As Early as Five
Dove’s “As Early as Five”
Did you know that 1 in 5 Black children as young as five have experienced hair discrimination? The impact can have lasting effects, with Black children being forced to conform with school hair policies or risk losing educational opportunities.
Starting in 2019 Dove products began a campaign to end biased policies that unfairly discriminate against girls and women of color based on their hairstyle. The Dove corporation wants to heighten awareness of the ongoing race and gender bias surrounding dress code policies and prejudices that are in place in schools, daycares, and work places which negatively impact a greater proportion of black females than another other group in America. The ad begins with a voice over a young girl saying "My dad always told me to love my hair." While the sound byte plays you see a young girl in her family home and her father is combing and styling her hair, then the girls and dad are holding hands approaching the school entrance. At this time the school staff member meets them at the door and says that she cannot attend today because her hair violates a strict policy on hairstyles.
The target audience is women and men that may have had similar experiences as a child, as well as those empathic to the plight of hair racism impacting our nation. There are no laws in place to protect against this type of discrimination. It may also appeal to other younger people watching who will question why the child cannot go to school. Hopefully this would reach to families that may encounter a situation similar to this in their daily lives and feel empowered by the message to speak out against the hair shaming rules. This message validates the importance of all children having a sense of belonging and autonomy while in school.
The final line of the advertisement the same girl's voice says, "My dad always told me to fight for my hair, so, I am." At this point you see a professionally dressed women being handed a policy with "acceptable" hairstyles, and then the same person seeing the same little girl as her image in the mirror. This advertisement style is an emotional appeal, playing on the sympathies of the viewer. The nostalgia of this message can be relatable even for people who didn't experience this type of humiliation; they can remember a time similar in their past.
Words appear on the screen with a plea to reach out to a senator, and to sign a petition to spread awareness. The untold story? Although the entire campaign and the affiliated teacher resources are well planned and thought out. However, like so many other well intended campaigns by large corporations, these messages take systemic change over an extended period of time.