Lola Ogunyemi Dove Racist AD

Nigerian-Born Model In Dove’s ‘Racist’ Ad Speaks Out And It’s Not What You Expect


 

Recently, Dove, a beauty brand owned by Unilever, was heavily criticized for a racist ad campaign it ran on Facebook.

Last Saturday, the multinational issued a public apology regarding the advert but it failed to drown the anger of Nigerians and blacks at large.

Much of the backlash remained even after the full version of the ad surfaced, showing the white woman further changing to an Asian woman, in the fashion of Michael Jackson‘s popular video for his song “Black or White.”

Watch the video below

However, in an opinion piece on Guardian UK, titled, “I am the woman in the ‘racist Dove ad’. I am not a victim,” Lola Ogunyemi, the black woman featured in the ad shared her views about the role she played in the advert.

She explained that her reason for taking up the chance to be the face of a new body wash by Dove was because she saw an opportunity to change the mindset that dark people needed to be lighter to look better.

She Wrote:

“Having the opportunity to represent my dark-skinned sisters in a global beauty brand felt like the perfect way for me to remind the world that we are here, we are beautiful, and more importantly, we are valued,”


 

“If I had even the slightest inclination that I would be portrayed as inferior, or as the “before” in a before and after shot, I would have been the first to say an emphatic “no”. I would have (un)happily walked right off set and out of the door. That is something that goes against everything I stand for.”

Talking more  on the advert, she said:

“Again, I was the first model to appear in the ad, describing my skin as ‘20% dry, 80% glowing’, and appearing again at the end. I loved it, and everyone around me seemed to as well. I think the full TV edit does a much better job of making the campaign’s message loud and clear.”

“I remember all of us being excited at the idea of wearing nude T-shirts and turning into one another. We weren’t sure how the final edit was going to look, nor which of us would actually be featured in it, but everyone seemed to be in great spirits during filming, including me.”

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Noting how Dove had been criticized for the same thing in the past, Lola said that “the narrative has been written without giving consumers context on which to base an informed opinion.”

Even though Lola, a US-born Nigerian, agrees with Dove’s apologies, she feels that they should have also defended their creative vision, and their choice to include her, an undeniably dark-skinned black woman, as a part of their campaign.

Asserting further on her race and beauty, Lola said “I am not just some silent victim of a mistaken beauty campaign. I am strong, I am beautiful, and I will not be erased”





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