Just like a campaign is to a Presidential election, an advertisement acts as theplatform for any product. It is themessage depicted within an ad thatdictates the concept behind a product,and not vice versa. And this cannot beseen more evidently than in the case ofone of Unilever‛s most successful beautyproduct lines, Fair and Lovely™.
Fair and Lovely™ promises consumers the best formula to help lighten and nourish theskin. Despite whitening creams having alegitimate purpose of evening out blemisheson medium to fair skin, Fair and Lovely™ ispersuading its consumers that their beautydictates their self-worth and value to society.Surprisingly, this is an extreme contradictionto Unilever’s other successful beauty line,Dove™.
Renowned worldwide as number one, the line of whitening creams is manipulating a cultural preferenceheld among South East Asia, Africa, and Arab nationsfor fairer skin. Through its commercials, Fair and Lovely™claims that the lightness of skin color reflects thecompetence and worthiness of a person. Through thedistortion of product identity, we see the true power ofadvertising.
Dove™ promotes their brand philosophy of Real Beauty™ inthe western world. By redefiningbeauty, Dove™ is attempting tofree women of their sense ofself-doubt and encourage themto embrace their own individuallooks. Fair and Lovely™ is muchdarker.
Design Magazine decided to test this domineering power ofmarketing by asking people inSaudi Arabia what they thought ofFair and Lovely™.
Would it reflect the product and its multiple uses,or the harmful concept behind itsad campaign?
We also polled young Americans in New York City after showing themthe product and a translated ArabFair and Lovely™ ad to eliminate anycultural variables. And the resultwas the same.
Propagating the idea that being whiter is better, and better in away that is not only beautiful, butalso more adequate for the positionshe is seeking......responds Thomas Blackburn, ٢٣, from Tennessee to theFair and Lovely™ commercial.
The general consensus onFair and Lovely™ was based on what the ad rather thanthe product itself and its uses.
They thought the productwas racist for changing skin color. Also, a young Saudicollege students echoed this sentiment.
You don‛t need to be white to be lovely!...said Loulwa Al-Saud, a student at Dar Al-Hikma.
She,along with most of the youth of Jeddah and New York City,the general reaction to the product line was: Manyfound the concept of lightening theskin to be extremely racist.
But what about self-tanners?
Different sides of the same coin, self-tannersare everywhere, changing many fair people into bronze gods andgoddesses, and no one seems to think it’s racist. “This is different than howself-tanners are portrayed in commercials, in that it [Fair and Lovely™] hasracial undertones that get you a job, not just beauty,” explains Thomas.Advertising molds the product. This is known. It can limit or expand on theconcept of a product, making it appear however it wants it to. Through thenegative advertising choices of one product, Fair and Lovely, we see thatthe power of advertising can overshadow the product itself, transforming itinto an identity.