Nivea pulls 'white is purity' ad after backlash

tay

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May 20, 2012
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The German skincare maker's ad for a deodorant included a picture of a woman and the slogan 'white is purity'


The post sparked a backlash, with social media users accusing Nivea of being racist and insensitive.

"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," Scott Bellows posted on Twitter.

Beiersdorf, the Hamburg-based company that owns Nivea, Eucerin and other skincare brands, said it decided to take the advert down due to what it called "concerns about ethnic discrimination."

"We are deeply sorry to anyone who may take offense to this specific post. After realizing that the post is misleading, it was immediately withdrawn," the company said in a statement.

The advert was also shared by accounts that have previously posted content promoting white supremacist views.

This is not the first time Nivea has run into trouble with its advertizing. Back in 2011, it apologized for an advert that featured what appeared to be a mask of a black man with an Afro hair style and a beard. The copy accompanying the ad read, "Look Like You Give a Damn. Re-civilize Yourself."

It's not alone, either.

Pepsi was accused Tuesday of appropriating the Black Lives Matter movement to sell soda, after it ran an add that showed model Kendall Jenner offering a Pepsi to a police officer during a protest.

Chinese detergent company Qiaobi apologized last year for an advertisement that showed a light-skinned Chinese woman throwing a black man covered in paint into a washing machine.

After undergoing a wash, the man emerged as a light-skinned, clean Chinese man.

Skincare company pulls 'white is purity' ad after backlash
 

petros

The Central Scrutinizer
Nov 21, 2008
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Skin whitening cream is the cosmetic with the highest sales globally. Can they still call it whitening cream? What about teeth whitening strips? What should they be called?
 

petros

The Central Scrutinizer
Nov 21, 2008
108,907
11,188
113
Low Earth Orbit
Ancient Chinese secret.

She never had her eyes done. She'd never be on TV these days without having her eyes clipped.