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One would think that the recent ‘Unfair di ba?’ advertisement of Glutamax that has garnered public contempt and disapproval was loosely done by the brand. However, one would not go through the lengths of producing the ad, mounting billboards and publishing a microsite to be called a loosely done campaign.
adobo magazine reached out to one of Glutamax’s former marketing head Ed Lorenzo for insights from a marketer and an insider’s perspective. His statement was a telling hint of why the brand is facing this ordeal.
Now a marketing and advertising professor at iACADEMY, Lorenzo revealed that his proposals would actually get rejected due to the brand’s inclination to be controversial.
“I used to be head of marketing of Glutamax, most of my campaigns didn’t push through because we had an internal argumentation between my department and the owners because they want to be very controversial in a sense that medyo unjust na yung treatment,” Lorenzo said in a phone interview.
Celebrities uproar
And controversial they went with their unfair advantage campaign. With easily over a hundred tweets within hours of release, Glutamax’s engagement jumped up, even
One of the many who spoke out against the campaign is Bianca Gonzales-Intal, who said in her Twitter account, “There is no problem at all sa mga gustong magpapputi. The problem is when whitening brands make us look kaawa-awa dahil lang maitim kami. Kasi, hindi po kami kawawa, maganda ang kulay namin.”
Just a note from a Filipina with brown skin since birth:
There is no problem AT ALL sa mga gustong magpaputi. The problem is when whitening brands make us look “kaawa awa” dahil lang maitim kami. Kasi, hindi po kami kawawa, maganda ang kulay namin.
— Bianca Gonzalez (@iamsuperbianca) April 13, 2019
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Weighing in on the conversation, actress Chai Fonacier also tweeted, “I’m alright with my brown #KutisPinas and I’m still in the showbiz industry, you uneducated potato.”
No, GlutaMax. Here’s me raising my middle finger at you: I’m alright with my brown #KutisPinas and I’m still in the showbiz industry, you uneducated potato. pic.twitter.com/AgZ11PJOnX
— Chai Fonacier (@bansheerabidcat) April 13, 2019
Fonacier is also a part of the film group Sutukil which produced the parody commercial for the brownening soap.
Ideas that hurt
Being fair-skinned once meant that a person has a comfortable lifestyle that he or she do not have to do manual labor under the heat of the sun. Today, though, having dark skin either means one was born that way and embraces it or one enjoys trekking, biking or sunbathing.
Ironically, while the teaser pointed out that the prejudice against colored people, the brand did not address the problem but added salt to the wound. This is not the snowflake mentality at work, but a valid move that needs calling out.
“Marami nang woke na tao and they know if this brand is harping or if they are making a bad messaging at the expense of others,” added Lorenzo.
Bad publicity is still bad publicity but bad publicity is bad for business
Lorenzo has been very vocal in social media in calling out his former employer for their latest campaign and encourages everyone to boycott the brand because of the backward mindset it perpetuates. “It’s very derogatory. From the point of messaging to how the campaign turned out, it’s really wrong.”
At the end of the day, the recall that a business’ name rings to a person will always be associated to the reason why it can be remembered. If being the talk of the town is Glutamax’s intent, then they succeeded but people do not necessarily put their money where their mouths are.
“Nagiging maingay yung brand mo but in a wrong way. (Sure, Glutamax got featured but in the wrong manner),” continued Lorenzo. In short, brand engagement is not equal to generating sales.
Repercussions and implications
The brand acknowledges the reactions towards their campaign, as they have in their public apology, but as far as responsibility, Lorenzo said that apart from taking down the ad, ASC might penalize Glutamax for running the campaign without their permit.
For all we know, their products might sit on the shelf longer than they had hoped for. More than a lesson in marketing, the backlash that the brand is facing is telling us something. That consumers do not blindly nod to whatever they see on the media; they call out, they are critical and are no longer confined into one type of beauty.
Glutamax is not the first brand to exploit the societal standards of beauty to sell. They were not the first to perpetuate colorism either, but what comes after this is the sense of pride in owning one’s skin and unconventional beauty. Color pride has been an ongoing conversation for some time (Look-up the hashtag #MagandangMorenx on Twitter). Shame on brands that put shame into one’s diverse and unique characteristics!
