Digg this
Cosmetics giant L’Oreal drew a lot of heat yesterday for their new Feria haircolor ad featuring a strangely white-looking BeyoncĂ©. (And the controversy hasn’t even mentioned that her straight blonde hair looks absolutely nothing like it used to.)
TMZ fanned the flames by polling its readers: “Is the ad a slap to Blacks?” Fifty-eight percent said yes.
So of course, L’Oreal had to do some immediate damage control, denying that her features or skin tone were retouched for the ad campaign.
O RLY? Because this would not be the first time L’Oreal has gone out of its way to make sure its hair products are being promoted by light-skinned people.
Last year, the company was found guilty of racial discrimination in France for hiring only white salesgirls to push its Garnier Fructis Style line of shampoo. Among the evidence:
In July 2000, a fax detailing the profile of hostesses sought by L’OrĂ©al stipulated women should be 18 to 22, size 38-42 (UK size 10-14) and “BBR”, the initials for bleu, blanc, rouge, the colours of the French flag. Prosecutors argued that BBR, a shorthand used by the far right, was also a well-known code among employers to mean “white” French people and not those of north African, African and Asian backgrounds.
After the ruling, the company said in a statement, “We believe that diversity and difference are a source of richness and we do not tolerate any form of racism or discrimination.” Except, I guess, when you have a highly successful spokeswoman whose skin is just too dark.
Last month, Taco Bell tried to launch what they thought was a funny, low-cost 
Here’s a sampling of what Overstock.com is selling today (links were active as of posting time):
