The idea was to promote their supplements to users who wanted the perfect beach body for summer. However, the ad quickly received plenty of backlash via social media. The problem with this ad campaign was the fact that it promoted “body shaming”. Many feminist groups noted that the wording of the ad insinuates that the body in the picture is the only “acceptable” beach body. This means that any other body type not like the one in the picture is “unready”.
The advert showed a black woman removing her top to reveal a white woman underneath after using Dove’s body lotion. The controversy caused by the advert is as clear as day. Not only is the advert racist, but it’s also insulting to viewers. The campaign was instantly removed from Facebook while the owners of the brand released a statement apologizing for the advert. The scary thing about this advert is that it must have been approved at some point during the marketing process, which makes it worrying that nobody thought it would cause offense.
The ad was plastered on billboards all over America with the tagline “Believe in something. Even if it means sacrificing everything”. The line is a nod to Kaepernick’s previous actions of not standing for the national anthem in protest over the treatment of ethnic minorities. After Kaepernick refused to stand for the national anthem, many viewers became angry at him and viewed him as anti-American. The fact that Nike was using him in their ads made many people believe Nike was also anti-American. This sparked a lot of controversies online with many social media users posting pictures of themselves destroying Nike products, along with the hashtag #JustBurnIt.
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