J&J Internal Emails Reveal Early Marketing Tactics Aimed at Minority Women
Recent emails demonstrate that the corporation intentionally targeted minority groups in its early marketing of talcum powder
Tuesday, September 2, 2025 - Recently opened internal documents show that early marketing campaigns for talcum powder products were focused on African American and Hispanic women on purpose. The documents, which were made public during an ongoing baby powder lawsuit, show that executives talked about how to get more minority women to stick with the brand by supporting cultural events, putting ads in media that focus on the community, and giving out samples in neighborhoods with a lot of minority women. These revelations have been met with condemnation from public health advocates and legal professionals, especially as more and more women from these communities are filing claims for ovarian cancer. The emails go back to the 1990s and indicate that the corporation was always interested in reaching out to what it called an "underserved demographic." Some of the ads went even further, saying that minority women were less inclined to question the safety of products or health messages, which made them a "strong base" for long-term sales. People who are filing a talcum powder cancer case may find that these documents back up their assertions that the corporation didn't do enough to warn people who used a lot of it, even though they knew the risks. Lawyers for people with talcum powder cancer are already using the emails as proof that people were targeted for profit without being told about the possible health risks.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says that minority women in the U.S. often have worse health since they don't have as much access to healthcare and are more likely to be around things that could harm their health. Some people think that J&J's targeted talcum powder marketing may have taken advantage of these weaknesses instead of trying to fix them. In litigation going on in several states right now, the plaintiffs say that the firm kept selling talcum powder despite though it knew it may be contaminated with asbestos and that it was linked to ovarian cancer. It looks like the company's internal correspondence shows that they knew who was using the product the most, but they didn't send out any specific cautions. Legal experts think these results could make the case for negligent marketing and racial bias in consumer protection stronger. Some of these emails have already been let into evidence by judges, which suggests they may be very important in future trials. For the families involved, the papers bring up very personal issues about whether safety was put ahead of making money.
The publishing of these emails could change how people think about the legality and morality of corporate advertising. Companies may have to rethink how they sell to certain demographics if courts start to see targeted marketing as a factor in liability. This might result in stronger rules, greater testing of products on a wider range of people, and safety warnings that are appropriate to different cultures. For communities that have been ignored or taken advantage of in advertising for a long time, this could be a turning moment in their fight for corporate responsibility.
OnderLaw, LLC -