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By Jamie Burton
Senior TV & Film Reporter (Interviews)
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Paper towel brand Bounty is the latest brand to face calls for a boycott after announcing their new "inclusive artists project."
Consumer power has been demonstrated in many forms recently as the likes of Bud Light and Target have faced customer boycotts, seemingly resulting in massive losses of earnings.
Bounty is facing the ire of many social media users after its "decision to exclude white artists" from a new art campaign. Newsweek contacted Bounty representatives and they replied that over the years, the brand has partnered with artists representing a variety of backgrounds.
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Earlier this year, Bounty launched a new campaign, Bounty Prints, to "use its brand platform to highlight and identify artists who aren't usually represented in the world of marketing and design." The promotional video goes on to detail they'd be using work from three "diverse artists": Kingsley Nebechi, Reina Castellanos and Shadé Akanbi.
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Their artwork is now included on some Bounty products. The relevant paper towels are marked with the "Inclusive Artists Project" logo on the packaging.
"To fund artists of color is exactly what this collection is representing, and should. It's our responsibility," Cathy Sonnett, who works in Design at parent company P&G, said in a promotional video for the initiative.
The Bounty Prints: Inclusive Artists Project isn't just about featuring artist designs on products. It has also donated $100,000 to fund scholarships for creatives of color in the field of Fine Arts and Design. According to the brand's website, to date: "Bounty has donated $650,000 to the inclusive artist initiative with the mission to celebrate and amplify diverse artists, highlighting their art, styles and stories."
"Inclusive Bounty makes a decision to EXCLUDE White artists from their $100,000 'art' scholarship program," user @UltraDane wrote in a tweet that has been viewed more than 155,000 times.
"Aww isn't that nice! Every race included except one," Brandon JT wrote.
"Now THAT is worth a boycott," stated Twitter user Kathy Tipton.
Seemingly fed up with the continued outreach by brands, user @alvasman said: "Keep this up, I'm going to run out of places to shop and products to buy … Forget Bounty."
"Welcome to the boycott, Bounty," wrote @TrollZaRubli. "For everything you can find at the supermarket, there is usually a store brand that's just as good or good enough and costs less money. Apparently, including an agenda is very expensive when packaging products."
The calls to boycott brands has risen recently with the likes of Bud Light, Target, Miller Lite and Kellogg's affected. Bud Light faced backlash after collaborating with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney, while Target's range of Pride clothing and "tuck-friendly" women's swimwear drew criticism.
Update 6/21/2023, 12:00 p.m. ET: This article was updated to include Bounty's response.
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