Boohoo’s latest attempt at inclusive advertising has come under fire for its lack of diversity.
The fashion brand launched a new womenswear campaign on Monday 7 August, claiming to represent #AllGirls, but alas, the launch video didn’t so much as feature #MostGirls. In fact, it was barely #SomeGirls.
And Twitter has kicked off.
Tracee Ellis Ross took the words out of our mouths in this hilarious Twitter meme:
In the launch video, Boohoo made an attempt at inclusivity by having women of colour strut and pose alongside their fair-skinned sisters like an army of typically popular cheerleaders.
Inclusive? Barely. Diverse - no. Surely someone on the campaign team must have had a check list, but how long was it? Feast your eyes.
What they appear to have missed out were models with a (visible) disability, as well as curvy, trans, hijabi and visibly older models to try to cover all bases.
In response to the controversy, Boohoo issued HuffPost UK the following statement: “At boohoo we pride ourselves on our inclusivity and our ability to provide great fashion for all shapes and sizes. The video you see today is the start of a story that will unfold over the next few months.”
Boohoo also clarified that “It’s a film for girls, made by girls. With an all-female cast and crew of over 40 women from different walks of life.” They added that the video features one curve model, Maria Sillandi.
These tweets summed up a lot of commenters reactions:
If someone in Boohoo’s target demographic feels left out, how does everyone else feel?
As founder and creative director of Wow Beauty Denise Rabor told HuffPost UK, it’s time for brands to “understand what diversity and inclusion actually means.” Rabor founded Wow Beauty to empower all beauty lovers to ‘conquer the world from a place of inner beauty and wellness.’ She continues:
“Maybe the next time a well meaning brand decides to launch a campaign they should take a moment to go outside and look around or hire a Diversity and inclusion specialist.” Amen.
As Blackish’s T.E.R said in the gif above: do better.