Swedish fashion giant H&M is still reeling from their unfortunate marketing stunt. In an effort to market their new collection, the company shared images of a young black model, Liam Mango, in a green hoodie with the words 'Coolest Monkey in the Jungle' emblazoned on it.
In an interview on the UK's ITV morning show, the mom, Terry Mango and dad, Frank Mango said they did not know about the controversial hoodie before the widespread Internet reaction. Terry, who has Kenyan roots and lives in Stockholm, Sweden, went on to say that even if she had known prior, it still wouldn't have rung alarm bells for her.
"I wouldn't see such a connection to anything other than my son modelling a shirt. Until the controversy now, with the whole furore that is going on, then you kind of look back and wonder if you had noticed it, what would be our, or my, initial response to it," Terry said.
Since the incident, H&M's store in South Africa, where the campaign was targeted, was trashed by angry protesters led by the country's socialist political party EFF. But it's the global PR nightmare that will give the H&M PR team sleepless nights. The company has received major online backlash including from celebrities such as Sean 'Diddy' Combs, G-Eazy and The Weeknd who announced that he'll no longer work as the company's brand ambassador.
This is not the first time that an international brand has been under fire for racially-insensitive advertising. Dove and Nivea both faced criticism at various points in the past.
Kenyans on Twitter had mixed reactions to Terry Mango's initially 'get over it' response to the whole ordeal.
https://twitter.com/ROZA_Nangok/status/952144408396353536
https://twitter.com/ibroo26/status/951670796241514496
https://twitter.com/odhiamboshalton/status/951308380831756289
https://twitter.com/KenyaChildFund/status/951168320736251909

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Omani Joy

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