Dove has apologised following a Facebook ad run in the US showing images of a black woman taking off her t-shirt and turning into a white woman.
The body lotion ad came to the attention of popular makeup artist Nay the Mua who quickly turned to Facebook and asked her followers about the message.
"So I'm scrolling through Facebook and this is the ad that comes up.... ok so what am I looking at," she wrote on Friday.
Social media users were furious at the perceived message portrayed in the images and were quick to condemn Dove.
"That was such an offensive campaign. Honestly wonder how these things make it into public realm before someone calling it out," one Twitter user wrote.
"That image was absolutely appalling! You all should be ashamed! It needs more than a simple apology," another wrote.
"In all seriousness, how does a company as big as Dove make a 'mistake' like this?" wrote another Twitter user from New York.
Dove later apologised for the ad claiming it had "missed the mark".
"An image we recently posted on Facebook missed the mark in representing women of color thoughtfully. We deeply regret the offense it caused," the statement read.
Unilever, owner of Dove, also issued a further statement.
"As a part of a campaign for Dove body wash, a 3-second video clip was posted to the US Facebook page. This did not represent the diversity of real beauty which is something Dove is passionate about and is core to our beliefs, and it should not have happened. We have removed the post and have not published any other related content," a statement to SBS News read.
"We apologise deeply and sincerely for the offence that it has caused and do not condone any activity or imagery that insults any audience.”
It is not clear how widely the image was circulated, or which markets were targeted by the brand owned by the Dutch-British multinational consumer goods company Unilever.
Dove has since removed the ad.
-With AAP
