Unilever

CNNMoney reviewed a three-second GIF posted to Dove’s U.S. Facebook page: a Black woman removes a dark shirt and a white woman appears. The New York Times wrote that the cut evoked a long-running racist soap trope—a “dirty” Black person cleansed into whiteness. Reuters recorded the same criticism. Separately, in 2011 The Root and HuffPost covered a VisibleCare print ad that placed a Black model under “before” and a white model under “after.” Dove said all three women were meant to show the “after.”

• Ad pulled
  October 2017: Dove Facebook GIF, Black woman to white womanThe New York Times reported on October 8, 2017, that a Facebook ad for Dove body wash showed a Black woman removing a brown shirt to reveal a white woman in a light shirt. The Times wrote that the three-second GIF, compiled into a collage online, evoked a long-running racist soap-advertising trope: a “dirty” Black person cleansed into whiteness. CNNMoney said the GIF was posted Friday to Dove’s Facebook page with the line “Ready for a Dove Shower?” and showed a looping image of a Black woman removing a dark brown T-shirt to reveal a white woman, who then removes a beige T-shirt to show a third woman. Reuters said the clip reminded some users of older soap ads that showed Black people scrubbing skin to become white. Those are critics’ and reporters’ characterizations of the published image, not a court finding.Source: The Guardian ↗
• Print-ad criticism
  2011: VisibleCare before/after skin-tone ad criticismIn May 2011 The Root reported criticism of a Dove VisibleCare body-wash print ad: close-ups labeled before and after, with three women underneath—one Black, one Latina, one white—in descending order of melanin. Styleite, quoted by The Root, said the layout visually communicated that dark skin was the “before.” HuffPost recorded Unilever/Dove’s statement that all three women were intended to demonstrate the “after” product benefit and that the company did not condone imagery that intentionally insults any audience. TIME’s 2017 Dove coverage recapped the same 2011 VisibleCare episode. That is advertising criticism and a company statement, not a court case.Source: The Root ↗