When ‘beauty’ and ‘race’ are mixed in Israel: What’s happening with ‘beautiful’ beauty ads
Israel’s advertising industry has been struggling for years to find a balance between its traditional roots as a religious-based industry and its growing multiculturalism and diversity, but the latest controversy surrounding the issue may have opened the door to a wider shift.
On Tuesday, the Israeli Supreme Court issued a ruling allowing a beauty advertisement to be used in a commercial promoting an Israeli beauty brand, but ruled that it would be a violation of the Israeli Advertising Code of Ethics, which states that advertisements must be “in accordance with the ethical requirements of the relevant laws and regulations.”
The court, in a decision that will be binding for advertising in the future, stated that “a beauty ad can be viewed as an invitation to consumers to look at the image and experience beauty through the eyes of its subject, the subject of the ad, as a way to find out what beauty looks like, and to discover and appreciate the beauty of the world.”
According to the ruling, this can happen when an advertisement “is directed at a specific group or a particular type of people,” but also “when a particular ethnic group is represented in a particular fashion.”
The ruling, which also stated that it is a violation to promote an advertisement that “promotes an ethnic group that is not in accordance with Jewish values or traditions,” is likely to further fuel the push for a more diverse, multicultural and diverse advertising landscape.
In January, Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported that Israel’s Advertising Standards Authority had been working on a draft Code of Ethical Standards, which would specifically prohibit advertisements that feature ethnic stereotypes and promote ethnic products that are not produced by Israel.
Advertising for Israeli cosmetics brand Makeup, which is based in Jerusalem, was recently featured in a campaign for the Israeli cosmetics company, Etude House, in which Makeup’s makeup is displayed in a hijab-like head covering.
The advertisement, which was created in collaboration with Etude’s advertising director, Yael Yadin, featured a young woman in a black hijab in the foreground, wearing a Makeup perfume spray, and a smiling woman wearing a make-up mask.
In the background, the Makeup ad can clearly be seen.
In the advertisement, the hijab is visible and the makeup spray is visible in the background.
In one of the ads, the young woman wearing the MakeUp perfume spray is shown with a beaming expression, while in another, she looks away, as if she is looking away from the viewer.
In a statement posted to Facebook by the Make Up ad agency, Etudes marketing director, Elia Maimon, said the company is disappointed with the decision, but not surprised by it.
“We’re aware of the concerns expressed by the media about the image, but our intention was to portray the beauty in a way that was unique to our brand,” Maimon said.
“In the end, this ruling is not a reflection of the beauty industry’s values, but of our ethical standards, which include not promoting the use of illegal or racist imagery.”
“The ruling that the ASA issued today is not an obstacle to our work to change the rules, but rather an opportunity for us to explore what new opportunities might exist in the advertising landscape in order to increase the diversity of the cosmetics industry,” Maimoni said.
In other cases, advertisers are also being penalized for appearing to show “anorexia” in advertisements.
The advertising industry is also being criticized for the portrayal of Jewish people in ads, which are often described as “Jew-friendly” and that portray them as being “normal.”
In November, a campaign by Israeli company, Shabbat Etzion, featuring a model with a large, tattooed arm tattooed on her arm, was seen in ads for a beauty brand in Israel.
The ad was titled “Make-up without a blemish.”
In the ad for Etzions flagship product, Makeup and Shabbets, the model wears a long black, sleeveless dress and makeup, with a bright pink scarf around her neck and a red-and-white ribbon over her eyes.
The ad’s tagline reads, “Don’t you look beautiful?”
A representative for Shabbats said the campaign was “not designed for the public.”
“We do not promote anorexia or any other condition,” the representative told Haaretz.
“We are just using Makeup to represent our products in a more neutral way.”
The spokesperson added that Shabbaters ad was not in violation of any law, and did not include any explicit references to any specific religion or ethnicity.
The Shabbath Etzional, a non-profit group in Israel, said that it did not approve of the campaign.
“The ad is not appropriate for our advertising platform,” a spokesperson for the group told Ha’aretz.
“Its content does not reflect our values.
We are concerned that this campaign will cause an increase in the number of advertisers