TGIF Feature: Beauty products manufacturer rebranding skin care products in wake of Black Lives Matter demonstrations

Lighter skin actresses have an advantage in the Philippines' movie-making industry.

Who would have though that the death of a black man in Minneapolis would have such a worldwide impact and trigger a series of seemingly unrelated societal changes that may indicate a worldwide cultural shift on the concept of beauty?

George Floyd's horrible videotaped death triggered worldwide protests against inequitable justice and, in general, a loud outcry against all forms of racism that through the centuries have been imbedded in institutions and cultures.

When Bollywood actresses, including Priyanka Chopra Jonas, added their voices against racism and support of the Black Lives Matter movement, they were accused for their apparent hypocrisy for enjoying the benefits of "colorism" for the roles they were awarded.  

The Bollywood actresses were also criticized for promoting products that were based on the "colorism" that placed  a higher value of light-skin over dark-skin.

That debate has been going on for years in Asia -- from South Asia to East Asia -- where the preference for light skin was explained away as a cultural/class value because dark skin meant the person worked under the sun in the fields. 

Some Asian countries such as India, Vietnam and the Philippines, were affected by centuries of European and US imperialism that imposed the desire for lighter skin tones. 

Amid the growing global awareness of racism spurred by the killing of Floyd and the Black Matters Movement, the attacks against colorism appear to be gaining some traction from unexpected sources, including beauty product manufacturers.

Unilever announced Thursday (June 25) the next step in the evolution of its skin care portfolio to a more inclusive vision of beauty – which includes the removal of the words ‘fair/fairness’, ‘white/whitening’, and ‘light/lightening’ from its products’ packs and communication. As part of this decision, the Fair & Lovely brand name will be changed in the next few months.

Sunny Jain, Unilever's president of Beauty & Personal.

Sunny Jain, Beauty & Personal Care president, explains, “We are fully committed to having a global portfolio of skin care brands that is inclusive and cares for all skin tones, celebrating greater diversity of beauty. We recognize that the use of the words ‘fair’, ‘white’ and ‘light’ suggest a singular ideal of beauty that we don’t think is right, and we want to address this. As we’re evolving the way that we communicate the skin benefits of our products that deliver radiant and even tone skin, it’s also important to change the language we use.”

“We have been working on the evolution of our Fair & Lovely brand, which is sold across Asia, progressively moving to a more inclusive vision of beauty that celebrates skin glow. We have changed the advertising, communication and – more recently – the packaging in South Asia, and we think it’s important that we now share the next step that we have been working on: changing the brand name. We will also continue to evolve our advertising, to feature women of different skin tones, representative of the variety of beauty across India and other countries. We want Fair & Lovely to become a brand that celebrates glowing and radiant skin, regardless of skin tone,” adds Jain.

Unilever’s ”Fair & Lovely” brand dominates the market in South Asia, while similar products are sold by L’Oréal and Procter & Gamble. Amid Black Lives Matter protests in recent weeks, a number of the businesses are heavily criticized for selling products promoting colorism, or discrimination supported complexion.

The brand’s advertising has been changing since 2014, to a message of women empowerment. Fair & Lovely upholds principles that no association should be made between skin tone and a person’s achievement, potential or worth. Unilever is aware that historic advertising is available on the internet; these ads are not aligned with the current values of the brand, adds the company in a statement. 

A Unilever ad in India plays off a cultural value by implycing the effect of one of its skin products

In 2019, Unilever reflected this evolution on the Fair & Lovely pack in India, removing before-and-after impressions and shade guides that could indicate a transformation; and we have progressed all communication of product benefits towards glow, even tone, skin clarity and radiance.

As part of this journey to embrace and reflect a more inclusive vision of beauty, the next significant step is to update its brand name, which will be shared once several legal and regulatory requirements are met in each country where the brand is available. This registration process is already underway, and we expect to be able to unveil the new brand name within the next few months.

Fair & Lovely has never been, and is not, a skin bleaching product, the European-based company claims. The product is designed to improve skin barrier function, improve skin firmness and smoothen skin texture - all of which help enhance radiance and glow, as currently represented in advertising and communication.

Whether Unilever's historic marketing decision is a game-changer in terms of redefining beauty is still up in the air. A steamroller effect may be in play as rival Johnson & Johnson also said this month it might stop selling skin-whitening creams.

Separately, a source within French beauty products giant L’Oréal in India said the company was also having discussions in regards to its marketing strategies. It markets skin lightening products under both its L’Oréal and Garnier banners in India.

While Unilever's shift in its marketing strategy has received praise, in the U.S., there has been significant blowback from racists and their bots causing the international company to cease advertising in Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

In a press release issued Friday (June 26) morning, Unilever says: "The complexities of the current cultural landscape have placed a renewed responsibility on brands to learn, respond and act to drive a trusted and safe digital ecosystem.

"Given our Responsibility Framework and the polarized atmosphere in the U.S., we have decided that starting now through at least the end of the year, we will not run brand advertising in social media newsfeed platforms Facebook, Instagram and Twitter in the U.S. Continuing to advertise on these platforms at this time would not add value to people and society."

And ... so it goes!