first night of stand up. We tried something, we got an L, we will and we will return. Thanks for the feedback. We hear you. # SiyavannaSouth Africa #WeGetYouSA
– SavannaCider (@SavannaCider) August 27, 2020
Savanna quickly apologized and replaced the ad with a new one.
Gail Schimmel, CEO of the Advertising Regulatory Board, said Daily maverick the board had received 10 complaints about the Clicks website ad.
“The Advertising Regulatory Board has as its main objective the protection of consumers. To that end, when we discover that an ad is misleading or offensive, we will instruct the advertiser to remove the ad to prevent future damage. As long as they cooperate, we will not issue any more sanctions, “said Schimmel.
She said Daily maverick that because Clicks removed the ad, issued an apology and took steps to address the problem, “therefore, it is not necessary for the Advertising Regulatory Board to intervene further, since the ad is no longer published and we would not be in a position to to issue new sanctions ”.
Schimmel said: “I … I think the sheer stupidity of the ad has outraged people, it is clearly a case of thoughtlessness, perpetuated by a team of people.”
When asked if there could be any change in the advertising industry, Schimmel said: “From our perspective, we are looking at what training we can do on what the rules really are. I strongly believe that knowing the rules, knowing that there are real rules about this kind of thing, will allow people to speak up and stand up when the ads make them uncomfortable in the conception stages. “
Bongani Gosa, creative director at advertising agency BWD, said clients should hold advertising companies accountable for diversity and representation. Gosa is part of Black Agencies, a directory where potential clients can search for black-owned agencies and black-run agencies in South Africa. The directory lists black-owned or black-run agencies that have more than five full-time employees and contactable details. It also provides information and support to these, either through potential projects or as a team for larger joint projects.
He said that in the recent Nikon case, where the camera brand ran an ad with a predominantly white group of influencers save for one black influencer, Gosa and other creatives went to the company and were told that Nikon would be boycotted until solve the problem.
Read in Sunday Times: Black creatives ask to boycott Nikon for lack of diversity in new campaign
“One of the other guys who met with the CEO talked to the CEO and told him this was wrong and the problem was fixed,” Gosa said, adding, “We address these issues as they arise.” Gosa said that these problems, like the Clicks, arise when power is not properly transformed, where blacks are juniors in advertising and marketing companies, but at the top level, executive decision-making corresponds to whites.
Pondering the issue, Creative Consultant and former Hero Marketing Executive Creative Director Jabulani Sigege said effective diversity lies in ensuring all voices are heard: “If their presence is not properly recognized or if they have been placed there for wrong reasons, so what’s the point? ”
When asked if executive marketing and advertising agencies are unable to detect that they have humiliated or offended black people, Gosa said: “You have seen gogos wearing sunglasses for MAQ [a popular washing powder brand], people dancing to pap … It happens all the time, when black people are made to look stupid. “
Gosa added that “advertising has been predominantly white, but over time, things have been slowly changing.”
He said that while there has been a transformation in the industry, there has been resistance, but admitted that there was a “lack of will to transform the industry because remember, the transformation must be led if we are to be frank and honest.”
Gosa said the transformation must be driven from the client side, asking if there are top black executives in the agencies and also within their own companies. “He’s giving the agency power and control, and he’s also almost forcing the agency to transform. If you don’t, nothing changes. ”
Regarding the effect of poor transformation on black women, Ngqulana said: “Black women are often invisible in boardrooms. Which means that sometimes we can be present around the table, yet our voices are not heard or taken seriously. ” DM
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