Dove has been forced to apologise after releasing a series of images appearing to show a black woman turning white in a Facebook advert accused of being “racist”.
The cosmetics company said it “deeply regret(s)” the offence caused, admitting the images “missed the mark”.
The advert shows a series of photographs in which a black woman pulls off her T-shirt to reveal a white woman underneath.
Another image shows the white woman undressing to reveal an Asian woman.
The images were shared by make up artist ‘Naythemua’, who commented on her post: “What does America tell black people... that we are judged by the color of our skin and that includes what is considered beautiful in this country... they believe lighter representations should be at the forefront... and that the darker you are the less beautiful.”
She added: “The tone deafness in these companies makes no sense.”
Some commenters tried to defend the advert, with one writing on the post: “I think they meant it’s for all skin types... it went from black to white to another race.”
Another wrote: “Think its meaning is for all skin types? Must be more to the ad.”
But others said there was no excuse for the misleading campaign, with one woman writing: “No matter how it was intended... it conveys the wrong message.”
The post has been shared more than 8,000 times so far.
The advert has sparked a lot of debate on social media, with some saying the advert implies darker skin is “dirty”.
It is not the first time Dove has come under fire for the way its adverts depict women of colour.
In 2011, the Unilever company was accused of racism after a black woman was pictured stood by the “before” image in an advert and the white woman was by the “after”, with another woman, possibly Latino, standing between the pair.
Many at the time felt the lightest woman suggested the end result.
Dove said in a statement at the time: “The ad is intended to illustrate the benefits of using Dove VisibleCare Body Wash, by making skin visibly more beautiful in just one week.
“All three women are intended to demonstrate the ‘after’ product benefit. We do not condone any activity or imagery that intentionally insults any audience.”
HuffPost UK has contacted Dove for comment.
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