MILWAUKEE -- An advertisement from a major cosmetics company is prompting criticism from some local women, who claim the ad is racist.
The ad was spotted in at least one area drug store. A local woman took a photo and began sharing it on social media. That's where Kristin Belkofer saw it.
"Right away, I was like 'woah that's really inappropriate,'" said Belkofer.
The ad shows three women side by side, all of them famous spokeswomen for the cosmetics company.
"It didn't make much sense at all why the person of color that was represented in the ad was the only person wearing this lighter color mask," said Belkofer.
Several people took to Twitter to share their concerns with the company. L'Oréal responded to tweets about the ad saying "to ensure transparency, in campaigns for masks we always photograph spokespeople with the product applied. Our displays are updated routinely so you can expect to see a new one soon."
When frustrated customers asked why only the black woman has her face covered in the ad, L'Oréal responded, "the display combines images from three different products: Helen Mirren for Age Perfect Moisturizer, Eva Longoria for Revitalift Cream and Maria Borges for Pure Clay Masks."
"It just came across as really insensitive," said Belkofer. "None of that read immediately. I think the representation of people of color in every industry is hugely important in our world and has been something that's been neglected for a very long time."
TODAY's TMJ4 reached out independently to L'Oréal for comment but received the same response the company offered on Twitter.
