H&M has been desperately trying to do damage control after its controversial “Coolest Monkey in the Jungle” ad campaign. According to NBC News, that includes hiring a diversity leader to avoid these problems in the future.
The company announced the appointment on Tuesday to its Facebook page, and since then has said Annie Wu, global manager for employee relations, is the new global leader for diversity and inclusiveness.
The brand gave the following statement on Facebook:
The recent incident was entirely unintentional, but it demonstrates so clearly how big our responsibility is as a global brand. We have reached out, around the world, inside and outside H&M to get feedback. Our commitment to addressing diversity and inclusiveness is genuine, therefore we have appointed a global leader, in this area, to drive our work forward. There will be more from us soon.
We’ll see if this new diversity leader helps get the company back on track after the fallout, but for many shoppers and celebrities, the damage might already be done.
