Skin care brand Nivea this week set off a controversy with an ad featuring the phrase “White is purity,” again finding itself accused of racial insensitivity over a campaign that seemed to be embraced by white supremacists.
The latest ad, which showed a woman with dark hair cascading down her back and wearing white in a brightly lit room, promoted its Invisible For Black & White deodorant.
Beiersdorf, the German company that owns Nivea and other brands, such as La Prairie, has since deleted the ad, which appeared with “Keep it clean, keep bright. Don’t let anything ruin it, #Invisible,” as part of its post.
“We are deeply sorry to anyone who may take offense to this specific post,” the company said in a statement. “Diversity and equal opportunity are crucial values of Nivea.”
Nivea’s decision to remove the ad on Tuesday, which was posted on its Facebook page for two days, and stop the entire campaign is another sign of how sensitive companies have become to negative reactions on social media.
At a time when online conversations can snowball, companies have learned to respond quickly to opinions on social media.
This has created an environment where Google has had to train its ad placement computers to be aware of offensive content, because brands are wanting more distance between their marketing material and derogatory messaging or terrorist propaganda.
The ad, which was on Nivea’s Middle East Facebook page, was on Monday being discussed on Internet forum 4Chan with racist comments.
The ad was posted on Twitter next to a picture of Pepe the Frog, a cartoon tied to anti-Semitism and racism that has become a mascot for the alt-right.
The user wrote that “Nivea has chosen our side.”
One Facebook user paired the ad with a screenshot from a 2011 Nivea campaign, featuring a well-dressed black male clutching the Afro of a mannequin’s head with the tagline: “Re-civilize yourself.”
Nivea apologized for that campaign, calling it “inappropriate and offensive.”
Even after Nivea apologized, consumers were dissatisfied.
“It’s cool for the ‘Middle East’ Facebook page? Really? As if colourism isn’t a problem in those cultures?” Laila Parmoon said on Facebook, where she identified herself as Iranian.
A Beiersdorf representative said the ad was part of a broader campaign for the deodorant in the Middle East that linked the color black with strength and white with purity.
Nivea is among several brands that have faced fierce online criticism for insensitive marketing or products.
In 2014, after criticism online, Spanish retailer Zara stopped selling children’s shirts with stripes and a star that bore a striking resemblance to uniforms given out at Nazi concentration camps.
This week, Pepsi was mocked on Twitter after an ad compared Kendall Jenner to a Black Lives Matter protester who became a national symbol in the US after facing down police officers in riot gear.
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