Dove's new VisibleCare body wash print advertisement has prompted cries of racial insensitivity. The ad promises, "visibly more beautiful skin from the most unexpected place - your shower." Standing in an art gallery, three smiling towel clad women - one black, one Latina, and one white - exude a satisfied afterglow, presumably from the body wash. Behind them displayed like works of art on the wall are two large canvases. One depicts a close-up of cracked dry-skin "before" using VisibleCare, and the other shows the smooth, healthy and tan "after" skin. The blogosphere erupted in response.
As The Huffington Post reported, "Copyranter's takeaway: 'Dove body wash turns Black Women into Latino Women into White Women.' Jezebel refers to it as 'unintentionally (?) racist,' adding, 'Bye-bye black skin, hello white skin! (Scrub hard!)'" But, in the context of the impending browning of America, there is another reading of the ad, which caused me to chuckle.
When I saw the awkward composition, I could not help but imagine the Dove executives engaged in an uncomfortable negotiation about the color of the skin canvases that would be placed behind three women of different skin tones. Let me say, that I've seen the commercial, which illustrates the broader narrative a bit better.
A group of fully clothed women of all colors gasp and twitter with delight at a gallery opening to celebrate their new healthy skin after weeks of using the body wash. They dash about the room to view the evidence of their transformations: the many-hued - but decidedly medium toned - "before" and "after" photographs displayed like works of art.
The print ad had a much more difficult objective - to send the message in one image. The gallery full of clothed women was reduced to three women wearing towels, which is totally unrealistic, but presumably to make the point of their individual skin transformations. There was only enough space on the page for one "before" and "after" comparison. The Dove executives split the skin-color difference. The company chose a toasted brown that is closest to the Latina's mid-range skin-tone.
The census numbers have shown a decided population shift to toward "majority minority" in the U.S., which is predicted to tip by 2042. According to the data, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, New Mexico, California and Texas are already majority minority, and eight more states are expected to follow soon. The minority population has been surging based on new births, particularly Hispanic, and more people who have identified as multiracial.
In 2005, Dove's marking director Kathy O'Brien told 'Newsweek' that the company wanted to "change the way society views beauty," and "provoke discussion and debate." O'Brien was then responding to the controversy caused by the "Campaign for Real Beauty," which was criticized for glorifying being over-weight by featuring full-figured real women. The comment also holds true for the VisibleCare debate.
In fact, you could say the Dove brand has maintained the company's commitment to diversity and, albeit awkwardly, has embraced the future. The ad could have run with just the white woman and, ironically, there would not have been any hullabaloo. Since Dove kept both the black and Latina women in the VisibleCare campaign, I'd prefer to congratulate the company for choosing to acknowledge and target a multiracial America.
To paraphrase the ad copy, Dove delivers a visible reminder of what is to come from the most unexpected place - a beauty ad.