‘Ready for a Dove shower?’ Cosmetics brand angers the internet with ‘racist’ ad

dove soap advertisement mike mozart flickr
Mike Mozart via Flickr (CC BY 2.0, resized)

Cosmetics brand Dove has become the bane of the internet after it posted an advertisement considered to be racist.

The ad, which was last week posted to Facebook, takes the form of a three-second long GIF. It depicts a black, dark-haired woman removing her shirt, to reveal a white red-haired woman.

Screengrabs of the advertisement later appeared on social media.

“Ready for a Dove shower? Sulfate Free with 100% gentle cleansers, our body wash gets top marks from dermatologists,” wrote Dove in the ad.

A third woman, who isn’t displayed in a number of the screenshots, appears after the white woman removes her shirt.

Dove on Saturday pulled the advertisement, and issued a response on Twitter.

“An image we recently posted on Facebook missed the mark in representing women of color thoughtfully. We deeply regret the offense it caused,” the company noted.

Social media was not impressed by the advertisement or response from the company.

“You can do better than “missed the mark’,” tweeted movie director Ava DuVernay.

“White supremacy alive and well in boardrooms,” wrote another user.

Others showed their contempt through GIFs of their own.

The hashtag #dove and #dovead began trending across South Africa on Twitter Monday morning.

Feature image: Mike Mozart via Flickr (CC BY 2.0, resized)

Andy Walker, former editor
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