Advertisements around the world, depict culture norms and help dissect gender stereotypes. Across many countries, adverts are used to reinforce gender roles along with the product representation. Fair n Lovely is a brand which comes under the umbrella of Unilever and recently in 2020 changed their name to Glow n Lovely in essence to not restrict them to “fair” skin tones. Do we truly believe this? Considering the women in their adverts are still the same, they have a fairly fair skin tone with perfect symmetric features and no blemishes on their skin. How can we believe their statement when their actions are not in line with their statements?
The question is why the shift in name? Renaming the brand, emphasises on how the brand is more focused on radiance and provides a more holistic way to make your skin glowy which is a better indicator of skin health. The shift could also highlight that the brand is trying to be more inclusive and accepting of Pakistani skin tones. This could mean that Unilever wants to expand their horizon and try to cater other skin tones. Or is this a marketing strategy? Considering how the company even after changing the name of the brand has still reinforced the “fairness” stereotype by hiring models or actresses who are fair. So are they trying to change their brand image or earn additional revenue from this strategy?
Lastly, these kind of adverts use this concept of before and after narratives which show how the model’s life changes after using the cream, primarily associating “fairness with success” but there is no correlation established. Since the target media are women of all age groups from teens to adults, this message can be highly misguiding and can lead to women feeling uncomfortable in their own skin tones. These adverts usually abide with cultural and societal norms, they promote colourism and discrimination based on skin tones. Companies should know better and understand how their brand not only is an image of them but also becomes a part of the identity of their consumer.
The re-branding of Fair and Lovely to Glow and Lovely is quite a popular topic that has received a lot of backlash all for the right reasons. I remember back in 2020 I wrote a research report on Colorism and internalized Racism where I included an example of Zubaida Apa's whitening soap. The advertisement displayed people from different parts of India who looked tired, upset, lethargic, and overall unhappy with their dark complexion. The use of color scheme was also quite interesting as these people were placed in dark and gloomy environments. Suddenly Zubaida Apa shows up into their lives, hands them the soap, they apply it to their daily skin care routine. Theres this transformation taking place where their complexions are lighter, they are happier and were to be seen embracing their day to day tasks full of energy. Zubaida aapa talks about how this soap is used to add a glow but in reality it is a skin whitening product that promotes Colorism and discrimination against darker skin tones