Indonesia – In response to the pressing issue of skin tone bias in smartphone imaging, TECNO has unveiled its latest initiative, the ‘#ToneProud campaign,’ which seeks to celebrate and promote the rich diversity of human skin tones.
Created with McCann Worldgroup China and Singapore, TECNO’s campaign seeks to raise awareness of skin tone diversity, advocating for imaging technologies to be free from bias and ensuring that every skin tone receives fair representation as an essential facet of human diversity.
As part of its #ToneProud campaign, TECNO released a film featuring global celebrities of diverse skin tones, including Indonesian singer-songwriter Anggun, Saudi filmmaker and actress Fatima Al-Banawi, Nigerian singer-songwriter Johnny Drille, and Polish actress Ewa Kępys.
The film, released to launch the #ToneProud campaign, explores the theme of embracing one’s skin tone, featuring celebrities sharing their experiences of misrepresentation and expressing their belief that technology should accurately reflect diverse skin tones and true colours.
“I think, sometimes, you just need to be reminded that we’re all individuals and we’re all beautiful in our own way. If the technology helps us, which is the approach of TECNO phones, it makes it easier to break barriers and change people’s perception, change mentality,” Anggun shared.
TECNO also introduced its unique 268 skin tone database, assigning specific colour codes to various skin tones through scientific classification. This initiative not only addresses biases in skin tone colour restoration and enhances the accuracy of its Universal Tone technology for fair representation, but also empowers consumers to appreciate and take pride in the diversity of skin tones worldwide.
The 268 skin tone patches represent a significant advancement in TECNO’s global research project, forming the foundation of an inclusive mobile imaging colour card that sets a new benchmark for multi-skin tone imaging. The continually expanding resource has been developed with colour science experts from leading global universities, enabling TECNO Universal Tone’s algorithms to accurately detect, analyse, and render skin tones, ensuring everyone is truly seen.
TECNO’s skin tone database responds to a 2018 MIT and Stanford study that uncovered skin-type bias in some commercial AI systems, a significant concern in today’s AI-driven imaging landscape.
“Knowing that there are 268 skin tone patches alone is a testament to individuality. In a world that tries to box us into narrow categories, it’s a small but profound way of saying you’re unique. So be proud and tell your story,” says Johnny Drille.
“What TECNO is doing with its Universal Tone feature is significantly crucial at this stage because this technology will set the foundations for an inclusive society,” emphasised Fatima Al-Banawi.
To launch the #ToneProud campaign, TECNO invites consumers worldwide to celebrate skin tone diversity and take pride in their own skin tones. Users can discover their unique skin tone code at 268toneproud.com, a tool that leverages TECNO’s inclusive 268 skin tone patches to promote awareness of human diversity.
By gaining a deeper understanding of their skin tones, consumers can join the conversation by sharing their portraits and skin tone codes on Instagram with the hashtags #ToneProud, #UniversalTone, and #TECNO. This collective effort sends a powerful message encouraging everyone to take pride in their unique skin tones.
“Over many years, TECNO has attached great importance to consumer research, and so we understand that skin tone misrepresentation (and under-representation) is an issue of real significance for our consumers, especially in the emerging markets,” said Jack Guo, general manager of TECNO.
“Through the #ToneProud campaign, we are standing with consumers, especially the misrepresented or under-represented consumers, to make the case for greater inclusivity, while at the same time continuing to heavily invest in imaging R&D to innovate technologies to make a real impact on this problem,” Guo added.
“I am incredibly proud to work on a campaign that not only celebrates diversity but also honours the beauty inherent in every skin tone. Changing the narrative takes everyone’s sustained effort and we hope with the voices of people from all regions, every tone of humankind will be celebrated. And now with your own skin code, you can play your part to share it with the world and let your beauty be recognised too,” commented Valerie Madon, chief creative officer at McCann Worldgroup Asia Pacific.