Le Tan gets burned over ‘Pasty White Skin’ campaign
Skincare products manufacturer Le Tan has been forced to withdraw a number of radio commercials in which the male announcer tells the audience ‘pasty white skin is never a good look’ and ‘pasty white skin is not making a comeback’.
The radio commercials last week sparked a social media backlash with more than 1500 people signing a change.org petition to withdraw the campaign on the grounds it was exploiting women’s insecurity .
As of late Friday, Le Tan apologised for the campaign posting on their Facebook wall: “After carefully considering all the feedback, and given it was never our intent to cause offence, we have removed the radio ads.”
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idiotic idea but also a pity that the shrill and fleeting voice of digital whingers has disproportionate power
Wow! Get over it people! Ladies like to be tanned. Full stop. Great campaign.
They are not promoting sun beds or anything bad!!!
This campaign should have never passed internally approvals. It shouldn’t have taken a public backlash to make a brand realise that picking on the skin pigment of a person is really no different to other forms of racism. Essentially, it’s judging someone by the colour of their skin, which is plain wrong. A bit of common sense wouldn’t go astray next time, Le Tan.
Spot on, White Guy.
The campaign is definitely socially naive and irresponsible – and for that reason it should never have run.
Whether we like it or not – marketers and advertisers need to be conscious of the fact that: just because consumers may think something – it doesn’t mean that they want to hear that thought expressed back to them bluntly.
Surely we are all paid to be cleverer than that.
I’d much prefer my pasty white skin to looking like an oompa loompa. Fake tans are usually accompanied by fake personalities.