Opinion | Nivea Needs to Do Better

Advertising departments and agencies have to be very aware of what type of message they are sending to their audience when creating a campaign, advertisement, or commercial for a business or client. The copy and visual portions of an advertisement go through several different sub-departments before they are finalized and approved to make sure there are no errors. But sometimes, a mistake can be overlooked, creating a whirlwind of bad publicity that can ultimately tarnish a company's character and customer relationships. In March of 2017, Nivea faced severe backlash when they posted a deodorant advertisement for their customer base in the Middle East. As shown below, the phrase "WHITE IS PURITY", is boldly centered underneath the back of a woman who is sitting on the side of a bed while facing towards a window. 

Soon after the ad was posted on Nivea's Facebook page, it became viral on various social media platforms, with many viewers flooding news feeds and timelines with criticism and personal opinions on the advertisement. A majority of people were baffled by Nivea's oblivion to how the ad could be perceived as promoting white supremacy. Twitter was especially used to voice attitudes about the ad, as it became the topic of discussion throughout the day and night.

                                 

But this was not the first time Nivea had been under scrutiny. Back in 2011, the company was accused of racial insensitivity after posting an ad stating, "Re-civilize yourself" and "Look Like You Give A Damn". The ad depicted an African-American man who looks as if he is about to throw away his own dismembered head with an afro-styled hairdo in exchange for his newly trimmed hairstyle and clean-shaven face. The ad was widely criticized for its comparison to having naturally styled hair as equivocating to someone being lazy or uncivilized. 

                                          

The ad was quickly pulled after receiving such negative feedback, but resurfaced after the launch of the "WHITE IS PURITY" campaign, serving as a reminder to viewers that this was not the first time Nivea had come up with a seemingly racist advertisement. With people now realizing that Nivea had a history of ads with racially insensitive themes, there was now speculation that the company in its entirety supported white power. 

                                           

Although Nivea removed both of these advertisements and issued individual statements explaining how diversity is something they value and discrimination is not tolerated, that does not ultimately make up for what occurred; that both of these ads were deemed acceptable for publication by the company. Nivea allowed this to happen twice, with a six year span between the advertisements. How dis they have that much time to process and reflect on where they went wrong, only to make the same mistake again? 

 Nowadays, people are not so forgiving of a company when it is at fault. Misunderstanding and improper direction are poor excuses as to why copywriting, marketing, creative, and advertising teams allow ads like these to be finalized and approved. It's especially important for companies to remember that social media acts as an archive system, storing anything and everything they do, good or bad, whether they like it or not. So, if Nivea wants to create a better brand image and gain back its diverse, international customer base, it is going to have to do more than send out apology letters.