7. Dove Skin Lightener

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In 2017, the well-known brand Dove was accused of racism for a marketing error it made in one of its advertising campaigns. With the intention of launching a skin-lightening soap, it made an advertisement in which a black woman wearing a brown t-shirt takes it off and turns into a white woman, then the white woman takes off her t-shirt and turns into an Asian woman.

The advertisement immediately sparked an outcry on social media. In an attempt to justify itself, Dove claimed that its intention was to convey the idea that the product could be used by people of all skin tones.

dove marketing mistakes
Source: The World
Despite the apology and the withdrawal of the campaign, the hashtag #BoycottDove continued to be present on social media for a long time. Therefore, it is important for companies to be very careful and avoid attitudes that could be considered racist.

8. Controversial billboard in a Sony campaign
In 2006, Sony created a campaign to advertise its white PSP. To do so, it placed billboards in which a black woman was dominated by a white woman alongside phrases such as: "Play Station Portable White is coming."

Sony marketing mistakes
Source: Money CNN
The reaction among the US gaming community was immediate, but the debate was divided. Some accused the company of racism, but others understood it as part of the launch campaign.

Sony, however, did not acknowledge the campaign as racist, saying it was intended to show that the new model was more powerful than the older black one.

There is no doubt that the way of representing the evolution of the product was not the most appropriate , since it is necessary to worry about how the campaign can be interpreted.

9. Controversial McDonald's campaign
In 2017, McDonald's was responsible for czech republic phone number list creating a controversial marketing campaign, by airing a video on a UK television channel and on social media. In the commercial, a boy was grieving the loss of his father and asks his mother what his father liked the most.

The mother takes the child for a walk and during the ride she tells him about the characteristics of the father, with which the child identifies. Then, they go to a McDonald's and when the child opens the sandwich, the mother reveals that it was the father's favorite. Therefore, the sandwich represents a father-son connection.

The reaction to the video was very strong. The company was accused of exploiting the feelings of children who lost their parents and of using children's grief to boost sales.

McDonald's immediately removed the video and issued a message saying it was sorry for what happened and that this was not the company's intention. Care must be taken when launching campaigns that affect people's feelings, because they can be seen as insensitive.