Avon has apologised and removed an ad that claimed dimples were cute on the face, but not on the thighs.
The apology follows the public-shaming of the advertisement by The Good Place actress and body positivity advocate Jameela Jamil.
Responding to the original advertisement on Twitter, the 32-year-old wrote: “And yet EVERYONE has dimples on their thighs, I do, you do, and the CLOWNS at Avon certainly do. Stop shaming women about age, gravity and cellulite. They’re inevitable, completely normal things. To make us fear them and try to “fix”them, is to literally set us up for failure.”
And yet EVERYONE has dimples on their thighs, I do, you do, and the CLOWNS at @Avon_UK certainly do. Stop shaming women about age, gravity and cellulite. They’re inevitable, completely normal things. To make us fear them and try to “fix”them, is to literally set us up for failure pic.twitter.com/78kqu3nHeE
— Jameela Jamil (@jameelajamil) January 19, 2019
She later posted an image of another advertisement by Avon, pointing out the hypocrisy of the message, which implied “every body is beautiful” whilst simultaneously marketing cellulite products.
“Every body is beautiful, unless they have any “flaws” I guess. What a gross abuse of the body positive movement. I want you all to look out for this constant manipulation. Once you see it, you can’t unsee it. It’s everywhere. You are constantly being manipulated to self hate,” she wrote.
Every body is beautiful, unless they have any “flaws” I guess. What a gross abuse of the body positive movement. I want you all to look out for this constant manipulation. Once you see it, you can’t unsee it. It’s everywhere. You are constantly being manipulated to self hate. pic.twitter.com/cUnV8N3lD8
— Jameela Jamil (@jameelajamil) January 19, 2019
Hours later, Avon apologised for, and deleted, the advertisements.
“Hi Jameela, we completely understand where you’re coming from. We realize that we missed the mark with this messaging. We have removed this messaging from all future marketing materials. We fully support our community in loving their bodies and feel confident in their own skin,” they responded to Jamil.
Hi Jameela, we completely understand where you’re coming from. We realize that we missed the mark with this messaging. We have removed this messaging from all future marketing materials. We fully support our community in loving their bodies and feel confident in their own skin.
— Avon (@AvonInsider) January 19, 2019
The actress is well-known for her brave body positivity activism, and applauded Avon for taking responsibility and learning from their mistake.
THIS RIGHT HERE IS PROGRESS!!!! Thank you @AvonInsider for listening to us. https://t.co/AJsB4cGqZT
— Jameela Jamil (@jameelajamil) January 19, 2019
Earlier this year, Jamil revealed that she struggled with body image as a teenager.
She shared in a tweet that she had a “horror” experience with weight-loss products that can be bought over the internet.
“I used them as a teen and my digestive system, metabolism, thyroid and kidneys were damaged for over a decade,” she wrote.
“My mental health didn’t fare well either.”
In early 2018, Jamil started an Instagram account called iWeigh, which aims to encourage women to place value on all their accomplishments rather than their bodies.
The crowdsourced account invites Instagram users to submit pictures of themselves, sharing how they measure themselves in ways besides their weight.
The account’s inaugural post was one of Jameela herself, listing her “weight” as her accomplishments, her happy relationships, her career and her life experiences.
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