Dior eviscerated online over Native American-themed ‘Sauvage’ perfume ad
Published time: 31 Aug, 2019 04:48Edited time: 31 Aug, 2019 04:49
Dior has removed posts promoting its ‘Eau Sauvage’ men's perfume after the ad starring actor Jonny Depp and featuring a Native American dancer in traditional garb prompted accusations of racism.
Twitter has erupted in a wave of indignation over a short clip promoting Dior’s decades-old ‘Eau Sauvage’ perfume after it was posted across the luxury brand’s social media on Friday.
The clip, a trailer for a commercial called “We are the Land,” shows Depp, clad in a poncho, playing a guitar amid mountainous terrain, and a Native American performer in a colorful traditional costume dancing, apparently, to Depp’s guitar improvisation.
The promotional materials describe the ad as an “ode to Earth” filmed with the help of Native American consultants. In a caption to a now-deleted Instagram post, Dior wrote that the film was made in “close collaboration” with Americans for Indian Opportunity (AIO) “in order to respect Indigenous cultures, values and heritage.”
However, what some would argue was the brand’s attempt at preemptive damage control did little to help Dior escape the internet's wrath, spurred by accusations of cultural appropriation and outright racism.
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Many took issue with the French name of the fragrance, “Sauvage,” which can be translated into English in several ways, including as “wild,”“unspoiled,”“unsociable,”“savage” and “fierce.”
The majority of those incensed over the campaign, however, presumed the most obvious (which is not always correct), while pointing to the uncanny similarity between the word “sauvage” and the English “savage.”
Someone on the Dior creative team: Hey, since the fragrance is called Sauvage, let's make it Indian-themed! Ya know cause Indians are wild and savage !
Johnny Depp: SOUNDS GREAT!
35 people are talking about this
They've got a cutting-edge marketing team over there at @Dior which, in the year 2019, came up the brilliant idea of calling Native Americans "savage" but making it all fancy and sophisticated by doing so in French.
29 people are talking about this
“Using Native American people and imagery to market a cologne whose name means "Savage" is completely out of pocket,” a user wrote in one of the most-shared tweets.
“There's no way in hell that Dior didn't know that it was inappropriate to equate Native Americans as savages. They know what they're doing. It's purposeful,”another chimed in.
There's no way in hell that Dior didn't know that it was inappropriate to equate Native Americans as savages. They know what they're doing. It's purposeful.
Kat Blaque
78 people are talking about this
Some members of the indigenous community have joined the criticism, with one twitterer, who identifies as a member of a Seminole Tribe, accusing the Hollywood star and the long-time face of the perfume of “profiting off a racist reference.”
Man. Wish I could be happy about this but this is perpetuating indigenous culture. The name “Sauvage” ring a bell? Savage.. .
.
This is a colab with Johnny Depp and Dior by the way. @Dior
21 people are talking about this
There were also those who came to Depp’s and Dior’s defense, noting that the perfume is said to have been inspired by Christian Dior’s friend, Australian fashion publicist Percy Savage, hence its peculiar name. ‘Eau Sauvage’ was introduced by the perfumery line of the famed fashion house back in 1966, long before the online cultural wars began.
Others argued that neither the creators of the ad, nor Depp - a honorary member of the Comanche Nation since 2013 - did anything wrong, with the ad itself being a powerful homage to Native Americans.
Reasons why your outrage over the Dior Sauvage ad is invalid and ridiculous:
- Natives participated in the creation of the ad.
- Johnny Depp is part indigenous.
- They did not mock or make fun of the culture.
- It was a homage.
- And finally, the meaning of Sauvage:
haley
610 people are talking about this
AIO executive director Laura Harris, meanwhile, appeared to confirm suspicions that the whole affair might have been a PR stunt by Dior, aimed at gaining bad publicity. “Our aim was hopefully that the controversy would do exactly what it’s done on social media and raise people’s awareness,” she told AP.
posted by Satish Sharma at
13:00
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