Dove has landed itself in hot water over its latest advertising campaign for its VisibleCare Body Wash.
The advert features a ‘before’ and ‘after’ skin chart behind a black woman, possibly a Latina and a white woman - all wrapped in towels - standing beside each other.
The caption under the advert reads: 'Visibly more beautiful skin from the most unexpected of places - your shower.'
Critics have branded the advert racist, claiming it suggests Dove’s VisibleCare product can change a user’s skin colour.
READ OTHER TOP STORIES IN THE WDM CONTENT NETWORK:
Does Marks and Spencer need a makeover?
Mobile Shopping: Hottest trend of the decade
Homeshop18 launches its next generation e-commerce portal
Americans didn't stop splurging after the holidays
One blogger wrote: “Bye-bye black skin, hello white skin! (Scrub hard!) Can this ad possibly be real?
“Some people think it is! If real, this could be the most unintentionally(?) racist skin care product ad in... about ten months.
However, is the ad really racist or has it just been poorly designed and executed?
Many believe the interpretation of the advert to be ludicrous. They argue that all the soap giant can be accused of is lining the women up in the wrong order, which would have avoided any controversy.
Dove has also spoken out over the controversial advert. “The ad is intended to illustrate the benefits of using Dove VisibleCare Body Wash, by making skin visibly more beautiful in just one week,” it said.
“All three women are intended to demonstrate the "after" product benefit. We do not condone any activity or imagery that intentionally insults any audience.”
