Introduction
To counter all arguments and charges leveled against Fair & Lovely, the company can adopt a marketing program that connects directly to the issues touching on Indian women. Such a strategy will work magic. The promotion program should aim at changing the message on the advertisement currently being used to display a happy and confident woman. According to Iqbal, Danish, and Tahir (2014), the corporation makes promises that are sincere and honest due to the use of direct calls to consumers.
However, as practice shows, it does not provide significant benefits, and controversial issues concerning racial and sexual characteristics periodically arise. Therefore, the faster the company will change its strategy and achieve the recognition of all parties without exception, the higher the chances are that producers will not lose clients.
Effective Measures to Promote the Program
The company should establish a program offering scholarships, counseling, and training to low-income Indian women. In yet another promotion program, the corporation can introduce Fair & Lovely products of different sizes, which will be available for customers to choose from the list. Such a move will make clients feel they have a choice, and they will feel empowered owing to the affordable consumer product designed based on their needs. The case of India is evidence that some social phenomena can become a serious obstacle to the promotion of goods. The program has to avoid biases related to the racial concerns including the skin color.
If this measure is not taken, the issue can have more serious consequences than problems with the promotion of goods. Taking into account the public resonance, manufacturers should do their best to change the attitude of potential consumers to the cosmetic products under consideration. Otherwise, the advertising campaign will be ineffective, and sanctions against Fair & Lovely may follow.
Also, the campaign has to promote son and daughter preferences equally. The program should equally offer training to entrepreneurs, which will offer them the opportunity of realizing the profit from selling Fair & Lovely products. Besides, the company can come up with a television program that will feature low-income Indian women speaking on the experiences they have with Fair & Lovely products. It is worth mentioning that the product should not insult working women.
Clients should express their pride in using Fair & Lovely products in preventing them from a hot sun while going on with their normal lives. In addition, the company can resolve to establish yet another program at rolling a campaign featuring various women, aiming at deconstructing the stereotype of beauty reigning in India.
Ethics as One of the Components of Promotion
If the manufacturers of cosmetic products adhere to the ethical principles of advertising their goods, disputes regarding the discrimination of customers on different grounds are unlikely to arise. In particular, one of the most important arguments in favor of such a course is that racial issues affected by producers inevitably become the cause of scandals. As Limaye and Pande (2015) claim, “this is a universally accepted fact that that people should not be judged based on their skin colour” (p. 3707).
In case the product inevitably raises controversy over ethical issues, producers should pay attention to public opinion and change the advertising campaign in the shortest possible time so as not to lose the target audience. Despite the fact that Fair & Lovely goods are in demand, the situation may change if the media and other public resources start fighting against the brand. Moreover, the issue can reach the international level if the conflict turns into a serious problem, and the public resonance will be significant. Therefore, it is essential to think over such an advertising strategy that will not cause ambiguous judgments and will not provoke any ethical dilemmas.
Another controversial ethical issue is beauty stereotypes that discussed in connection with the increased public attention to the company. According to Iqbal et al. (2014), the main target audience of the goods produced by the corporation is women who are sensitive about their appearance and are ready for any measures to maintain their attractiveness. Nevertheless, the standards of beauty promoted by the manufacturers of cosmetic products can evoke ethical disagreements and, as a result, cause consumers’ ambiguous attitude. Like racial discrimination, imposed stereotypes of appearance cannot fully exist in the society where the equality of rights is maintained.
Therefore, in order to exclude possible biases and to promote products successfully, manufacturers need to move away from the strategy of the templates that they have set. They should focus on the individuality of their clients rather than on the desire to achieve the ideal advocated by them. If such measures are taken, the company will be able to gain greater recognition as the manufacturer that takes into account the individual characteristics of each consumer and follows ethical norms.
Conclusively, Unilever Company can counter all the charges and arguments against their product by adopting a unique promotion and advertising program that will aim at elevating low-income Indian women. Their confessions on television will assist in countering the arguments and charges. Following the ethical principles of goods promotion will help to avoid consumers’ ambiguous attitude and gain recognition from potential customers. Coming up with products affordable and available to the low-income earners will equally play magic.
References
Iqbal, A., Danish, M. H., & Tahir, M. R. (2014). Exploitation of women in beauty products of Fair and Lovely: A critical discourse analysis study. International Journal on Studies in English Language and Literature, 2(9), 122-131.
Limaye, S., & Pande, M. (2015). Advertising and ethical theories – A comparative study of select campaigns. International Journal of Scientific Research and Management, 3(11), 3701-3709.