Dove has apologized after releasing a series of "racist" images that appeared to show a black woman turning white after using their soap.
The Facebook advertising campaign used a series of four images, showing a black woman peeling off her T-shirt to reveal a white woman underneath her skin.
Dove has since apologized for the series of offensive images and removed them from Facebook. The brand later took to Twitter to apologize for the ad, claiming that they clearly "missed the mark" when representing women of color.
Makeup artist Naythemua, who first posted the images on Facebook, said the campaign was "tone deaf" and indicative of the messaging black people in the US receive about the color of their skin.
"What does America tell black people ... that we are judged by the colour of our skin and that includes what is considered beautiful in this country," she wrote. "To know that colorism is a problem in the world, that includes bleaching the skin, and they would put this ad out without a thought ... the tone deafness in these companies makes no sense."
This wouldn’t be the first time Dove has been accused of being racist in their ads. In 2011, they posted a before and after image that appeared to place three women from darkest to lightest, with the lightest woman suggested as the end result.
The brand said in a statement at the time: "All three women are intended to demonstrate the "after" product benefit. We do not condone any activity or imagery that intentionally insults any audience."
Source: complex.com
