Unilever, Citing Inclusion Advocacy, Drops 'Normal' From Product Packaging And Marketing

Unilever UL announced it's removing the word “normal” from the packaging and marketing of its beauty and personal care brands as part of a new “Positive Beauty” campaign to advocate for diversity and inclusion.

What Happened: The London-headquartered company – whose brands Dove, Lifebuoy, Axe and Sunsilk – said the removal of “normal” was based on a survey that polled 10,000 people across nine countries (Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, the U.K. and the U.S.).

The survey found 56% of respondents stating the beauty and personal care industry has the power to make people feel excluded, with 74% saying they want the industry to focus “more on making people feel better than just looking better.” Seven in 10 respondents felt the word “normal” had a negative impact when used in product packaging and marketing, while more than half said they considered stance on societal issues before buying its products.

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What's Next: “With one billion people using our beauty and personal care products every day, and even more seeing our advertising, our brands have the power to make a real difference to people’s lives,” said Sunny Jain, Unilever’s president for beauty and personal care. “As part of this, we are committed to tackling harmful norms and stereotypes and shaping a broader, far more inclusive definition of beauty.

“We know that removing ‘normal’ from our products and packaging will not fix the problem alone, but it is an important step forward,” Jain added. “It’s just one of a number of actions we are taking as part of our Positive Beauty vision, which aims not only to do less harm, but more good for both people and the planet.”

In addition to retiring the word “normal” from its promotional vocabulary, Unilever also pledged not digitally alter a person’s body shape, size and skin color in its brand advertising while increasing the number of advertisements portraying people from diverse groups who have been traditionally underrepresented in marketing campaigns.

Unilever's stock trades around $55.54, near the middle of its 52-week trading range.

Unilever product line. Courtesy photo.