Another day, another brand getting it totally wrong. Yesterday it was the Kendall Jenner Pepsi campaign, and today it’s Nivea.
The German skincare brand shared an advert for their Invisible For Black & White deodorant on their Facebook page with the words ‘White is purity’. Featuring an image of a woman with her back to the camera, the ad was accompanied with the caption: ‘Keep it clean, keep it bright. Don't let anything ruin it.’
Nivea, who posted the ad on their Middle East Facebook page, naturally received a large amount of criticism, and the post went viral as people called out the brand for being racist.
Twitter users slammed the advert with comments such as ‘#Racism is not a good marketing tactic’ and ‘This is so racist that I do not even know where to begin.’
However, alt-right users praised the campaign and shared the ad with memes and comments such as ‘#Nivea: the official moisturizer/anti-perspirant of the #AltRight’.
Following the controversy, Nivea have now removed the advert from their Facebook page and released an apology.
‘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 After realizing that the post is misleading, it was immediately withdrawn,’ a spokesman for Nivea's owners Beiersdorf said.
READ MORE: Why Kendall Jenner's Pepsi Advert Deserves The Backlash
READ MORE: Millicent Fawcett Is The First Woman To Have A Statue In Parliament Square
READ MORE: Women: Your Tampon Tax Cash Is Funding An Anti-Abortion Charity