Only a few days after the Pepsi scandal, Nivea released this advertisement in the Middle East.
Promoting their Black & White deodorant, some genius gave the go-ahead to "WHITE IS PURITY" as their slogan, and seriously, how?!
The caption didn't help their cause either, as it stated, "Keep it clean, keep bright. Don't let anything ruin it, #Invisible."
Very quickly something as innocent as deodorant became racist. In 2017, this is still happening.
Twitter users were pretty justified with their anger:
"Come on #Nivea. This is so racist that I do no even know where to begin.
Speechless. In future, refer to clothes or products, not colours."
"You'd think #Nivea wld've learned from their 'remove your afro to recivilize yourself' ad yrs ago. Apparently not. New ad: 'White Purity'.
"
The company obviously pulled the ad, and sent an apology to Refinery29:
"Over the weekend an image and caption was posted to the NIVEA Middle East Facebook page meant to promote 'Invisible for Black & White,' a stain-free antiperspirant for use with black and/or white clothing. That image was inappropriate and not reflective of our values as a company. We deeply apologise fir that and have removed the post. 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."
Yikes. What do you think about all this? Let us know in the comments.
