STAKEHOLDER AND ISSUE

ANALYSIS OF UNILEVER
UNILEVER'S BEAUTY CARE PRODUCTS ACCUSED OF RACISM

NAME NGUYEN NGOC VU – SS150476

CLASS MC1602 – CCM201

LECTURE NGUYEN TRAN HUONG THAO

STAKEHOLDER AND ISSUE ANALYSIS OF UNILEVER NGUYEN NGOC VU – SS150476

1. Abstract Introduction
Unilever is a leading multinational company that owns and manufactures consumer goods
including shampoos, cosmetics, detergents, toiletries, toiletries, etc. Unilever has more than 400
brands, famous brands can be mentioned from beauty products (Dove, Clear, Sunsilk,
TRESEmmé, Pond's, Lifebuoy, Vaseline, etc), home care (Vim, OMO, Cif, Sunlight, Comfort,
Surf, etc), food and beverage (Lipton, Knorr, Wall's, etc).
Founded in 1929 and marketed in 190 countries, Unilever is one of the oldest
multinational companies with 180,000 employees and over 62 billion euros in revenue (2005).
During the process of establishment and development with Unilever, the motto is "that success
means acting with 'the highest standards of corporate behavior towards our employees, consumers
and the societies and world in which we live'" (Unilever, 2013) ). However, this company has
many times got involved in scandals or led to media crisis issues such as products containing
carcinogens or related to racism. This case will focus on analyzing the signs and details Unilever
encountered when there was a media crisis about the issue of Unilever's beauty care products
related to racism.
2. Literature Review
This analysis focuses on how Unilever encountered a crisis related to racism, the
potential dangers before the crisis occurred, and how Unilever handled their crisis.
The problem for Unilever is that when there are small crises, they have not completely
resolved it, but left potential dangers. Many risks accumulate and lead to a major crisis that has a
heavy impact on the company.
The analysis will focus on analyzing the products that Unilever is involved in, what
causes Unilever's great crisis of racism, and the response of consumers throughout the process.
Crisis occurs until the crisis is resolved.
3. Issue Analysis of Unilever
3.1. Unilever's skin whitening products
The desire to own a white skin has become an obsession for many people,
especially women in Asia. In some cities, it is difficult to find a cosmetic that does not
contain whitening ingredients. In South Asian countries, lighter skin tones are said to
represent the upper class in society. Racism is a type of prejudice that places a higher
value on lighter-skinned people. It differs from racism in that, if racism often occurs
between different ethnicities, color discrimination, more painfully, occurs within the same
ethnic group. Historically, dark skin has been viewed as undesirable, equated with
poverty in many cultures that experienced Western colonialism. Women are the most
affected by this biased thinking about skin color, they are always obsessed with a "wheat
skin", which is considered the norm to be able to gain favor in the industry. work and
marriage.
In the countries of South Asia and Southeast Asia, it is indispensable for products
such as creams, soaps, skin lightening properties, skin whitening on cosmetic store

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shelves. And the "king" in that market is Unilever with a series of products such as Fair
& Lovely, Citra, Dove. etc.
Founded in 1975, Fair&Lovely contributes more than $550 million in revenue to
Unilever each year. This is a product that reduces melanin (the pigment that causes skin
darkening) with chemicals like mercury. Not only popular in India, but Fair&Lovely is
also famous in Asian countries that also give priority to a white skin like Bangladesh,
Pakistan, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia. Fair&Lovely's marketing communication
campaigns are often directed at comparing before and after having fair skin. They create a
situation where dark skin is a problem, a major obstacle, and using the brand's bright
white products is a stepping stone to "success".
In 2013, another campaign advertising Unilever's skin-whitening product Citra in
Thailand sparked a debate about whether whiter people would get them to find
better-paying jobs with higher status. higher social status in Southeast Asian countries.
Similar debates have boiled over on social media in Thailand, exploring the role of skin
color in Thai society following Unilever's new ad campaign for its Citra Pearly
skin-whitening product line. White UV Body Lotion. The incident prompted Unilever to
apologize, withdrawing the commercial for airing on Thai television in the past few
weeks.
In 2017, Unilever faced criticism in its Dove shower gel ad. The advertising
content shows a black girl wearing a dark brown t-shirt, after she takes it off, she turns
into a white girl with a completely different look. After being released, this ad made
thousands of people angry, calling for a boycott of Dove shower gel because they thought
the ad was racist.
3.2. Anti-racism wave
In May 2020, following the death of an African-American citizen George Floyd,
a wave of anti-racism took place. This wave broke out in the US and quickly spread
across all continents in the context of the whole world struggling to cope with the
Covid-19 epidemic, the "Black Lives Matter" movement. carries an aspiration, not for the
sake of individuality, but for true equality. “Black Lives Matter” has become a popular
slogan at mass protests in all 50 US states. Despite the social distancing requirements of
the fight against Covid-19, tens of thousands of people still took to the streets to protest
against unequal treatment and police violence. From the US, the wave of anti-racism
protests quickly spread across continents, with large-scale street demonstrations, many
attracting more than 10,000 participants. Against this backdrop of tension, relevant social
issues are affected and Unilever is no exception.
3.3. Unilever's moves and user reactions
A month after the wave of "Black Lives Matter" broke out, Unilever made its
first move, changing the name of some product lines and removing words related to
racism. The Unilever branch of consumer goods group in India and Bangladesh has
announced that it will change the name of its cream product "Fair & Lovely" to "Glow &
Lovely" after public outcry over negative stereotypes against people. have dark skin. "We
are committed to a portfolio of skin care products for all skin tones that celebrate the

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diversity of beauty." Unilever shared via a tweet. The company said it will completely
remove words such as "event skin", "lighten", "whiten" from the products, but will not
stop selling them. This move of Unilever became the target of ridicule appearing on
Twitter. Unilever thinks they have come up with the right adaptation to this growing
“Black Lives Matter” movement. Instead of facing the fact that their whitening products
are contributing to perpetuating a distinctly discriminatory ideology, Unilever just
removed the words on the product, not changing the real problem. on their products. The
wave of boycotting Unilever products in South Asian and Southeast Asian countries such
as India, Thailand, and Indonesia continues to take place. Racism commenting forums are
always lively and mention Unilever products. Celebrities or influential figures in these
markets have also stopped promoting these products. Many social media users are still
skeptical about the change in brand strategy orientation, how they will affect a South
Asian society, where white cream sells more than tea and Coca-Cola. “Unilever in India
has spent 45 years persuading us, so it won't change any time soon, just because it has a
different name,” said Karthik Srinivasan, brand and media consultant in India, speaking.
After that crisis, Unilever struggled to regain its image after a series of
controversial advertising campaigns and their beauty products. In March 2022, more than
100 Unilever brands announced that they would abandon the word "normal" when
describing their skin and hair types, and would instead use terms like "silver hair" for
shampoos or "moisturizers". for skin care. They also announced that they will stop
editing images of models' physiques and skin tones used in advertising campaigns.
Unilever had to withdraw all TRESemme hair care products from its retail stores in South
Africa for 10 days. Unilever's president of beauty and personal care products, Sunny Jain,
stressed that dropping the word "normal" won't solve the problem, but it is an important
step towards a more holistic definition of beauty. . Unilever said it conducted a survey of
about 10,000 people globally. The results showed that more than 50% of respondents felt
that using the word "normal" to describe hair or skin made them feel discriminated
against, while 70% felt that using the word in advertising. reports have a negative impact.
4. Conclusion & Recommendation
In conclusion, the signs leading to Unilever's media crisis came long before they
launched the "Fair & Lovely" product line in India, followed by a series of allegedly
discriminating advertisements. racial segregation. Although Unilever has proactively apologized
to the media and the press, it has not really solved the problem in their products. Products are still
being marketed and sold everywhere. At a time when Unilever was entangled in scandals about
racism in advertising, waves around the world about this issue took place but did not really spread
strongly. Unilever ignored this issue and allowed the factors that caused the crisis to exist and
continue. The real consequence came when the "Black Lives Matter" wave broke out and strongly
affected the whole world. At this time, Unilever with a series of scandals, a series of related
brands and product names had a strong impact on Unilever's market and caused the company to
receive much criticism as well as to solve the problem. subject in many different ways. However,
Unilever's solution is still not really satisfactory and thorough. The risks of a crisis still exist
because Unilever has not yet changed the concept of its beauty care products.

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Unilever can go to the solution such as producing new products that help improve the
smoothness and luster of the skin, skin care product lines that prioritize improvement of skin
condition rather than change. on color and pigment. Eliminate the line of whitening and
brightening products and replace them with products that highlight each person's inherent skin
color. Strengthening campaigns on racism, creating support funds for women and the community
also contribute to building Unilever's image among consumers.
5. Reference
https://dro.deakin.edu.au/articles/chapter/Managing_issues_through_cross-sector_collaboration_
Unilever_and_Greenpeace/20908276/1/files/37182310.pdf
https://link.gov.vn/pZLvavrf
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https://vnreview.vn/thread/truoc-khi-dinh-phot-ve-dau-goi-kho-unilever-tung-di-che-dau-goi-cua-
viet-nam-co-loat-phot-con-chan-dong-hon.211106232759095
https://giaoduc.net.vn/unilever-rut-quang-cao-lam-trang-da-xin-loi-nguoi-dan-post130690.gd
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https://giaoduc.net.vn/unilver-viet-nam-to-doi-thu-noi-nguoi-phai-ngam-den-ta-post173297.gd
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https://baotintuc.vn/the-gioi/unilever-an-do-bo-tu-trang-khoi-bao-bi-kem-duong-da-20200626152
328657.htm
https://tuoitre.vn/yeu-cau-unilever-viet-nam-bao-cao-ve-cac-loai-dau-goi-kho-nghi-chua-chat-gay
-ung-thu-20221026200714941.htm
https://baophapluat.vn/black-lives-matter-cau-chuyen-dai-cua-khat-vong-binh-dang-post376245.h
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