L'Oreal Found Guilty of Racism.

[UGAalum94]

Originally Posted by AKA_Monet

So products like Prell and Wella Balsam are marketed to African American women who model use of those products?

Only Pantene has specifically formulated products for any minority haircare. Only Covergirl products have actually diversified in its marketting campaign. Maybelline barely has color. And every now and then does Revelon do a thing or two. However, ever since the 1980's since Revelon said stuff to the African American community, no African American hairstylists will noticeably use or purchase their products in the form of an active boycott.

So, use of Afro Sheen owned formerly owned by Ultra but now owned by Maybelline, rarely has caucasian models in Ebony or Jet advertising their products. In fact, I do not see much Afro-Sheen advertisements. I see more Bonner Brothers and Pink.

I didn't mean to suggest that the marketing focus only ran one way or to accuse companies that marketed to African Americans of anything that whites weren't doing too. I chose the case of Cream of Nature because there is a tighter connection between the benefits of the product and the hair type it's used on (although I think it'd actually be good for a lot of white people's hair too).

When you start talking about how Prell and Wella Balsam, Revlon, L'Oreal do things, how they market the product may not actually be a reflection of the needs of the people buying it. Think about how few shampoo ads ever include men although most of them are using shampoo too.

It's only been relatively recently that I can remember seeing ads addressing differences in hair texture for "white" hair. For most of my life, one would have thought that only white people who needed shampoo had hair like Cindy Crawford.

My point I guess, as much as I had one, is that although what L'Oreal did in this case was clearly discriminatory in terms of well qualified sales people being turned away from employment unrelated to race, cosmetic marketing is likely to be more racially focused than most product lines. Does that make this kind of advertising also racist and discriminatory? Or is it acceptable for Cover Girl to just sell to whites if that's the business they want to be in and it's profitable?

What was it that Revlon said to trigger the boycott?