Dove Facebook Ad Controversy

Overview

Dove Facebook Ad Controversy refers to a short advertisement for Dove body wash in which women take off their shirts to reveal another woman underneath, which was accused of being racist for showing a Black woman changing into a White woman after removing her shirt.

Background

In early October 2017, the Dove Facebook page posted a short looping GIF in which a Black woman removes her shirt to reveal a white woman, who then removes her shirt to reveal another woman (shown below).

Developments

Online Reaction

Following the release of the ad, Twitter user @AriannaModels^[1] tweeted a screenshot of the black woman turning into the white woman, along with the message "Wtf is this suppose to mean @dove" (shown below). Within 72 hours, the tweet gained over 16,200 retweets and 13,000 likes.

Dove's Apology

On October 7th, the ad was removed from Facebook and the @Dove^[3] Twitter account tweeted an apology, saying "an image we recently posted on Facebook missed the mark in representing women of color thoughtfully." Two days later, Dove tweeted a statement that the ad was "intended to convey that Dove body wash is for every woman and be a celebration of diversity" but that they "got it wrong" (shown below).^[4]

Online Reaction

On October 9th, 2017, "The Young Turks": released an episode discussing the ad (shown below).

Lola Ogunyemi's Response

On October 10th, an op-ed authored by Nigerian model Lola Ogunyemi was published by The Guardian titled "I am the woman in the 'racist Dove ad'. I am not a victim," in which she revealed her experience filming the ad was positive but that she understood why some were upset.

Search Interest

External References