The brand that has proclaimed itself as the inventor (or redefiner, to be accurate) of real beauty, real men and real self-esteem, is currently being labelled racist.

Fury is burning on social media about an ad, a three second gif, that Dove ran on Facebook for its body wash, which was taken to hint at a coloured woman “washing herself” white, or needing to be made clean.

“What on earth were they thinking?” is exactly what dozens of social media commentators asked.

“What exactly were yall going for?,” wrote one Dove user on the company’s Facebook page. “What was the mark … I mean anyone with eyes can see how offensive this is. Not one person on your staff objected to this? Wow. Will not be buying your products anymore.”

The rage began on Friday, October 6, when make-up artist and online beauty products retailer, Naomi Leann Blake(@NaytheMua, posted images from the ad on her Facebook news feed.

On Saturday, Dove had to remove the ad and issue an apology on Twitter and Facebook, which read, “An image we recently posted on Facebook missed the mark in representing women of colour thoughtfully. We deeply regret the offence it caused.”

An image we recently posted on Facebook missed the mark in representing women of color thoughtfully. We deeply regret the offense it caused.

— Dove (@Dove) October 7, 2017

Dove’s PR company, Edelman, also stated, “As a part of a campaign for Dove Body Wash, a 3-second video clip was posted to the US Facebook page. This did not represent the diversity of real beauty which is something Dove is passionate about and is core to our beliefs, and it should not have happened. We have removed the post and have not published any other related content. We apologize deeply and sincerely for the offense that it has caused and do not condone any activity or imagery that insults any audience.”

Like almost every series on TV, and so many Hollywood blockbuster series,  there’s a point where trying to keep a decent ad idea alive can lead its creators into dangerous territory.

Telling women over and over again – for years – to stop being insecure about themselves can become arrogant…even bullying, can it not? A range of body washes in different “body” shapes (which Dove launched in the UK in May) is just fundamentally silly.

The “empowering women” mood has changed. Women are not less. Not self-loathing. Not needing to shored up by someone who “knows better”. Time for all brands to move on, yes?