Dive Brief:
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Disney’s remake of the wildly popular Annie movie of the 1980s — itself an adaptation of the classic Annie Broadway show and the Little Orphan Annie comic — has become informally known as “the black Annie” because of its African-American cast. But a series of Target in-store ads for its Annie-themed clothing for girls has decidedly less color.
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The ads have prompted an online petition and a spate of think pieces in the media questioning why the retailer has featured a white girl in its ads for the line. “Though the model is quite professional,” the petition reads in part, “she does not speak to the relevance of the movie or main character. The Red Dress is synonymous to Annie and we are not seeing that in any of your ads.” The Change.org petition, led by a mom of a bi-racial girl, has collected more than 14,000 signatures at press time.
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Target has responded that the advertising and signage for the line has featured girls of diverse backgrounds.
Dive Insight:
This is a head-scratcher, really. A prominent feature of Disney’s Annie reboot is its African-American cast, its “black Annie,” something that has captivated much of the country thanks to the charms of 10-year-old Quvenzhane Wallis in the lead role.
Target isn’t saying much about this; the Annie line has a very limited run, to coincide with the movie’s run, and in many stores it’s already out the door. But why didn’t the racial identity of its own Annie stand-in also coincide with that of the movie? It’s just not clear why Target would miss how insulting this would be to many of its customers. Unfortunately for the retailer, the media storm around this looks like it will be much less limited than the limited nature of the project.