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Nivea- White Is Purity
Nivea- White Is Purity
Innocent Ad Went Too Far?
Is NIVEA Intentionally Making Racial Advertisement?
What's The Controversy?
What's The Controversy?
In April of 2017, NIVEA put on an ad showing a woman wearing white clothing with her back facing the camera with the tagline, “White Is Purity”, sponsoring their new deodorant. Under it, the NIVEA company said “Keep it clean, keep bright. Don’t let anything ruin it, #Invisible.” The many reactions to the ad were endless. Many people said this ad was blatantly racist and discriminatory towards people of color. After a few days, NIVEA pulled the ad down and released a apology.
NIVEA's Apology: (Washington Post)
NIVEA's Apology: (Washington Post)
"We deeply apologize for that and have removed the post. That image was inappropriate and not reflective of our values as a company, diversity, and inclusivity are crucial values of NIVEA. We take pride in creating products that promote beauty in all forms. Discrimination of any kind is simply not acceptable to us as a company, as employees, or as individuals."
NIVEA's Other Offensive Ad:
NIVEA's Other Offensive Ad:
"For Visibly Fairer Skin"
"For Visibly Fairer Skin"
This was not the first time that they were disrespectful, in October 2017, in the same year, they also faced some controversy by showing their ad showing the tagline “Visibly Lightens”. The people wanted that ad to be taken down on billboards because it disrespects them as African-Americans by making darker skin less attractive.
NIVEA: "Re-Civilize Yourself"
NIVEA: "Re-Civilize Yourself"
Another point, Nivea in 2011 released This ad shows an African-American man about to throw a head of another African-American with a beard and afro. The tag-line "Look Like You Give A Damn; Re-Civilize Yourself"
In Contrast To "White Is Purity"
In Contrast To "White Is Purity"
This is a ad made by the body wash and soap company "Dove" which shows a African-American woman taking off her shirt revealing a White Woman, and then revealing a Middle-Eastern Woman. The reason why this ad isn't considered racist is that it doesn't perceive one color as better, this ad is showing how their product is diverse for all women.
Why Would I Pick This?
I picked the "White Is Purity" ad in particular because I felt that it only enhances Jean Kilbourne's Killing Us Softly. In Killing Us Softly, women of color find it difficult to pose themselves to be attractive to the world where the most attractive kind of women is those who are white. Nivea inadvertently makes darker skin seem bad or seem dirty, hunching the tag line “Keep it clean, keep bright.” This has led to a scenario where Google has had to train its ad placement computers to detect offensive content since brands are looking for a buffer between their marketing material and derogatory messaging or terrorist propaganda.
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