CINCINNATI
There’s a little-girl memory that Najoh Tita-Reid recounts, as a way of explaining what’s behind a new campaign by the nation’s biggest advertiser.
A young child in suburban Pittsburgh, she goes to play dolls with her neighbors, all of them white. Her doll stands out with its black color and features, and one girl says pointedly: “Najoh, our dolls can’t play with yours.”
Why not? “Because your doll is ugly,” comes the reply.
Fast-forward 30 years, and Tita-Reid is helping lead a Procter & Gamble Co. campaign called “My Black is Beautiful,” which combines marketing with forums meant to foster dialogue about black women and the way they are portrayed in popular culture.
The marketers involved say it’s a movement, not just advertising. But it aims at a group with growing buying power, estimated at more than $400 billion and is tied to brands including Olay skin care, Pantene shampoo, CoverGirl cosmetics, and Always and Tampax feminine care products.
P&G has a placed a special advertising section in the Essence December issue that hit newsstands Monday and is working on store and community promotions. There’s a Web site, plans for a multi-city “conversation tour,” and grants to community organizations to support young black women.
