Nivea pulls "white purity" ad after backlash and racism claims

[sheshe2]

An advertisement featuring the words “White is purity” received almost immediate backlash online, with critics calling the image racist. The words appeared over a photo of a woman in a white robe sitting on the edge of a bed, pictured with long brown hair hanging loose down her back.

The ad, which has since been deleted, was shared on the Nivea Middle East Facebook page to promote the brand’s “Invisible For Black & White” deodorant product. The caption read: “Keep it clean, keep it bright. Don’t let anything ruin it.”

Link to tweet

Beiersdorf, the German company that owns Nivea, released a statement on Tuesday apologizing for the insensitive image. “We are deeply sorry to anyone who may take offense to this specific post,” it said. “After realizing that the post is misleading, it was immediately withdrawn.” A representative told The New York Times the post was part of a Middle East-specific campaign for the deodorant that would associate the color black with strength and white with purity.

This is the second time in six years Nivea has apologized for a racially insensitive advertisement. In 2011, the company was criticized for an ad with the words “Re-civilize Yourself,” over an image of a clean-cut black man appearing to discard a mask of a black man with an Afro. The company pledged to review their approval process after that incident.

Link to tweet

More: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/nivea-pulls-white-purity-ad-after-backlash-and-racism-claims/

FFS! Wake up Nivea.

[nini]

1. I use this... it's got black stuff in it!

Love this stuff..

Nivea can suck it. You gotta wonder what the marketing folks are on that no one thought that ad might be a bit offensive.

[brer cat]

2. Wow. They needed a wake-up call for that?

The stupid seems to be quite contagious these days.

[erpowers]

3. Second Ad Cannot Be True

Part of me thinks the second ad with the black man cannot be true. Before I read the tweet I thought the ad was created by someone online in order to mock Nivea's "White Is Purity" ad. These ads make me wonder who owns and runs Nivea. Are they trying to tell the American people the company is owned and ran by racists?

The second ad was just terrible. To suggest that a black man does not care about his appearance because he wears an Afro is just wrong. Also, to claim that a black man is not civilized just because he wears his hair a certain way is just as wrong.