A Bone To Pick

Okay, what is up with these Dr. Miracle commercials?!





In one commercial, a Black woman runs to the mirror and screams in horror at the state of her hair. She exclaims, "I need a miracle!" comeplete with tears. Suddenly, "Dr. Miracle"'s hand pops out the mirror holding one of his products and says "You need this, etc." Fade to a picture of the full line, (with that big box of No-Lye Relaxer showcased in the middle, by the way) and return to the scene at hand. The woman now returns to the mirror with long, shiny, straight-and-hot-curled hair, profusely thanking Dr. Miracle and falling in love with him.

Is it just me? Or does that tee you just a bit?
Dr. Miracle and his commercials are circulating madly on most channels that they know black women watch. This type of marketing is no news, but I don't see how he (and they) sleep and night knowing they're praying on the insecurities of millions of black women, reinforcing the belief that your original, natural hair is ugly and that You Need a Miracle.

The strategy of this marketing is diabolical. Apart from the woman crying at her self in the mirror, the advertising includes the Other Woman "Whose Hair You Want" who makes sure you know you need a miracle, Dr. Miracle at that, and the Successful Black Man who lusts after your long straight perfection. And at the head of all of that, the company gave their product as face, soliciting your trust with a Black doctor who obviously only has the interest of his people at heart.

What really grinds my gears is that a relaxer is never the answer to the problem presented in these commercials. Yes, the woman's hair was dry, frizzy, and all tangled and knotted but that's nothing a good twist-out regimen couldn't fix.
We black women are made to believe that our original self is ugly and we have internalized it. Companies like Dr. Miracle's reinforce and make profit off of this fact and we allow this!

Finally, the use of a black spokesperson really attracts the target demographic. Black people must learn that most of these companies who do that and slap "African" on everything are usually white owned. Would you be rushing to buy these products if a business suited white man was telling you your kinks need a miracle?Think of it that way. Because that's the way it is.


Peace out.
Angry Jade