myPRfeed

Cosmetic company L’Oreal has come under fire this week for using a photograph of Beyonce Knowles in a recent advertisement that portrays her as a strawberry blond with very light skin.  Newspapers have bashed L’Oreal, with The New York Post saying that she was virtually indistinguishable because of the “digital lightening.”  TMZ also alleged that Beyonce was being “whited out,” and the company’s website ran a poll implying that the ad was a slap in the face to black Americans.  In defense of the photo, L’Oreal flat out denied any wrongdoing, and has boasted about their seven year relationship with Knowles.  The issue, covered in the clip below, is raising a lot of questions.

Discussion Questions:

1.  Do you believe that Beyonce’s photo was doctored intentionally to make her look whiter?

2.  Why might L’Oreal want to change Beyonce’s skin tone for an advertisement?  What do they have to gain?

3.  What does the flap, and the subsequent uproar that it caused, teach us about ethics in advertising?

4.  L’Oreal responded to the crisis with simple denial.  Was the strategy effective?  What else could the company have resorted to?