Diversity Without Pity #9 | Silk #DoPlants Campaign

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Click the video below to hear the commercial.

People of Color #DoPlants Too

According to Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine “Approximately 70 percent of African Americans, 90 percent of Asian Americans, 53 percent of Mexican Americans, and 74 percent of Native Americans were lactose intolerant.^1-4 Studies showed that a substantial reduction in lactase activity is also common among those whose ancestry is African, Asian, Native American, Arab, Jewish, Hispanic, Italian, or Greek.^5″As a longtime sufferer of lactose-intolerance, I was drawn to soy milk and plant-based eating right around my freshmen year of college. Since that time, I’ve discovered almond, coconut, hazelnut, cashew, hemp, and tempeh milks. And for 17 years, I have learned to appreciate the vast range of fresh produce, nuts, seeds — and all the ways they can be prepared — as a more integrated part of my diet. I do eat meat. But I don’t rely on it for main sustenance.

For a very long time, the face of veganism and plant-based consumption has been thin, middle-income white people. And those who look at non-dairy options with suspicion often characterize consumers this way as privileged and fussy (perhaps thinking they can afford to take the jabs.) But given the statistics, the problem with these assumptions is that they erase the existence of low-income people of color, while also insulting their tastes.

Everyone should eat more plants. But people of color specifically suffer from external stressors that exacerbate health issues that already exist. However I find information, access, and promotional materials designed to target people of color come off as finger-wagging and condescending. These ads are clearly targeting a specific audience without talking down to them.

Strong graphics and beautiful cinematography

In addition to the contemporary celebrity voices the campaign, created by Fallon, has done an excellent job at using contemporary visual language (filters) and centered bold white type. A wave effect is used on the type to match the leaf-like wave of the new Silk logo.

It may seem like a cynical campaign move designed to connect with Millenials. But I have been waiting for years to be recognized, courted — though not pandered to — as a consumer of non-dairy options.

Diversity Without Pity is a blog series from IDSL, highlighting media that uses smart design, and considers the diversity of it’s casting without selling the viewer or consumer, short.