Unilever set to strip ‘normal’ from all its beauty products and advertising
“Normal” could typically be found on products like shampoo, such as “for normal to oily hair.” The shift comes after several of the company’s advertising campaigns sparked a backlash. In 2017, an ad for Dove body wash showed a Black woman removing her shirt to reveal a White woman in the next frame — which seemed to emanate a racist trope from historical soap ads. The ad was pulled and Dove issued an apology.
“We know that removing ‘normal’ from our products and packaging will not fix the problem alone, but it is an important step forward,” said Sunny Jain, Unilever’s president of beauty and personal care. “We are committed to tackling harmful norms and stereotypes and shaping a broader, far more inclusive definition of beauty.”
Unilever recently commissioned a study of 10,000 people in the United States, United Kingdom, South Africa, Brazil, China, Indian, Indonesia, Nigeria and Saudi Arabia that found that 56 percent said that the beauty and personal care industry can make consumers feel excluded. Seven in 10 believe the word “normal” on product packaging and advertising has a negative impact on consumers, while 69 percent said they would recommend a beauty brand to others if it offered a wide range of products for different hair and skin types.
