|
Episode #2206
Business of Beauty
F: Color that goes from flat to fascinating.
Brown: Take note of advertising today and you may marvel at how far African-Americans have come when it comes to selling and representing American beauty. Is it far enough and in the right direction? We’ll talk about the impact ethnic diversity is having on the beauty ideal and beauty industry, next on Black Issues Forum.
Voiceover: Quality public television is made possible through the financial contributions of viewers like you, who invite you to join them in supporting UNC-TV.
Brown: Good afternoon everyone and welcome to Black Issues Forum. I’m your host, Natalie Bullock Brown. For as long as history has been recorded, women have pursued their society’s definition of ideal beauty. In America it seems African-American women have found themselves at the opposite end of that ideal, one that glorifies European facial features, hair texture and skin color. Recently however, as America’s minorities have become the majority, black women have been dealt a hand in the beauty game. Do we celebrate the diversity of American women seen in print ads, television commercials and elsewhere, or is there more to understand? We’ll get to some answers in a moment.
But first, producer Deborah Holt caught up with Lancôme’s national artistic director at a promotional event at Sak’s Fifth Avenue at Triangle Town Center in Raleigh to find out how he’s helping his company to find beauty today.
[BEGIN PRERECORDED SEGMENT]
Burton: Do you have face powder Ginger?
Holt: As the national artistic director for Lancôme Cosmetics, Ross Burton provides expert knowledge on beauty for every skin tone and complexion. To sit down and talk with him about his role in influencing decisions at the top, Ross insisted I join a group of women at Sak’s Fifth Avenue in Raleigh for a mini-facial and color makeover featuring his own personalized instruction.
Holt: How much influence do you really have?
Burton: You have no idea. Listen, let me tell you something, if you take a walk to a Lancôme counter and you pull out the trays and you see the variety and diversity of colors and pigments and textures, anywhere from our foundations to our blushes, to our lipsticks, you see the influence there. Because part of my mission is to really support the statement that Lancôme makes when we say that “We are beauty for all women.”
Holt: Today at Lancôme that beauty is represented by the face of Selena Breed [ph] from Atlanta.
Burton: You’re going to see great things from Selena. Already she has done two major campaigns for Lancôme and it’s really major for us to use a woman of color to represent our foundation category.
Holt: As it turned out, my interview brought forth interesting revelations not only about African-American women and beauty, but also about myself.
Burton: If you were to choose an area of your face that you felt was the color that you most identify with, what color or what area in your face would you point to?
Holt: Really this color and this color.
Burton: Ah ha, ah ha. And in most cases it’s usually the lightest color of your face.
Holt: Is that a bad thing?
Burton: No, it’s not a bad thing. It’s just what women of color usually equate to as being their color.
Holt: Ross assured me that in his opinion, it really wasn’t a matter of right, wrong or guilty. It was a matter of personal preference in simply identifying with an area of my face that I most wanted to accentuate. I asked him, how does he define beauty?
Burton: A woman who is confident and who is happy within her own skin.
Holt: Finding comfort in your own skin is every individual’s personal challenge. But I wondered where the challenge of institutional racism fit in the beauty industry, if it was present.
Paschal: Oh yeah, I mean you’re always going to get that from women, especially in the south. This is North Carolina and I’m a man in a woman’s field. You know, they’ll come in, they say, are you the only person working, oh, I’ll come back later. Or, it hasn’t been in many years, I’ve been in the industry for six years now with Lancôme, here in the area, so not for many years.
Burton: It’s my role and it’s my talent and it’s my position within the company that precedes me. So in a lot of cases a lot of people haven’t who haven’t met me, they know of Ross and they know his credibility and his history and his talents. And then when they meet me, that’s really what I feel that I’m personally judged on. Throughout the industry do I think that it still exists? Absolutely I think it still exists. But I think with the changing of time, and also our population and the diversity and the spending power of women of color, such as Asians, Latinos and also African-American women, I think that a lot of people are taking note.
Holt: Do you think that things have opened up for African-Americans in this industry.
Paschal: Oh absolutely, absolutely, especially for artists. I mean, there are so many of women that paved the way for African-American women like Tyra Banks, Oprah Winfrey, Halle Berry. So many of those women make it so much easier for black women to feel comfortable. And then companies like Lancôme advertising in Essence and Ebony. You know, they feel like they can come to the counter and we’re going to have something that’s going to meet their needs.
Holt: The trend of celebrities as models is a phenomenon some scholars are calling the influence of a subculture redefining beauty. As noted in research by a student at Georgia State University and published in the journal Globalization, many advertisers use celebrities from the music industry to gain consumer confidence. Hip hop in particular has proven itself a powerful economic force. Whether it’s on the backs of high profile celebrities or the leadership of professionals behind the scenes, strides to incorporate more women of color into the mainstream image of beauty are occurring.
[END PRERECORDED SEGMENT]
Brown: And so what in fact has been the true impact of ethnic diversity on the American beauty ideal and the production and marketing of beauty products today? To help us answer these questions and others we have two very distinguished guests indeed. Edward W. Bullock is vice president of Diversity for L’Oreal USA. Under Mr. Bullock’s leadership, L’Oreal has not only expanded its efforts to diversify its workforce, vendors and initiatives in community relations, but the company has also won numerous prestigious awards including the World Leadership Council’s Corporate Diversity Innovation award. We are also pleased to have with us Michelle Ebanks [ph], President of Essence Communications, Inc., the publishers of Essence magazine and producers of the internationally acclaimed Essence Music Festival. Ms. Ebanks is a former vice president of Time, Inc., which we should note has owned Ms. Ebanks company, Essence Communications, since January, 2005. Welcome both of you to Black Issues Forum.
Ebanks: Thank you.
Bullock: It’s good to be here.
Brown: So let’s starts off just by sort of getting like the basic question out of the way, how much of an influence does the beauty industry truly have on the self image of black women, and Michelle, why don’t we start with you?
Ebanks: Oh, African-American women absolutely have a distinct mindset. Her sense of her beauty comes from within, so she’s less influenced by what she sees around her and the media. She wants to see herself reflected, but she has a great sense of confidence and a high sense of self worth, that it’s just a part of being an African-American woman.
Brown: So if we did not see what we are currently seeing in print ads and television commercials, the diversity of women, African-American women in particular, different shades, different body types, different hair textures, still African-American women would feel beautiful and wouldn’t necessarily rely on those images to dictate what their self worth or self value is.
Ebanks: Absolutely. Magazines, like Essence, like Ebony have showcased her beauty for decades, and she will turn to those sources, those media sources that do reflect her beauty and not one narrow definition of beauty but the full array of beautiful colors that she represents. Now, she would like to see change in the beauty industry and to see herself reflected more often, but her own self image comes from within.
Brown: And what would you add to that, if anything?
Bullock: That beauty is indeed aspirational, and as we seek to meet the needs of a diverse population we certainly recognize the needs and the needs for aspiration towards beauty of the African-American woman. And that’s why we developed 19 different brands to meet so many diverse needs. And as we talk about aspiration, it really does date back to Egypt and women who were wearing black and green makeup back in the times of Antilles, and we know from our research at L’Oreal and in working with scientists at the Louvre that certainly the desire and the aspiration of beauty dates back many many centuries.
Brown: Well let me stay with you for a moment, just talk about how diversity and your efforts to diversify L’Oreal’s initiatives, has an impact on what black women actually are able to see, not only reflected back to them through the ads and commercials, but also just the shades of makeup that are available, because even in my lifetime I’ve seen a change. You know, there used to be only so many shades available and now you see from the very palest of foundations all the way to the darkest. What sort of impact has diversity in your specific efforts had on that change?
Bullock: Well we first recognized that, in terms of aspirations of beauty, it starts from within, and companies like L’Oreal believe that in order for a company to be global it must first be global from within, and that’s what our chairman says, which means not only must we reflect that globalness outside with products, but inside with those individuals who can influence the direction of our products. So having members of our team who are diverse, having an organization that is inclusive allows us to insure that we have products that are timely and relevant in our research and development areas, as well in our marketing teams. That is what is going to keep us ahead of the ball and ensure that we continue to be competitive going forward.
Brown: And how much of an impact do you think your presence has made in terms of L’Oreal doing that actual diversification?
Bullock: Oh, I think that we start off with a basic foundation, that is core to L’Oreal, and that starts with respect for the individual. So the core foundation of our diversity efforts starts with that. And then we have four pillars within that group, creating a diverse workforce, managing a diverse workforce, value in the diverse workforce, and leveraging a diverse workforce. My position reports direct to the president, and I prepare a state of diversity report which really does have impact, because we believe that what gets done is what is getting measured, and because we’re measuring our results and making progress. And we benchmark ourselves to ensure that we’re competitive in every area of our diversity journey. And the journey covers five categories: representation, supply diversity, philanthropy, training, and advertising. So we’ll look at all these areas, put them together to ensure that we continue to be inclusive in our diversity functions.
Brown: Michelle, with a company like Essence Communications where the flagship publication is Essence and it’s for black women, it’s for African-American women, how does diversity play a role in the sort of inclusiveness that Ed is talking about, when you’re already African-American, I mean, that’s what the company is, it’s a black company for the most part. How does that work in an arena like that?
Ebanks: Well in terms of working with L’Oreal?
Brown: Not necessarily in terms of working with L’Oreal, but when Essence is put together, how does diversity in the workforce at Essence actually impact what black women see when they pick up the magazine?
Ebanks: The Essence organization has historically from the very beginning been diverse, where the majority of the employees are African-American, but we have our European sisters and brothers who are there, Asian, Hispanic who are involved in the process as well. The diversity that’s within the pages of the editorial within a magazine is very important to our editors. There’s a conscious effort to make sure that all of our shades and shapes and hairstyles and textures are represented so that every African-American woman can see herself in the pages of Essence magazine.
Brown: It’s interesting that you said that, because I agree, I think that it’s true, your first statement about African-American women defining beauty from within. But at the same time there is something in us that wants to see ourselves reflected back to us, so what’s the balance, how is that struck?
Ebanks: We look for those positive affirmations of our own sense of self and self confidence. And so when we see in media those positive images of ourselves there, we respond favorably to that. When we see beautiful images of women in L’Oreal advertisements from every division, then that’s a sense of yes, you are speaking to me, you are acknowledging me. And black women are receptive to that, respond to that. They want to be recognized and valued. This is a consumer segment that’s spending $6.3 billion on personal care, and it’s the larger, more successful companies that are truly recognizing that. And L’Oreal is a leader in getting that right.
Brown: I wanted to come back to you, Ed, and ask you about, I guess just corporate culture in general. I appreciated what you said about L’Oreal’s president wanting to see diversity in the workforce in order for L’Oreal to be truly global. But isn’t it also good business sense, I mean, how does the diversity actually translate into dollars for the company?
Bullock: I’m glad you mentioned that, because it is absolutely good business. And companies that understand that it’s a business necessity can not only be diverse in terms of its product categories, but diverse in terms of its thinking, are companies that would blind spots. When you have people around the room who resemble your marketplace, who can speak for the needs of your marketplace in a very relevant way, you are assured of having products that meet those needs, and you can then aspire to those expectations. Those expectations do transfer into dollars. $1.3 trillion in the multicultural marketplace is available for companies that get it right—$1.3 trillion and climbing. At L’Oreal we want our market share of that, and that means that we’ve got to come to the table with products that meet the needs of that diverse community.
Brown: In terms of minority women, are African-American women sort of at the forefront of advances made in terms of reflecting the diversity among black women, or are you making the same or is L’Oreal making the same gains in terms of Hispanic women, Indian women and so forth?
Bullock: We look across the board, because as I mentioned earlier that $1.3 trillion is composed of women of many different diverse backgrounds, and our products that represent 18 different brands reflect that. So what you want to see are people at the top with certainly Asian background, African-American background, and Latino background, to hit all those markets to ensure you’ve got not only the representation, but the influence of their backgrounds and their learnings, to immerse yourselves in those cultures. But it’s also important to have a committed research team, and our research team is headed up by Dr. Victoria Holloway, who is African-American, who heads up the world’s only institute in Chicago devoted solely to the study of hair and skin of people of African descent, and that’s just awesome.
Brown: Wow, yeah it is.
Bullock: And we just recently built one in Asia for the study of people of Asian descent. So this is a real breakthrough, and as we all know, there has been a lot of research done on people of color. It’s not always been positive research. So for a company to make that commitment is certainly impressive for us.
Brown: Absolutely. Michelle, let me get you back into the conversation and ask you, is there too much focus on the faces out front, on the covers of magazines in the ads that we see, and not enough on what is actually happening behind the scenes with the decision makers; I mean, are we not understanding where the true power is?
Ebanks: Within the beauty industry increasingly there are those who are stepping to the forefront and not just being the face. They are involved in product development and having a say in what the companies are doing. And that’s happening more and more and it’s important because women of color tend to understand viscerally, but technically, what will work or appeal to African-American women. And so more and more we’re seeing people rise to decision making positions within those companies.
Brown: As a result of your experiences, where would you say there is a lack of minority, in general, and African-American in particular, participation in that decision making?
Ebanks: Well, we’re seeing more participation within the mass products that have broader distribution around the country, and we don’t see as much participation at prestige type products, I mean, L’Oreal of course with Lancôme is an exception to that. We saw in the clip that led this segment. But seeing more representation within prestige department store brands would be welcomed.
Brown: And when you say prestige brands, are you talking about the actual roles, like the level, the executives that are present—
Ebanks: Yes, the executives who are the vice presidents, the executive vice presidents, presidents of those divisions who are making decisions about research, product development, marketing, strategies. There’s always room for improvement.
Brown: would you agree with that, Ed?
Bullock: Absolutely, which is why we benchmark ourselves and set a very high bar, and measure ourselves at the level of managers and above, because they know that’s where you get impact, that’s where you get penetration.
Brown: Michelle—actually this question is for both of you—but just because of your roles at your respective companies, I’m wondering what your personal vision is for what your company should and can do for African-American women, in particular, and for minorities in general. And Michelle, let’s go back to you with that.
Ebanks: Well, a big part of our focus at Essence is to work closely with the cosmetics companies, to work closely with the industry itself, so we conduct a number of proprietary research studies that are psychographic studies, user-based studies that we take out to our clients so that they can help—it can help them better understand how they can effectively reach African-American women and develop products that would appeal to them. So we believe that as the authority in black women, that we have that responsibility to go out and help educate the industry on her needs and aspirations, and how successful they are in their effort. So that’s an important part of what we do on a week-to-week basis to help change or increase diversity in the industry.
Brown: I’m going to get to you in one minute, but I just want to stay with you for a minute, Michelle, and ask, because I know you are a mother, but also because of Essence and its role in African-American women’s lives, what would you say in terms of diversity and beauty and the reflection back of image, how do mothers deal with their daughters, and even their sons in trying to help them to develop healthy self images, given the variety of images which are not all so good, that are out there?
Ebanks: Oh, as a mother it’s a special challenge, yeah, because the media does influence very formable minds, but the goal is to focus on, to take, bring that media into our home that has positive images and reflects people of color in a positive light. So that’s all very important. So we encourage the good when we see it and try to keep that balance. It’s important.
Brown: It is. Ed, back to you about vision, your personal vision and what you think your company, L’Oreal should and can do for black women in particular, what sort of commitment?
Bullock: I think it starts with leadership. I talked earlier about our CEO, leadership, but it’s a corporate leadership. It’s a leadership that says that to advertise in Essence is good for our business and we are the number one advertiser in Essence magazine, in the top five in multicultural advertising; that’s a leadership role. Opening up an institute in Chicago on Wabash Street to study the hair and skin of African descent, that’s a leadership role. Hiring a very large number of people of color who reflect the industry, different shades, different textures, different products to meet those aspirations, that’s a leadership role, and that’s what you expect from the number one beauty company, and that’s what we hope will inspire others to follow our lead.
Brown: And just to quickly follow up, how far behind—well, how far out front is L’Oreal in leading the pack, in doing the sort of diversity and leading the sort of initiatives that you are?
Bullock: Well that’s a good question, and a few years ago we were recognized by diversity best practice for our leadership in the area of diversity. And most recently recognized in Prague at the World Diversity Leadership Summit for our leadership in diversity and innovation. And just last week at the Harvard Club recognized for our leadership in advertising. So we think in fact that we are taking on a strong leadership role, but we know there’s more work to be done. Diversity has a twin sister, her name is Inclusion, and Diversity and Inclusion when invited to the same dance, can bring you great results, and that’s what we’re working toward.
But I do want to take a moment, because you talked about mothers and their daughters. I’m a father of three boys, and my wife and I work very hard to make sure that our three boys see images on television that reflect them, and we’re very involved in the community to make that happen as well. So I think for parents there is a strong role to play in what our children see and how they grow up, and their aspirations of success and images as well.
Brown: Absolutely, I’m glad you said that. And with that wonderful last words, if you’d like to get in touch with our guests or obtain a copy or transcript of tonight’s show, visit us online at unctv.org/bif. When you visit, be sure to give us your comments and program suggestions. You can also call us on the BIF line at 919-549-7167. For Black Issues Forum I’m Natalie Bullock Brown reminding you to be encouraged, no matter what. Have a good one.
[THEME MUSIC]
[END RECORDING]
|
