Answer ALL the questions in this section. Question 1
Posted: Thu May 05, 2022 9:00 am
Answer ALL the questions in this section.
Question
1
(25 Marks)
Read the article below and answer ALL
questions in this section
Unilever admits Tresemmé hair advert was racist, staff to be
subjected to ’unconscious bias training
Unilever South Africa has admitted that
the controversial Tresemmé advert which described black women’s
hair as frizzy, dull, dry and damaged, was racist.
The company will be subjecting all
staff to ’unconscious bias training, will be reviewing all
marketing material and establishing a new diversity and inclusion
advisory board.
Last Friday, Unilever apologised for
the Tresemmé advert and has been in a media blackout since.
At the time, the
company apologised for the ad which it said had been intended to
celebrate all hair types. Unilever said it would investigate why
the offensive advert was not picked up and promised to take steps
to ensure this did not happen again.
The Tresemmé advert,
which was published on the Clicks website, led to EFF protests at
Clicks stores this week. The threeday-long protests ended on
Thursday after the retailer met with the leadership of the EFF.
More than 400 Clicks
stores were closed on Monday alone. The racist Tresemmé advert has
rocked the country.
In its latest statement, released on
Friday, Unilever said it was “shocked” by the incident.
“We were shocked to
discover that we had supplied images for the Clicks website that
portrayed black hair as inferior. This was racist and we apologise
unreservedly,” said Unilever.
It said an
investigation was instituted as soon as the matter was brought to
their attention and the company began a review of all its marketing
campaigns to ensure they “match our commitment to celebrate all
beauty and promote diversity and Inclusion”.
Unilever executives
met the EFF on Thursday at the party’s Braamfontein headquarters
and the company agreed to sponsor a donation of 10 000 sanitary
pads for poor young women of the party’s choosing.
The company also agreed to withdraw the
Tresemmé brand from retailers for 10 days.
“As agreed with the
EFF on September 10, we have asked our retailers to remove Tresemmé
from shelves for 10 days.
"We want to reiterate
our sincere apologies to all South Africans and the offence caused
to black women in particular.
“We also apologise to
the Clicks group. We will learn from this failing and we will
accelerate our efforts to support the transformation of society,
represent all communities and celebrate all beauty,” said
Unilever.
The company has not
disclosed what their investigation into the processes that led to
the advert being created has uncovered.
Unilever said it would
establish a diversity and inclusion assets committee, which would
be representative of its consumers in a bid to ensure future
advertising campaigns and publicity materials reflect the company’s
values.
It would also review
its diversity and inclusion training and would be accelerating
training on ‘unconscious bias’ to all staff.
Unilever said it would
also set up an advisory board with internal and external experts to
review its haircare products sold in South Africa which could offer
consumers the solutions they want in positive and empowering
terms.
Unilever said the
advisory board would also work with black hair stylists and small
professional salons to develop programmes to deliver immediate
support.
Assume that you are the Marketing
Director for Unilever. Keeping the facts in the excerpt above in
mind, and additional research answer ALL the
following questions.
Question
2
(25 Marks)
Appraise Unilever on
how they handled the controversial Tresemme advert, and the impact
the advert had on the Unilever brand.
Question
1
(25 Marks)
Read the article below and answer ALL
questions in this section
Unilever admits Tresemmé hair advert was racist, staff to be
subjected to ’unconscious bias training
Unilever South Africa has admitted that
the controversial Tresemmé advert which described black women’s
hair as frizzy, dull, dry and damaged, was racist.
The company will be subjecting all
staff to ’unconscious bias training, will be reviewing all
marketing material and establishing a new diversity and inclusion
advisory board.
Last Friday, Unilever apologised for
the Tresemmé advert and has been in a media blackout since.
At the time, the
company apologised for the ad which it said had been intended to
celebrate all hair types. Unilever said it would investigate why
the offensive advert was not picked up and promised to take steps
to ensure this did not happen again.
The Tresemmé advert,
which was published on the Clicks website, led to EFF protests at
Clicks stores this week. The threeday-long protests ended on
Thursday after the retailer met with the leadership of the EFF.
More than 400 Clicks
stores were closed on Monday alone. The racist Tresemmé advert has
rocked the country.
In its latest statement, released on
Friday, Unilever said it was “shocked” by the incident.
“We were shocked to
discover that we had supplied images for the Clicks website that
portrayed black hair as inferior. This was racist and we apologise
unreservedly,” said Unilever.
It said an
investigation was instituted as soon as the matter was brought to
their attention and the company began a review of all its marketing
campaigns to ensure they “match our commitment to celebrate all
beauty and promote diversity and Inclusion”.
Unilever executives
met the EFF on Thursday at the party’s Braamfontein headquarters
and the company agreed to sponsor a donation of 10 000 sanitary
pads for poor young women of the party’s choosing.
The company also agreed to withdraw the
Tresemmé brand from retailers for 10 days.
“As agreed with the
EFF on September 10, we have asked our retailers to remove Tresemmé
from shelves for 10 days.
"We want to reiterate
our sincere apologies to all South Africans and the offence caused
to black women in particular.
“We also apologise to
the Clicks group. We will learn from this failing and we will
accelerate our efforts to support the transformation of society,
represent all communities and celebrate all beauty,” said
Unilever.
The company has not
disclosed what their investigation into the processes that led to
the advert being created has uncovered.
Unilever said it would
establish a diversity and inclusion assets committee, which would
be representative of its consumers in a bid to ensure future
advertising campaigns and publicity materials reflect the company’s
values.
It would also review
its diversity and inclusion training and would be accelerating
training on ‘unconscious bias’ to all staff.
Unilever said it would
also set up an advisory board with internal and external experts to
review its haircare products sold in South Africa which could offer
consumers the solutions they want in positive and empowering
terms.
Unilever said the
advisory board would also work with black hair stylists and small
professional salons to develop programmes to deliver immediate
support.
Assume that you are the Marketing
Director for Unilever. Keeping the facts in the excerpt above in
mind, and additional research answer ALL the
following questions.
Question
2
(25 Marks)
Appraise Unilever on
how they handled the controversial Tresemme advert, and the impact
the advert had on the Unilever brand.