Herbal Essences Stinks

Yesterday, although I only caught the end of the latest Herbal Essences commercial, I still hated it. Imagine if I actually saw the wretched thing in its entirety! It showed an Asian girl with blonde hair speaking in a Swedish accent. She was talking about how she wanted blonde hair and how Herbal Essences helped her achieve that. I immediately took offense. How can white people be so egocentric? (At least those who made that ad. I would be surprised if an Asian was involved in creating that commercial. They should have had SJSU students in charge.) Hello? Not all Asians want to be more like Caucasians (a.k.a. blondes).

Some of us like ourselves the way we are, thank you very much. Some of us embrace our ethnicity. In the world we live in today, it's hard enough to accept ourselves for who we are. We certainly don't need a commercial like that messing around with our climb up Maslow's hierarchy of needs. What were they thinking? That commercial is just demeaning. It's definitely damaging to every little Asian girl's self-esteem. It sends the message to people that they can't flaunt what they were born with. What else can be expected from a lously tagline like, "Not born blonde?"

Yes, women change their hair color all the time so, why am I taking offense to this commercial and not say, L'oreal? I suppose I'm offended by the Herbal Essences commercial because of the race card. How can I not be? It's akin to someone making fun of my mother. Now, I have nothing against Asian ladies who want to change their hair color to blonde. They can do so of their own accord. That's their right. If they feel that they were born with the wrong hair color, then by all means, pull the ol' switcheroo.

However, this commercial airs nationwide, affecting millions. It imposes the idea on people to go blonde. At least, John Frieda's products in magazine ads cater to redheads, blondes, or brunettes. They target hair colors, not ethnicities. That's the smart way to do it--everyone fits into one of those categories, but not everyone's Asian. Plus, if Herbal Essences intentionally tailored that ad for Asians, they're on the losing end because some, like me, will hate it. Then again, the Dove campaign has been making valiant attempts to smash society's definition of beauty into smithereens. Unfortunately, for every step we take forward, we take two steps back.