Dove Apologizes, Removes Ad Criticized For Racial Insensitivity

Dove has apologized and pulled an ad after the commercial was criticized for being racially insensitive. The company acknowledged that the three-second video clip posted to its Facebook page that showed a brown woman removing a sweater only to transform into a white woman "got it wrong."

The ad promoting body wash featured three women of different ethnicities, and Dove said in a statement the short video was "intended to convey that Dove body wash is for every woman and be a celebration of diversity, but we got it wrong."

The short ad starts with a black woman removing a sweater only to reveal a white woman. The second woman removes her shirt only to show a third woman who is also light skinned. Some took the ad to mean that Dove was promoting the idea that white skin is cleaner than black skin, a concept that many pointed out has been used in ads selling soap in the past. People also questioned how the ad was able to make it through whatever vetting procedures Dove has in place.

Dove, which is owned by Unilever, said that the ad did not "represent the diversity of real beauty, which is something Dove is passionate about and is core to our beliefs, and it should not have happened. We have removed the post and have not published any other related content. This should not have happened and we are re-evaluating our internal processes for creating and approving content to prevent us making this type of mistake in the future. We apologize deeply and sincerely for the offense that it has caused and do not condone any activity or imagery that insults any audience."

You can watch the ad below:

What do you think? Was Dove right to pull the ad?

Image via Pixabay