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Clorox Explains Emoji Tweet That Many Thought Was Weirdly Racist One of Twitter's more bleachable moments By Alfred Maskeroni
Some long-awaited racially diverse emojis
were added to iOS today, and all the world is happy. Well, the world was happy until it saw this Clorox tweet.
The brand sent out an odd message
Wednesday evening featuring a bottle of its bleach made up of emojis, and the line, "New emojis are alright but where's the bleach." Given the timing, it set the Internet ablaze, with many wondering if Clorox meant the diverse emoji should all be bleached white. (There were no face emojis in the tweet, though.)
Despite intense criticism, Clorox left the tweet up, at least as of this writing (UPDATE: It's now been deleted), though it did follow up with a response, saying it just meant that emojis like toilets, bathtubs and wine glasses might need to be bleached at some point. Odd, then, that none of those emojis appeared in the original image, either.
Well, we're not sure if Clorox knows how Twitter works, but there's an easy way to "bleach away" a tweet—the delete button. Both tweets are now still there gathering comments.
Despite intense criticism, Clorox left the tweet up, at least as of this writing (UPDATE: It's now been deleted), though it did follow up with a response, saying it just meant that emojis like toilets, bathtubs and wine glasses might need to be bleached at some point. Odd, then, that none of those emojis appeared in the original image, either.
Well, we're not sure if Clorox knows how Twitter works, but there's an easy way to "bleach away" a tweet—the delete button. Both tweets are now still there gathering comments.
And it's isn't pretty. Below is a sampling of reaction to the original tweet.
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Mitch • 3 days ago see moreThis is a super lame joke, but I don't think anybody can reasonably accuse this as being deliberately malicious. This tweet is unremarkable in the purest sense of the word.-
hornedupboned > Mitch • 3 days ago see morei dont get the tweet at ALL what is so special about, why were ppl offended what does it mean?!-
InvisibleZombie > hornedupboned • 2 days ago see moreThey used emojis like wine, toilets, pigs, bathtub, etc. NO faces. It was about the household emojis NOT racial at all. Geez .-
Kayla > InvisibleZombie • 3 hours ago see moreBut they didn't use wine glasses, toilets, or bathtub emojis. The only thing I can see that could be bleached is a knife. And while they didn't use any of the new racially diverse emojis in the tweet, that was the main selling point of the new emojis. Just because it doesn't offend you doesn't mean it's not offensive to others.
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Bananadrama > hornedupboned • 2 days ago see moreThe main thing people were talking about re: the new emojis was that there were finally emojis featuring people who aren't white.-
geekfilter > Bananadrama • 2 days ago see moreThere's also a 'Live Long & Prosper' hand salute. Does that mean Clorox has something against Vulcan's too? People are just looking for things to be offended by.-
Raymond Ward > geekfilter • 2 days ago see moreOr maybe it means that you don't understand what implicit bias is.-
geekfilter > Raymond Ward • 2 days ago see moreI do, but I also understand what the tweet was implying and it wasn't racist (or homophobic, or anti-Vulcan). As my aunt (who is black) says "Use the brain that God gave you."-
Raymond Ward > geekfilter • 2 days ago see moreI'm not saying that I agree, I'm saying that I can understand. In every place where I've seen talk about the new emojis (I don't even have an iPhone) I've only seen talk about the racially diverse emojis. And then here's an (ill-timed) joke about where's the bleach. I can see the position is all I'm saying.
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The Coup > Raymond Ward • 2 days ago see moreImplicit Bias: Seeing racism where none can be reasonably judged to exist; usually indicative of the observer's own deep-seated racism.-
Raymond Ward > The Coup • 2 days ago see moreI...hope you didn't have to pay for that education.-
The Coup > Raymond Ward • 2 days ago see moreI paid quite a bit for my education, but even a five-year-old has the cognitive ability to recognize the intent of this tweet. There is no defense for those who are accusing it of being racist, or of being insensitive, or of implicit bias, or of any other ridiculous notion that attributes harm - inadvertent or otherwise - to this tweet.
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Q22 • 2 days ago see moreThis, I hope, is the "Jump the shark" moment for the racial offense business. Up there with trouble Hallmark got into because a space-themed talking card mentioned "Black Holes" and some misguided people thought they said "Black Ho's"-
InvisibleZombie > Q22 • 2 days ago see moreYeah, I thought they couldn't sink any lower than that! I was wrong.
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Bad Spock • 2 days ago see moreDear god we've become a nation of whiners! The continual shrieks of victimization and howls of racism are truly become nauseating. Grow up people! You're supposed to be adults--not adolescent children. Pathetic.-
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The Coup > Raymond Ward • 2 days ago see moreThat's a mighty thin veil over your own racism, Raymond.-
Raymond Ward > The Coup • 2 days ago see moreYou used "racism" incorrectly. You meant prejudice. You'd still be wrong but it would put you closer to what you were trying to say.-
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geekfilter > Thea • 2 days ago see moreSince Humans and Vulcans were created by the Progenitors I guess the Vulcans could be considered a race of humanoids. :-)
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Matt Maher • 2 days ago see moreIf you're like me, when you think of quality storytelling can't-miss content, you think CLOROX. -
Bob Portune • 2 days ago see moreFirst of all, there aren't any "emojis of color" in the mosaic that makes up the shape of the bottle, so seriously, where's the problem?Secondly, if we've really gotten this sensitive as a society, reading hidden meanings into EVERYTHING, then let's just ban bleach altogether. It's only purpose is to whiten, or to strip the color out of any non-white thing it touches. It forces the segregation of clothing that might otherwise be washed together. Essentially, it's liquid apartheid in a bottle.Yeah - it really DOES sound stupid.Making a big deal out of this trivializes the very real racism that does exist in this nation, a shameful cancer we still haven't removed from our society...-
Raymond Ward > Bob Portune • 2 days ago see moreYou not understanding why this tweet is offensive to people of color is actually the problem. I'm not saying you have to agree, but the fact that you're over intellectualizing it in order to trivialize the feelings of a group is worse than the Clorox tweet. And..."real racism"...right....-
geekfilter > Raymond Ward • 2 days ago see moreOver intellectualizing, you mean taking the tweet for what it actually meant? Which was "There are all these new Emoji's why isn't there a bleach one? Hardy har har!" Why let the truth get in the way of becoming indignant? It was a stupid joke, but it had nothing to do with racism and to see it any other way is on the reader and not the intent of the sender. If we have to overanalyze everything we send to that degree then we may as well shut down the Internet right now.-
Raymond Ward > geekfilter • 2 days ago see moreIt sounds like you're as guilty of an inference as people who took it to mean something else. Since that's not exactly what Clorox said either.-
Tina > Raymond Ward • 2 days ago see moreHoly hell, you are deliberately being obtuse. Geekfilter is not inferring a damn thing. That is exactly what they meant based on reading the words of the tweet - "WE HAVE ALL THESE NEW EMOJIS, WHERE IS THE ONE FOR BLEACH".-
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Tina > Kyle Hale • 2 days ago see moreSo if I say "I'm starving" you wouldn't know I was hungry or needed food because I didn't say the exact words, " I AM HUNGRY".The fact is I've only seen two of you so far here that have tried to say the tweet could be viewed as racist. While it's impossible that everyone will interpret everything in the same way, thankfully it seems like the majority of people have common sense here.-
Kyle Hale > Tina • 2 days ago see moreI never said the tweet was racist (EDIT: I see you've changed the wording, thank you). In fact on several occasions I've acknowledged that it's NOT racist, but that I can see how the tweet in this situation lends itself to possibly being read as racist, and how someone at the agency could have done a better job with the copywriting. Pretty sure Raymond has said the same thing.My comment to you was just to point out that your quotation of the tweet was wrong and wasn't what the actual tweet said.-
Tina > Kyle Hale • 2 days ago see moreI know you didn't say it was racist and I realized I misquoted you. I edited my reply as soon as I hit send in order to clarify "I've only seen two of you say the tweet could be viewed as racist."The words in quote was what I said they MEANT."That" is what they "meant", followed by a dash (-) and then I put in quotation what they meant.-
Kyle Hale > Tina • 2 days ago see moreAh, I focused more on the "...reading the words of the tweet - " that was right before the quotation, but I see now what was intended. However, the very fact that we've had to go through these hoops just to get across what each meant shows that we have to be very careful when only using short bursts of text to get across ideas, which is why people (and brands) have to pay close attention to what they post to make sure nobody can misread it. I work in advertising (as I'm sure many others here do), and we spend a LOT of time making sure there is only one way to read a headline to avoid situations like this.Again, this isn't about racism, it's about marketing and how not to do it.-
Tina > Kyle Hale • 2 days ago see moreAgreed, I thought the same thing when I was clarifying my comment - it's easy to misinterpret things on the Internet.I don't think there can every really be one way to read a headline or advertising message though. I work in the field too and I deal with it everyday. For instance, I posted something about a group of men who were doing a walk to raise awareness about sexual assault against women, and the majority of the responses were "great initiative". But still had a few people who interpreted it as "by highlighting men raising awareness for sexual assault, you're saying women aren't raising awareness as well" (not kidding). I'm afraid that before too long, it's going to be nearly impossible to do our jobs without a 50-page disclaimer about the intent behind every message. -
geekfilter > Kyle Hale • 2 days ago see more"However, the very fact that we've had to go through these hoops just to get across what each meant shows that we have to be very careful when only using short bursts of text to get across ideas" Except that it's ABSURDLY clear what they meant. This is like Clinton arguing over "It depends upon what the meaning of the word 'is' is. The post was fine except for a grammatical error and a joke that is just lame. Why aren't we discussing why a BLEACH brand is stretching so far to connect on social media instead? Does a household good like Clorox actually even NEED to do this? Does it make a dent in their sales? Does brand recognition translate into more money or is it just a distraction? That is more intriguing than manufacturing a polarizing issue.
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geekfilter > Raymond Ward • 2 days ago see moreI said 'meant' as in meaning not said as in the literal phrasing used in the tweet. Big difference. They did mean "There are all these new Emoji's why isn't there a bleach one? Hardy har har!" The 'Hady har had!' was to imply the rather bad joke. The kind your dad might tell if your dad was a brand of bleach. That's the extent of that tweet. To read anything more into it is trying to find something to be upset by. Nothing more to see here but a lame joke. Move along.
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Tina > Raymond Ward • 2 days ago see moreBy your logic, the tweet should also be offensive to gay people (emojis featuring homosexual couples were also released). Bleach is used to disinfect or purify, in addition to whitening, so gay people could make the argument that Clorox thinks they are unclean and wants to sanitize them. Doesn't that sound ridiculous? It is and it is equally ridiculous to suggest anything about microaggression or implicit bias in that tweet.-
Raymond Ward > Tina • 2 days ago see moreActually, the only thing ridiculous about your statement is the idea that how people feel about a marketing effort, which is entirely based on creating emotional appeals, shouldn't matter.-
Tina > Raymond Ward • 2 days ago see moreNever said it shouldn't matter but grasping at straws is ridiculous. As I said, why aren't gay people drawing the same conclusions? The fact that you disregarded that just shows your implicit bias against gay people. They don't matter to you, they aren't worth acknowledging. Homophobe.-
Raymond Ward > Tina • 2 days ago see moreAre we saying that gay people didn't raise similar objections, or are you speaking for the group as a whole? I simply acknowledge that wasn't the focus of this particular article. But...it was a nice try nonetheless...I suppose.-
Tina > Raymond Ward • 2 days ago see moreYes, I am saying they didn't raise similar objections. I read through every reply to that tweet and no one called out Clorox for being homophobic.Obviously, I have common sense (unlike the people who are claiming the tweet is racist) so I don't think you are a homophobe. I was just showing you how ridiculous it is to read into every little thing. What I get from the fact that you didn't acknowledge the statement about gay people is that you couldn't come up with an intelligent response. However, if I wanted to just search for a way to be offended, I could interpret you ignoring it as you don't think gay people are important. Kinda what you're doing with the Clorox thing - ignoring the OBVIOUS takeaway and searching for a reason to be outraged.-
Raymond Ward > Tina • 2 days ago see moreExcept...I was never outraged. I don't think you read any of my responses. Just like I don't think you read through *every* reply to that tweet. Have a good one, dear.
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Lola Guin > Raymond Ward • 2 days ago see moreI find the term "people of color" offensive. It implies that whites have no color, when in fact they're the most colorful race (light brown, olive, pink, white skin, brown, hazel, green, gray, blue eyes, black, brown, red, blonde hair). We're ALL people of color. These terms seek to pit whites against the rest of the world, which is racist. See? Anyone can be offended over anything. Doesn't mean we should be. People have entirely too much time on their hands these days. Grow thicker skin if you're offended by bleach. Nobody owes you anything, including an apology. -
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thisismyusername • 2 days ago see moreI just feel bad for the kid whose boss told him to spend 4 hours photoshopping all of those emoji into a bleach bottle for the world's lamest joke. Seriously, when did my dad become a creative director? -
Chris Kittredge • 2 days ago see moreseems to me they were asking why there is no bleach emoji in the new set. but then again everything is implicitly racist...
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Some long-awaited racially diverse emojis
were added to iOS today, and all the world is happy. Well, the world was happy until it saw this Clorox tweet.
The brand sent out an odd message
Wednesday evening featuring a bottle of its bleach made up of emojis, and the line, "New emojis are alright but where's the bleach." Given the timing, it set the Internet ablaze, with many wondering if Clorox meant the diverse emoji should all be bleached white. (There were no face emojis in the tweet, though.)
Despite intense criticism, Clorox left the tweet up, at least as of this writing (UPDATE: It's now been deleted), though it did follow up with a response, saying it just meant that emojis like toilets, bathtubs and wine glasses might need to be bleached at some point. Odd, then, that none of those emojis appeared in the original image, either.
Well, we're not sure if Clorox knows how Twitter works, but there's an easy way to "bleach away" a tweet—the delete button. Both tweets are now still there gathering comments.
Despite intense criticism, Clorox left the tweet up, at least as of this writing (UPDATE: It's now been deleted), though it did follow up with a response, saying it just meant that emojis like toilets, bathtubs and wine glasses might need to be bleached at some point. Odd, then, that none of those emojis appeared in the original image, either.
Well, we're not sure if Clorox knows how Twitter works, but there's an easy way to "bleach away" a tweet—the delete button. Both tweets are now still there gathering comments.
And it's isn't pretty. Below is a sampling of reaction to the original tweet.
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