NIVEA in a racial controversy

Elizabeth Flock from The Washington Post published the following article about the new marketing of Nivea:

Skincare brand name Nivea's popular "Look like you give a damn" campaign went very awry this week after they released a new print ad that showed a well-groomed, clean-shaven black man about to toss away a rubber mask of his earlier self with facial hair and an afro.


Over the model, words in giant font read: RE-CIVILIZE YOURSELF.

The public outrage over the ad was immediate, with many calling the ad racist. "The message couldn't be  clearer" wrote Nona Willis Aronowitz at Good, "natural hair on a black man isn't a style preference or a nod to Afrocentrism -it's straight-up uncivilized."

Within hours, Nivea had apologized. On its Facebook page, the company wrote: "This ad was inappropriate and offensive. It was never our intention to offend anyone, and for this we are deeply sorry. This ad will never be used again."

Under the apology on Nivea's  Facebook page, nearly 100 comments argued Friday over whether the apology had made up for Nivea's mistake.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/blogpost/post/nivea-pulls-re-civilized-ad-that-sparked-racial-controversy/2011/08/19/gIQAde0uPJ_blog.html