ABC and P&G’s My Black is Beautiful™ Team Up to Share a Powerful Message of Support and Understanding

(Black PR Wire) CINCINNATI--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Tonight millions of American households will join the pivotal, growing dialogue on ending racial bias, when ABC and P&G’s My Black is Beautiful™ promote deeper cross cultural understanding through a special episode of black-ish, ABC’s hit sitcom at 9 p.m. EST / 8 p.m. CST. Central to the plot is “the talk” that black parents have with their children about bias, and the listening and learning journey toward understanding by people of all backgrounds. P&G’s award-winning ad, “The Talk” will also air during the program.

During tonight’s episode, Dre (played by Anthony Anderson) is selected to lead development of an advertising campaign that focuses on “The Talk” By P&G’s My Black Is Beautiful. Originally released in July, “The Talk” is a 2-minute film that depicts the conversations Black parents have with their children through the decades to prepare them for the racial bias they may face in the world. The foundational story behind “The Talk” and the challenge of making bias relatable are central themes in tonight’s episode. P&G hopes it will broaden the conversation about bias by exploring how people from different backgrounds can use listening and dialogue to form a common ground of understanding.

“I personally feel that we’re in a time right now where not talking about things has made us more separate as a society than ever before. There are a lot of conversations that need to be had,” said Kenya Barris, Creator and Executive Producer of black-ish. “We hope the more we all talk about it and think about it, things will change.”

“We created ‘The Talk’ for an important purpose – to promote conversations about bias,” said Marc Pritchard, P&G’s Chief Brand Officer. “The outpouring of support for the ‘The Talk,’ as well as the critical responses we received, strengthened our resolve in the value of these conversations between people of all backgrounds and experiences, which we hope lead to greater understanding, common ground and positive change.”

“black-ish has a successful history of tackling real-life issues and addressing them in relatable ways,” said Rita Ferro, President, AdSales, Disney|ABC. “‘The Talk’ is a perfect fit and Tuesday’s show is another great example of the creative, innovative ways in which we collaborate with clients to amplify important messaging through our platforms and content.”

Since the initial release of “The Talk” in July 2017, My Black Is Beautiful has continued to use the platform’s voice and reach to draw attention to important issues that matter most to Black Americans, through online discussion and a partnership with the United Negro College Fund’s Empower Me Tour, a national series of events established to inspire and motivate high school and college students toward academic excellence, career success and personal responsibility. P&G also hosted community conversations in partnership with the Greater Cincinnati Association of Black Journalists, the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center and the City of Cincinnati Human Relations Commission with a group of diverse community leaders and young professionals.

Leading into Black History Month, there will be additional initiatives that aim to encourage listening and dialogue about bias. This includes the release of podcast integrations about “The Talk”, the release of original content from cultural commentator Michaela Angela Davis and a downloadable discussion and action guide that will help parents, educators and others facilitate constructive dialogue about bias.

Through these efforts, P&G and My Black Is Beautiful™ hope to inspire dialogue about the truths and nuances that different households in America face. While “The Talk” focuses on bias from the viewpoint of an African American mother, bias can take many shapes and forms, including gender, race, age, weight, sexual orientation, and more.

Prior to tonight’s black-ish episode, “The Talk” can be viewed at www.myblackisbeautiful.com and viewers are encouraged to join the discussion with @MBIB using the hashtag #TalkAboutBias.

About My Black is Beautiful

My Black is Beautiful is a community-building program consisting of more than 2.6 million members, created to help positively change the conversation around black beauty by addressing the societal and cultural stigmas associated with self-image. Formed at Procter & Gamble in 2006 by a group of visionary women, MBIB was designed to spark a broader dialogue about black beauty. Their mission was to encourage black women everywhere.

About Procter & Gamble

P&G serves consumers around the world with one of the strongest portfolios of trusted, quality, leadership brands, including Always®, Ambi Pur®, Ariel®, Bounty®, Charmin®, Crest®, Dawn®, Downy®, Fairy®, Febreze®, Gain®, Gillette®, Head & Shoulders®, Lenor®, Olay®, Oral-B®, Pampers®, Pantene®, SK-II®, Tide®, Vicks®, and Whisper®. The P&G community includes operations in approximately 70 countries worldwide. Please visit http://www.pg.com for the latest news and information about P&G and its brands.