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A new ad campaign from Vaseline is sparking debate in India. The company is marketing a skin lightening cream for men, which some are calling racist.
Vaseline enlisted a Bollywood star and a Facebook application as part of the campaign — the app lightens users’ skin in their profile pictures. Lightening creams for women have been available for about 30 years, but targeting men is a more recent trend. HLN says the products are popular, and NDTV points out that other brands are doing it, too.
RICHARD LUI: “A market research company says more than 200 products promising lighter skin have been launched there in the last five years — and actually those are popular all across Asia — these sort of skin-lightening things.”
“Brands like Emami, Garnier, L’Oreal and Nivea have roped in Bollywood stars to promote the product.”
But Jezebel.com says the Facebook application puts this campaign over the edge, and that Vaseline is promoting not only low self-esteem to the people of India, but racism too.
“In the past, advertisers had to create unrealistic images to make people feel bad about themselves … But now, Facebook users can create their own. It's crowdsourced insecurity, with an added bonus of racism.”
Vaseline released a statement saying that its skin-lightening products are no different than self-tanning creams in the U.S. and Europe. TotalBeauty.com supports the company, saying that the issue of skin lightening or darkening has to be tackled culturally.
“…skin care companies would only make what consumers would purchase.”
Do you think Vaseline’s campaign is offensive? Is it the company’s fault for promoting these products, or the consumer’s fault for wanting them?
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