I changed my mind about Hello Bello after receiving one email

Using black babies as a marketing tactic isn’t a good look

This is the first half of the email. Pretty harmless, right?

What Hello Bello wants parents to see:

The owners of a remarkable new baby care brand named Hello Bello, sending a reminder that they still exist and care. Awee.

What others might perceive:

A smiling privileged couple with a loaner African American kid as a prop.

By all means, a beautiful crisp image does wonders when placed appropriately in a well-curated email. This image however says- parenting is hard, but not necessarily for us. (Or at minimum, not the same kind of hard ).

So, what’s the Problem?

It can be perceived that the Hello Bello ad feigns empathy by including a baby that indirectly represents the unequal proportion of assistance that is delivered to minority communities.

Just to be clear- to some, there’s no issue and that’s all fine and dandy. But if you take a little extra time to view what’s in plain sight you may learn more about a brand than hours of research.

For example: Somewhere along the line a marketing exec, existing in a realm parallel to that which the Hello Bello audience exists, found the need to include a black character without direct valid context.

A character without context serves as a prop. In this case, direct valid context is a combination of the knowledge that the parents and company owners are celebrities, and to their disadvantage, their personal affairs are publicized. So who’s the baby?

Unfortunately for Hello Bello, the lack of contextuality shows a deficit in an effort to embody true diversity.

The photo used is the equivalent of an unsolicited “ I live next door to a black couple. They’re very nice people…”

This is a good example of where intention and execution don’t meet.

Honest by Comparison

Let’s do a quick competitive analysis for good measure. The Honest Company spearheaded by Jessica Alba offers similar baby items. Like Hello Bello, Jessica Alba serves as the face of the brand and is seen in a hefty portion of their marketing tactics. The imagery used is by no means life-changing or overly creative, however a genuine connection is immediately displayed. The message- “My family uses my product. It’s good enough"

It feels authentic. It appears as it’s name states. Honest.

Black Endorsement

A display of diversity lacks sincerity when force-fed with the holders of a silver spoon.

In 2020 many companies jumped on the BLM bandwagon. This endorsement, or portrayal thereof, directly correlated with their needs to align with the values of millennials and Gen-Zers who are, and would be the majority of their consumers. If these companies are to survive in the long run, they must connect with their audience.

Hello Bello wants not only to survive but to grow. We don’t however see their attempt to state that black lives are valued. Visually we’re offered a blatant emphasis on the desire to secure the revenue from a demographic that otherwise may overlook the brand. We are given a prop that is up for reckless translation. Here we learn that a display of diversity lacks sincerity when force-fed with the holders of a silver spoon.

In lieu of the need to mitigate consumer spending amid a colorful and protest-driven 2020, commercial advertisers like Hello Bello dramatically re-discovered black models. These models have played a non-existent or minimally supportive role in their brand advertising over the years. Enter the diversity hire.

Where Change Begins

We are now approaching the limit of the spectrum where achieving a socio-racial balance could make or break a company — but is also the most difficult to achieve without compromising a company’s values. Values being subjective, but still important to individuality in an existential eCommerce planet.

Too much of anything tips the balance.

So how do we find this balance?

There’s no die cut formula, but here’s what we do know-

Parading landing pages with black faces isn’t proof of change, acceptance or evolution. It’s a nod to acknowledge the racial dissection and socio-economic upheavals that bled 2020 of its promise to be better than 2019.

Appealing to the black demographic means not trying so hard to prove that you’re ‘woke’ or accepting of other shades. Instead, it means to show a relatable face that desires to connect, empathize, and serve one community just as much as the other.

If you want to sell primarily to a highly niched demographic, headline your landing pages with their faces. Have no apologies for your targeting. Win.

But if you want to acquire black dollars, display genuine diversity.