Last month, Procter & Gamble collaborated with community-building platform My Black Is Beautiful for a short video titled “The Talk.”
The all-too-real clip shows three mothers addressing varied degrees of racial bias with their children. From one mom reminding her daughter that being called “pretty for a Black girl” isn’t a compliment, to another telling her teenager how to handle a police encounter, the ad is something that millions of Black families can relate to.
Shortly after its debut, Procter & Gamble shared the video on several social media channels, including Facebook, where they wrote:
“At P&G, we aspire to build a better world for all of us – a world free from bias, a world with equal representation for men and women, a world with equal opportunity for everyone to succeed no matter their background.”
Reactions from families of color celebrated the ad, as they could relate to the topic, even if it’s just a small glimpse into the reality of dealing with racial bias on a daily basis. However, those lacking melanin seemed to take offense, calling the ad divisive and another way to paint white people as racists.
One Facebook user wrote, “Wow! Nice commercials! Chalk up another customer cutting your products out. Believe me…I’m not the only one boycotting your company. It’s not going to be easy, heck I have at least 15 of your products in my home. But, not after this week!”
Another also felt excluded from the ad, commenting “Infuriating!!! Why not address the drugs, crime and murders from blacks on blacks!! This nations made up of several different races and ethnicities……. politicians, and business only pander to one and keep them on the plantation with the black victim mentality.”
The commentary and outrage extended beyond the Facebook post, with many conservative blogs calling the ad “propaganda” and “identity politics pandering.”
Of course, Black Twitter came to the rescue of P&G, saying that they appreciated the ad and simply saw it as a way to shed light on the difficult conversations regarding racism and equal opportunity.
I love it! Thank you Procter and Gamble! 😍😍 This does not cross any lines....it's reality to us....some whites... https://t.co/6pmU5Rp2YL
Maybe some folks are oblivious to the fact that Procter & Gamble has long been an advocate of giving voices of color a platform, especially through their My Black is Beautiful initiative. This appears to be another example of selective rage. We’re sure they’ll move on as soon as Starbucks unveils their latest holiday cups.
