Dove Ad Under Online Advertising Trend Backlash

Dove lands on the wrong side of online advertising trends.

Over the weekend, Dove received backlash for an online controversial ad that is being called racist. The ad has since been taken down and Dove has issued an apology, but with the #BoycottDove trending through the weekend you can expect their sales to take a significant impact.

Dove says they “missed the mark’ representing black women.

Although their ad was removed and an apology was sent out, it’s history of racist ads and backlash can be traced back to 2011 and highlights the company’s overall failure in creating a socially conscious stance on beauty and race. In a world where people are virtually always connected through social media, online advertising trends are always held to a moral check by numerous individuals around the world.

Dove’s racist advertising is nothing new… just the most recent of many pic.twitter.com/U3fdRICHZv

— Black Girl Culture (@blkgirlculture) October 8, 2017

Anything a company posts online are always held on an ethical pedestal.

When a company engages their audience on social media platforms, they must do so with the utmost professionalism so that no specific audience is targeted or represented negatively. In Dove’s recurring case, the company seems to fail in understanding how to properly represent socially conscious beauty without negatively depicting African American women.

Online advertising trends can make or break a company.

The power of social media lies in the ability it grants people to connect everywhere at any time, so when a company or ad is being discussed and trending online it can either be for something good or bad. Although sometimes trends can be constructed from memes, jokes and online humor, there are a specific set of ethical boundaries that should be recognized from any company engaging its demographics online. As for Dove, only time will tell whether “#BoycottDove” has an impact far greater outside the realm of social media and if they can foster a morally conscious online presence.

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