In 2017, the well known American company which originates in the United States and creates personal care and hygiene products known as Dove, released a Facebook video advertisement for their new body wash. Upon first glance, the advertisement is extremely problematic, as it embodies and perpetuates colonial and white supremacist ideologies, of what it is to be a “beautiful” women, while further perpetuating racist stereotypes and beauty standards. Within the ad, a black women is wearing a brown t-shirt to which after using the body wash, takes off the shirt miraculously turning into a white women, whom is wearing a nude coloured t-shirt. Firstly, the symbolization of the black women wearing a brown t-shirt in which it turns white, is racist and stems from white supremacist ideologies. It perpetuates the colonial narrative, that the colour of one’s skin determines their worth and value. If one is black, they are deemed inferior as the colour of their skin (within colonial and white supremacist ideologies), means they are uncivilized, savages, and aggressive. Importantly, the AD is for a body wash, therefore, (speaking in analytical terms) a black women turning white after using the body wash suggests, that it is able to remove dirt by turning a black women “clean” and “white”, again a racist and colonial narrative. In regards to the gendered aspect of the advertisement, it further ignites the colonial ideology that black women are not the ideal “women”, and lack feminine characteristics, such as having white skin, small features and so forth. This has been seen throughout history for example, Sarah Baartman (whom was forced into “freakshows” due to her body), Serena Williams (who faces daily scrutiny for being too “manly”) or simply a black women standing up for herself, being racially labeled as “aggressive”. Therefore, this advertisement validates the notion that black women are inferior to white women, as the white women pictured is symbolized as the ultimate goal. The advertisement is aimed at stating that being a women, specifically a white women, is what every black women should strive for, as they are the embodiment of feminity and beauty. The advertisement, also mimics a modern form of skin lightening advertisements that still exist, but were extremely popular in the past. They were used to encourage black women to lighten their skin, promoting white skin to be superior resulting in, more beauty, more fun, more love and increased feminity. 

 

Above is the my jammed version of the dove facebook video advertisement. I decided to remove the white women and add the phrase, “A body wash for the human race, the most beautiful race”. I completely removed the white women, keeping the focus on the black women in hopes of decolonizing the ad. The goal for this new add is to emphasize the beauty of black women and to oppose racist, and colonial versions of beauty standards. Including the phrase, “A body wash for the human race, the most beautiful race” which is meant to perpetuate equality and deconstruct the notion that there are superior and inferior races, a completely false colonial and white supremacist ideology. This jammed ad, resists gendered racial ideologies and stereotypes regarding black folks and instead, emphasizes their beauty. This new ad also depicted the black women in a positive light, unlike the previous ad in which she was shown in racially negative terms and objectified. The ad is meant to invoke feelings of equality, agency and liberty for black women and people of colour. It as well flips the script, displaying black women as the embodiment of feminity and beauty, instead of white women. My goal was to create a new ad rooted in equality, that did not include a repressive narrative such as the first one, but to morph the ad into one that showcases black beauty, and emphasizes that there are no inferior nor superior races, but instead just the human race.