Fleur DeForce

[MrsRonSwanson]

Its sadly not the first time he was removed from an advert in China - they took him out of Star Wars promo too. Not acceptable. I’m really disappointed in Jo Malone, I won’t be buying from them again.

Still no mention of it from Fleur yet... Sam Chapman has tweeted about it and Caroline Hirons was all over it before it hit British mainstream media! I’ll be disappointed if Fleur doesn’t say something, especially as she’s done so much work with them and recently promoted their two new fragrances in her stories (and as she has #BLM as a highlight)

Maybe she’s contacting the brand herself directly first before she mentions it on her social platform?

 

[Freebies_come2me]

On a side note, I hope those influencers that claimed that they aren’t performative will say something about this. looking at Lily Pebbles too

 

[Welshgal]

While it might seem understandable from a business point of view this was (especially during current times) absolutely not okay!
Either use him or do a completely new ad.
Hopefully Fleur will say something about this otherwise she’s just a giant hypocrite like most influencers ...

 

[svdwoodsen]

While it might seem understandable from a business point of view this was (especially during current times) absolutely not okay!
Either use him or do a completely new ad.
Hopefully Fleur will say something about this otherwise she’s just a giant hypocrite like most influencers ...

Definitely tone deaf and not smart. They should've just created a completely different ad with a new concept if they felt that was necessary instead of taking visual elements from John's ad and using different actors.

 

[Freebies_come2me]

Definitely tone deaf and not smart. They should've just created a completely different ad with a new concept if they felt that was necessary instead of taking visual elements from John's ad and using different actors.

HAHAH by all means, I hope JM gets tonnes of tit for this for all the freebies that they sent out to these professional beggers lol

 

[svdwoodsen]

HAHAH by all means, I hope JM gets tonnes of tit for this for all the freebies that they sent out to these professional beggers lol

I do wonder if influencers will comment on this. I'm guessing most of these guys aren't that popular in Asia so it won't affect their marketability/fan base there so they will speak up (I wish I had more faith in influencers and believe that they'll speak up because something is right, but I highly doubt it). It seems like the kind of thing Fleur would comment on though!

 

[CheshireLove]

Can someone clue me in on the Jo Malone thing? My understanding was that in an ad for the Chinese market, they used a popular Chinese actor instead. Isn't it fairly normal for brands to use different celebs/influencers for different markets? I get that John felt that they used some of the ideas from his ad and that upset him, but I'm guessing Jo Malone paid him handsomely for those ideas so they are no longer his intellectual property. Just because they paid him for the work, doesn’t absolve them from ripping apart the personal work of their ambassador.

Maybe I'm being naive but I honestly don't think it comes from a racist or bad place. Jo Malone should've had a discussion with John about using some of his ideas out of courtesy but at the end of the day, brands hires different ambassadors for different markets for marketing purposes. Of course people in China will prefer a domestic celeb, just like U.S. audiences will prefer an American celeb and the Nigerian market will prefer a Nigerian celeb. It's marketing 101.

(Please don't blow up over my comment - if my understanding is wrong, please enlighten me!)

To add to everything everyone else has said, the amazing advert that John made was not just a piece that he acted in. He created it, wrote it and directed it. That ad was truly John’s intellectual property and a personal film that not only tastefully reflected the brand but also John himself as a global ambassador for Jo Malone, reflecting his experience as a black British man and even showing his family and friends in the film.

Jo Malone didn’t just whitewash the advert but they essentially stole his creative work, even down to the clothes the new actor/model was wearing. They didn’t credit John for anything.

It reeks of racism and has put me off the brand. I’ve only ever bought one scent from them (which was a bit weak to be honest) but I won’t buy from them again.

 

[Freebies_come2me]

Jo Malone didn’t just whitewash the advert but they essentially stole his creative work, even down to the clothes the new actor/model was wearing. They didn’t credit John for anything.

 

[Mrs McCarthy]

But it hasn’t been whitewashed? They didn’t replace black people with white people in the ad, they have replaced it with asian people. Asian people are the majority in China, so why would they use a black person (when they are a minority in China)? Surely it would be just as bad as using an asian person to advertise something for South Africa?
Also if he signed it off, the brand owns it. It may be wrong from the moral point of view, but if the add is intellectual property of JM rather than John Boyega, there was nothing wrong legally.

 

[Freebies_come2me]

But it hasn’t been whitewashed? They didn’t replace black people with white people in the ad, they have replaced it with asian people. Asian people are the majority in China, so why would they use a black person (when they are a minority in China)? Surely it would be just as bad as using an asian person to advertise something for South Africa?
Also if he signed it off, the brand owns it. It may be wrong from the moral point of view, but if the add is intellectual property of JM rather than John Boyega, there was nothing wrong legally.

I think the question we should ask is 'had the original ad featured white people, will it be replaced?' i think not..

 

[svdwoodsen]

But it hasn’t been whitewashed? They didn’t replace black people with white people in the ad, they have replaced it with asian people. Asian people are the majority in China, so why would they use a black person (when they are a minority in China)? Surely it would be just as bad as using an asian person to advertise something for South Africa?
Also if he signed it off, the brand owns it. It may be wrong from the moral point of view, but if the add is intellectual property of JM rather than John Boyega, there was nothing wrong legally.

I also think a lot of people focus on how it was John's story (and it was!) but the alternative ad....didn't really take any of that actual story. The visuals were eerily similar though so clearly it was plagiarized in that sense.

 

[Mrs McCarthy]

I think the question we should ask is 'had the original ad featured white people, will it be replaced?' i think not..

But many brands use Asian models/Actors for asian markets?
Also if we look at the definition of whitewashing it’s definitely not what happened.https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whitewashing_in_film

I also think a lot of people focus on how it was John's story (and it was!) but the alternative ad....didn't really take any of that actual story. The visuals were eerily similar though so clearly it was plagiarized in that sense.

They would have had to change the ad for the market. https://cmo.adobe.com/articles/2016...ing-approach-for-asian-markets.html#gs.fnwkzi
And if it’s intellectual property of the brand, then there was no plagiarism, because it belongs to the brand.

 

[svdwoodsen]

I think the question we should ask is 'had the original ad featured white people, will it be replaced?' i think not..

This is a very good question. Gonna take a shot in the dark here and say...it depends.

If it was an internationally famous celebrity (Angelina Jolie, Margot Robbie, etc.) I'm guessing they won't bother replacing her but if it was someone like Anna Faris or Julia Louis Dreyfus (both amazing actresses but not nearly as popular outside the English speaking world), I think they would find a Chinese celebrity instead. I think if the ad featured Will Smith or Denzel Washington, they would've kept it as is because those guys are popular worldwide. I think it was tone deaf and a stupid decision, particularly given the current climate, but I do think it was not out of racism.

 

[MrsRonSwanson]

Didn’t mean to turn this forum into a ‘Is China/Jo Malone racist’ debate...! Let’s just see if Fleur and the others mention it in some way.

 

[svdwoodsen]

Didn’t mean to turn this forum into a ‘Is China/Jo Malone racist’ debate...! Let’s just see if Fleur and the others mention it in some way.

Agreed - apologies for derailing the thread a bit.

Imho no one's missing out with Jo Malone. They charge an exorbitant price for very weak fragrances. I still have half a bottle from years ago when it was under $100 here but now it's shot up to nearly $200 for a 100mL bottle while they gift baskets of these things to influencers for free, who then proceed to shill their products non-stop.

 

[Freebies_come2me]

But many brands use Asian models/Actors for asian markets?
Also if we look at the definition of whitewashing it’s definitely not what happened.https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whitewashing_in_film

The Chinese ads is a plagiarised version of John's, JM can come up with a diplomat answers that they want something that is tailored to the local market. I think essentially what lead to the decision is because you want your audience or target market to visualise the lifestyle that they can get by viewing the ad. In my opinion, because the concept of race and diversity is still in its infant stage in some of these countries, JM has made the decision to replace John with a local artist.

 

[CheshireLove]

Agreed - apologies for derailing the thread a bit.

Imho no one's missing out with Jo Malone. They charge an exorbitant price for very weak fragrances. I still have half a bottle from years ago when it was under $100 here but now it's shot up to nearly $200 for a 100mL bottle while they gift baskets of these things to influencers for free, who then proceed to shill their products non-stop.

This always irritated me about Jo Malone. They try and get you to buy three or so fragrances to ‘layer’ to create your own personal scent. They’re very pushy about it. At several hundred pounds a pop! No thanks!

 

[svdwoodsen]

This always irritated me about Jo Malone. They try and get you to buy three or so fragrances to ‘layer’ to create your own personal scent. They’re very pushy about it. At several hundred pounds a pop! No thanks!

Their scents do smell divine but sillage is non-existent. Great point about the layering - that always annoyed me so much as well!

I know they're considered mainstream and popular now but I feel like they were one of the earliest brands to jump onto the whole gifting influencers who help push their goods idea. Given what we know about the morals of most influencers, that's not a good sign.

 

[Restless Native]

Shd ever admitted to getting botox?

 

[Gossiper35]

Shd ever admitted to getting botox?

No but its very obvious she's had it.