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Nivea "White Is Purity" Ad

Nivea "White Is Purity" Ad

Updated Apr 07, 2017 at 03:34PM EDT by Matt.

Added Apr 07, 2017 at 12:01PM EDT by Matt.

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About

Nivea "White is Purity" refers to a social media post made by the skin-care manufacturer Nivea, which contains the phrase "White is Purity." The advertisement came under criticism with many social media users calling the post racially insensitive.

Background

On March 31st, 2017, Nivea posted an advertisement for deodorant to Nivea's Middle East Facebook page.[1] The ad contained the caption "Keep it clean, keep it bright. Don't let anything ruin it. #Invisible" and the tag line "White is Purity" (shown below). It quickly became the subject of controversy.


NIVEA NIVEA Mar 31 at 7:00pm Keep it clean, keep bright. Don't let anything ruin it, #Invisible WHITE IS PURITY HIVEA invisible 48h Like Comment → Share

Developments

On April 4th, Twitter user @ScottProfessor tweeted about the ad, writing "Come on #Nivea. This is so racist that I do not even know where to begin.😠 Speechless. In future, refer to clothes or products, not colors." The tweet received more than 530 retweets and 1,000 likes.


Scott Bellows Come on #Nivea. This is so racist that I do not even know where to begin. Speechless. In future, refer to clothes or products, not colors. WHITE IS PURITY NIVEA Keep it clean, keep bright. Don't let anything NIVEA

The controversy began only several hours after Kendall Jenner Pepsi Ad, which also drew criticism for similar reasons. This lead some to draw comparisons between the two commercials. One tweet by @4evrmalone,[2] shown below, said "Pepsi: We've done it. We've created the most tone-deaf ad of the week. Maybe the year! Nivea: Hold my beer." The tweet received more than 17,100 retweets and 28,800 likes. Another tweet by @OldBlackHack, said "This week in advertising. Probably time for me to kick start my "Ask a Black Person" consulting firm. #Pepsi #Nivea." The post received more than 300 retweets and 630 likes.


Madison M. K. @4evrmalone Pepsi: We've done it. We've created the most tone-deaf ad of the week. Maybe the year! Nivea: Hold my beer. #Invisible WHITE IS PURITO Michael Gravesande @OldBlackHack This week in advertising. Probably time for me to kick start my "Ask a Black Person" consulting firm. #Pepsi #Nivea WHITE IS PURITY NIVEA Keep it clean, keep bright Dont let anything

Others pointed to another infamous Nivea ad, which was also criticized for racial insensitivity. In 2011, people denounced Nivea's "Re-Cilivize" Nivea for Men ad, accusing the company of racism. The company subsequently apologized for the ad on Facebook.[7] Twitter user @MarwaBalkar tweeted the ad (shown below), with the caption, "After seeing @niveauk 'white is purity' ad, I immediately remembered this: 'RE-CIVILIZE YOURSELF" by Nivea Nivea, hire some POC ya?" The tweet received more than 620 retweets and 1,200 likes.


Marwa Balkar @MarwaBalkar After seeing @niveauk "white is purity" ad, I immediately remembered this: "RE-CIVILIZE YOURSELF" by Nivea Nivea, hire some POC ya? LOOK LIKE YOU GIVE A DAMN NIVEA ACE BODY SHAVE VILI RE-CI YOURSE

Many major media outlets covered the controversy, including Fortune[9], The New York Times[10], and more.

Ad Removal

Shortly after the outcry began, Nivea removed the "White is Purity" ad Furthermore, Nivea's parent company, Beiersdorf Global AG, issued an apology in a statement to The Washington Post,[6] saying:

“That image was inappropriate and not reflective of our values as a company. We deeply apologize for that and have removed the post,” the statement read. “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 also responded on Twitter[8] with the following post:


There have been concerns risen about ethnic discrimination due to a post on NIVEA Deodorant Invisible for Black & White on our NIVEA Middle East Facebook page. We are deeply sorry to anyone who may take offense to this specific local post. After realizing that this post is misleading, it was immediately withdrawn. Diversity and equal opportunity are crucial values of NIVEA: The brand represents diversity, tolerance, and equal opportunity. We value difference. Direct or indirect discrimination must be ruled out in all decisions by, and in all areas of our activities. This applies regardless of gender, age, race, skin colour, religion, ideology, sexual orientation, or disability. Nor should cultural, ethnic, or national origin, and political or philosophical conviction be of any significance.

Search Interest

External References

[1] CNN – Nivea pulls 'white is purity' ad after outcry

[2] Twitter – @4evrmalone's Tweet

[3] Twitter – @OldBlackHack's Tweet

[4] Twitter – @ScottProfessor's Tweet

[5] Twitter – @MarwaBalkar's Tweet

[6] The Washington Post – Nivea’s ‘White Is Purity’ ad campaign didn’t end well

[7] Facebook, Nivea's Post

[8] Twitter – @NIVEACanada's Tweet

[9] Fortune – Nivea Pulls ‘White Is Purity’ Ad After It Gets Slammed for Racism

[10] The New York Times – Nivea Pulls ‘White Is Purity’ Ad After Online Uproar

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Top Comments

Nedhitis
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Nedhitis

White has been seen as a "pure" color for a long time now, no..? Associated with light, the forces of good, a clean state, etc., which is why wedding dresses are often chosen to be white: to symbolize the purity and sanctity of matrimony, and why the Pope also wears white garments. The opposite applies to the color black. That is probably the meaning they wanted to convey, but failed at it.I do not even think this concept was made by white people, to begin with.

I agree that Nivea's ad is moronic and that their apology post feels fake and pandering with the mechanical, overused "we love diversity" script that Playtonic also used, and I do not even understand what they were getting at… but to say they are pushing a race agenda is stupid, too. Not every instance of the words "black" and "white" have to refer to race. Saying Nivea's ad has a racial undertone is like saying MLP is a white supremacist cartoon because God is a pure-white horse who rules over "people of color", and her sister is a horse who was punished when she went from being blue to being black.

Reaching too far at this point.

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