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Unilever has apologized for a racist advertisement.
- Unilever SA acknowledges that the hair advertisement posted on the Clicks website was racist and apologizes without reservation.
- He says he was “shocked” to find that he provided the images in question.
- Unilever SA said it would establish a new Diversity and Inclusion Assets Committee.
Unilever South Africa says it was surprised to find that it had provided images for a TRESemmé ad on the Clicks website that depicted black hair as inferior.
“This was racist and we apologize without reservation,” Unilever SA said in a statement on Friday.
This comes after a hair ad posted on the Clicks website sparked outrage. The ad described white women’s hair as “fine and flat” and “normal”, while black women’s hair was described as “dry and damaged” and “curly and dull.”
This resulted in an EFF protest that closed Clicks stores across the country.
The protest was canceled after EFF leadership met with Unilever and Clicks management on Thursday.
READ: EFF, Clicks bury the ax, Unilever to take out all TRESemmé products for 10 days
Unilever SA, which licenses TRESemmé products, says it immediately began an investigation to understand what happened.
“At the same time, we began to review all the marketing and imagery campaigns in our South African portfolio to ensure they match our commitment to celebrate all beauty and promote diversity and inclusion,” added Unilever SA.
Unilever SA says it will be:
– Establish a new diversity and inclusion assets committee, representative of its consumers, to ensure that future advertising campaigns and publicity materials reflect its values.
– Create an advisory board with internal and external experts to review how your hair care products in South Africa can offer consumers the solutions they want in positive and empowering terms.
– Work with the new advisory council to develop programs that provide immediate support to black stylists and small professional salons.
– Review their mandatory diversity and inclusion training, accelerating their training on unconscious biases for all staff.
News24 reported that following its meeting with the EFF on Thursday, Unilever SA agreed to have its retailers remove TRESemmé from its shelves for 10 days.
“We want to reiterate our sincere apologies to all South Africans and the offense caused to black women in particular. We also apologize to the Clicks group.
“We will learn from this failure and accelerate our efforts to support the transformation of society, represent all communities and celebrate all beauty,” concluded Unilever SA.
