The move by Unilever comes in a bid for an image makeover to portray a more inclusive definition of beauty
The London based British multinational consumer goods company – Unilever Plc., which is a huge brand in beauty and personal care segment, has announced to remove the word “normal” from its packaging, all over the world.
The company will also ensure to not to use it while making digital alterations to the bodies and skin colour of models used in advertisements.
The move is one of several commitments Unilever has made as a part of their new ‘Positive Beauty Vision and Strategy’, which promises to champion a new era of beauty that’s inclusive, equitable and sustainable. Besides, Unilever aims to move beyond a backlash it has faced for some of its advertising campaigns.
Apart from Beauty and Personal Care, Unilever is dominant player in Home Care segment and Food & Refreshment Products. It has a brand portfolio of 400 brands and is present across 190 countries.
Unilever is the largest producer of soap in the world. Some of its internationally acclaimed beauty and personal care brands include Dove, Glow & Lovely, Lifebuoy, Axe, Rexona, Sunsilk, Vaseline, etc.
Taking it to twitter, the official twitter handle of Unilever tweeted,
We’re saying #YesToPositiveBeauty
— Unilever #StaySafe (@Unilever) March 9, 2021
Brands that don’t just do less harm, but also do more good for people and the planet.
Saying no to ‘normal’ in ads and on packs across all our beauty brands is just one way we’re taking action.https://t.co/mmHwMSnVJQ
The announcement comes a day after International Women’s Day which is observed every year on March 8. This year the theme for International Women’s Day was #ChooseToChallenge and a call out to gender bias and inequality.
Unilever is one of the top advertisers in the world and it becomes extremely critical for it to be seen as an inclusive organisation. Recently, it had to pull all its TRESemmé haircare products from South Africa for 10 days, due to a backlash over an advertisement. In 2020, Unilever had to rename its top-selling skin-lightening brand in India, “Fair & Lovely” to “Glow & Lovely”, after facing consumer ire over negatively stereotyping darker skin tones. Earlier in 2017, it faced a social media outcry over an advertisement for Dove body wash, which showed a Black woman changing into a white woman.
Speaking on the occasion, the President of Unilever’s Beauty & Personal Care products in London said, “With one billion people using our beauty and personal care products every day, and even more seeing our advertising, our brands have the power to make a real difference to people’s lives. As part of this, we are committed to tackling harmful norms and stereotypes and shaping a broader, far more inclusive definition of beauty,” says Sunny Jain, President of Unilever Beauty & Personal Care.”
He further added, “We know that removing ‘normal’ alone will not fix the problem, but we believe it is an important step towards a more inclusive definition of beauty.”
Unilever will be removing the word “normal” to describe skin type or hair texture, and replaced with terms such as “grey hair” for shampoos or “moisture replenish” for skin creams. The change would be done over a 100 Unilever brands globally by March next year.
Meanwhile, Unilever said it conducted a poll where more than 10,000 people participated. As per the findings of the poll, 74% of people want the beauty and personal care industry to reflect a broader definition of beauty and Unilever is taking action on it.
