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New SheaMoisture Ad Has Black Customers Feeling Abandoned, But Is a Boycott Necessary?

Posted byBy Kiersten Willis | Published on: | Updated on April 25, 2017 CommentsComments (0)

Update:  SheaMoisture released a statement on Facebook Monday evening revealing the controversial ad will be pulled and telling customers it “really f-ed this one up.”

Wow, okay – so guys, listen, we really f-ed this one up. Please know that our intention was not – and would never be –…

Posted by SheaMoisture on Monday, April 24, 2017

Original: Black natural hair brand SheaMoisture is once again in the hot seat over where its loyalty lies with its customers.

An advertisement by the company, which was developed in 1912 in Bonthe, Sierra Leone, features three women describing their hair stories: one is a white blonde, the other a white redhead and the third a nonwhite with brown, curly hair.

“I hated it because it’s like, ‘Oh, I have this and people make fun of me for it,’ ” the curly-haired woman says.

“There was lots of days staring in the mirror like, ‘I don’t know what to do with it!’ “the blonde woman said before the red-haired woman revealed she dyed her hair platinum blonde for seven years.

The ad promoted the use of SheaMoisture’s numerous products that help with the needs of various hair types, noting that “everybody gets love” by using them.

But, Twitter users weren’t feeling the love.

Many lashed out about the brand for widening its demographics. The upset followed SheaMoisture debunking an article that said it was changing its products and branding to appeal to white women.

https://twitter.com/thetrudz/status/856578223966171137

https://twitter.com/marcusjdl/status/856574479786487808

Some threw their support behind Cantu, another natural hair care brand.

https://twitter.com/stripperhoe/status/856589724898799617

Amid talk of a boycott, several users questioned why customers wouldn’t boycott non-Black-owned entities.

https://twitter.com/Edges_N_Paris/status/856608930897809408

https://twitter.com/BostonKL/status/856603331720093696

Others pointed out money was a motivation for the change.

A few didn’t understand the outrage and remained unbothered.

https://twitter.com/OckyJ83/status/856584800777281536

https://twitter.com/saidbeebs/status/856570384182804480

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