Unilever, the consumer goods giant, will set up a diversity committee and an advisory board after apologizing for a racist hair care commercial in South Africa.
The advertisement of the British-Dutch company for its brand TRESemmé described the images of African black hair as “frizzy and dull,” while the hair of a white woman was referred to as “normal.”
It triggered an uproar on social media and sparked demonstrations led by the opposition Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) in a country where unequal treatment of black hair evokes painful memories of racist prejudices.
South Africa has a history of having suffered from the apartheid, which allowed differential treatment for whites and non white people causing a number of generations to suffer from poverty, racism and violence.
The then government used a “pencil test” to assess someone’s racial identity: a pencil was inserted into a person’s hair, and if it did not fall, the person was considered not white.
“We were shocked to discover that we had supplied images for the Clicks website that portrayed black hair as inferior. This was racist and we apologize unreservedly,” Unilever said in a statement.
What has Unilever promised?
The firm is evaluating all marketing strategies and pictures in its South Africa portfolio “to ensure that they balance our pledge to celebrate all beauty and to encourage diversity and inclusion.”
It will also set up a new Diversity and Inclusion Assets Committee and an Advisory Board with internal and external experts to explore how its hair care products in South Africa can deliver solutions to customers.
The household goods company behind the brands will also collaborate with the new advisory board to create services to provide direct assistance to black hair stylists and small independent salons in the country.
Unilever has also decided to withdraw all of its TRESemmé hair care items from South African retail stores for 10 days to express regret after some retailers started removing the items. Further, it will also donate 50,000 sanitary pads and 50,000 sanitizers and masks to rural communities. Lastly, Unilever will accelerate training programs to reduce unconscious bias among employees.
The beauty standards
Perceptions of double standards and accusations of prejudice have been the focus of ongoing debate in South Africa, even 26 years after the oppressive apartheid ended.
Lighter skin and softer hair continues to be considered supreme and desirable, which is further reinforced by global giants like Unilever.
African stylists claim that American brands continue to have more shelf space than local brands, despite the South African climate being dryer than America, indicating the gap.
Not the first time
It’s not the first time in South Africa that marketing campaigns have resulted in backlash against a company.
In 2018, the EFF also led demonstrations at Swedish retail giant H&M stores in South Africa over an online commercial featuring a black boy sporting a “coolest monkey in the jungle” sweatshirt.
H&M apologized for the ad and pulled the product out of its stores worldwide.
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