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Tag: deodorant

  • Armpit of America Ad Pulled From New Jersey

    A new Dove ad, released in New Jersey earlier this week, has been removed after it was criticized for being offensive to New Jersey residents.

    Apparently, New Jersey has been referred to as the “Armpit of America” for some time now, and Dove took the opportunity to use this pun in their ad. “Dear New Jersey, when people call you ‘The Armpit of America,’ take it as a compliment. Sincerely, Dove,” the ads, which appeared on billboards, read.

    Some found the ads to be amusing, while other residents found them completely offensive, and took to Dove’s official Facebook page to voice their outrage.

    “Dear Dove, I was born and raised in NJ and will no longer be using your products. Take it as a compliment,” Katherine Elizabeth posted on Dove’s page. “Simply because NJ is constantly portrayed in a negative light… The Sopranos made it look like we are all mobsters, Jersey Shore made us all out to drunken fools…. NJ has been referred to as an armpit before, and it certainly is not. It is a hub of culture and music,” she later commented. “It boasts some of the most beautiful parks and historic places. Shame on Dove for perpetuating an unfortunate stereo type.”

    Dove’s parent company is Unilever, and Matthew McCarthy is the senior marketing director of deodorants there. He told the New York Times that he never thought the ad would be considered offensive.

    “I don’t expect that there will be a lot of people who misunderstand, but to the degree that they do, we’ll be open about what we’re really trying to say,” he said. “The message that we want to get out there is that the armpit is not a bad thing, and that we stand for caring for the armpit.”

    The billboards were advertising a new line of deodorant called Dove Advanced Care, that was created to help beautify women’s underarms. “Women don’t really see the skin of their underarms like the skin on the rest of their body,” McCarthy said. “When they think about their underarms, they think mostly about odor and wetness.” The mission of the ads were to get women to feel beautiful about their bodies, even their armpits.

    Below is one of the commercials for Dove’s armpit ads:

    Image via NDN

  • New Jersey Disapproves Of Dove’s “Armpit Of America” Ad Campaign

    Unilever’s nod to New Jersey backfired as natives and residents of the state expressed their resentment over a prospective billboard ad campaign for the company’s new deodorant product. Dove’s Nutrition Moisture deodorant ad featured an image of a young Caucasian woman with her arm raised and a caption that advised New Jersey residents to be flattered that their hometown is called “The Armpit of America”. The billboard was previewed on Thursday and was scheduled to launch in July.

    According to the New Jersey Journal, dozens of consumers from the Garden State posted disgruntled comments on Dove’s Facebook page, some even promising to boycott the brand. Unilever released an official statement after the weekend saying that it will no longer proceed with the ad campaign.

    Dove’s spokesperson took to their Facebook page to address the consumers’ hostile reactions. The message said that Dove deodorant had no intentions of upsetting the residents of New Jersey, and that they will neither be publishing nor displaying the advertisement.

    In defense of the controversial ad, Unilever senior marketing director for antiperspirants and deodorants Matthew McCarthy told The New York Times that the message intended to mitigate the negative image of armpits. He also apologized on behalf of the company for any offense and misunderstanding caused by the message.

    Ogilvy & Mather, the agency behind Dove’s latest marketing efforts, kicked off the campaign with a TV commercial entitled “An Open Letter to the Armpit”, which was launched in January. Unilever is said to be donating the billboard space to a still-unnamed charity.

    Dove has made headlines over the past few years for its ads that depict unorthodox perceptions of beauty. One such project was called The Dove Campaign for Real Beauty, which was launched in September 2004. Instead of using professional models, it featured images of regular women taken by renowned photographer Annie Leibovitz.

    Here’s a less offensive Dove “Armpit” ad 

    http://youtu.be/MIVt7Zv4gyY

    Image via YouTube