Companies seem to learn from the mistakes of others. Recently, H&M was subjected to a storm of criticism for an ad featuring a black child in a hoodie with "coolest monkey in the jungle" embolden on the front.
Boycotts were called. Stores were met with protests. And H&M lost a lot of loyal customers.
This time, Italian beauty brand Wycon Cosmetics is the latest to meet the wrath of black consumers tired of the nonsense. In their new line of nail polishes, the brand featured a black gel nail polish called "Thick As A N***a."
On Jan. 17, the brand announced the line as a way to attract different consumers but it ended up blowing up in their faces.
As 21 Ninety reported yesterday, Wycon stated that many of the polishes were named after hit hip-hop singles. For example “Drop it like it’s hot” by Snoop Dogg, “Bootilicious” (sic) by Beyoncé (sic), “Candy Shop” by 50 Cent, Lollipop, Lady Marmalade etc…
And for the controversial polish at the center of the social media backlash, it was a reference to “Thick Nigga” (sic) by DBangz.
The company's first response was a reply to the initial Jan. 17 post introducing the new line. Within 24 hours, Wycon made an official statement on Instagram apologizing and using the hashtag #NoOneExcluded.
This goes to show that brands who want to sell to black people should be in tune with what black people want. So, go out and hire more black people because if you don't it will end up costing you in the long run.
