NEW YORK — Dove is facing heat for a body wash ad showing a black woman taking off her shirt to reveal a white woman, with many social media users calling it racist.
The company said Saturday it regrets the offense caused by the ad. It says it “missed the mark in representing women of color thoughtfully.” It has removed the post from its Facebook page.
The ad was a gif showing a black woman taking off her brown shirt to reveal a white woman, who then took off her lighter-colored shirt, revealing a woman of color in a slightly darker shirt.
Circulating broadly online is a group of four images from the ad showing only the black woman turning into the white woman.
Dove's racist advertising is nothing new... just the most recent of many pic.twitter.com/U3fdRICHZv
— Blk Girl Culture (@blkgirlculture) October 8, 2017
The Rev. Michael Pfleger, senior pastor of St. Sabina Church, via his Facebook page called for a boycott of Dove.
Dove is owned by British-Dutch company Unilever.
An image we recently posted on Facebook missed the mark in representing women of color thoughtfully. We deeply regret the offense it caused.
— Dove (@Dove) October 7, 2017