Nivea’s ‘White Is Purity’ ad campaign does not end well

Nivea has pulled a deodorant ad that declared “White Is Purity” after people protested that the slogan is racist, and after others hijacked the ad’s online campaign with comments about white supremacy.

The ad, which appeared in a Facebook post last week, originally targeted the German skin care company’s followers in the Middle East. It was intended to promote Nivea’s “Invisible for Black and White” deodorant and depicted the back of a woman’s head with long, wavy, dark hair that tumbled over an all-white outfit.

Underneath the woman’s locks was the slogan in all caps: “WHITE IS PURITY.”

The caption on Nivea’s Facebook post read: “Keep it clean, keep bright. Don’t let anything ruin it, #Invisible.”

The post was quickly condemned by those who saw it as promoting racist rhetoric.

“What the HELL is this? White Purity?” one Twitter user said. “Shame, Shame, Shame on you. Fire your marketing person and anyone who approved this ad.”

Another Twitter user took images of racist comments that had been left on the Facebook post, some referencing the Holocaust. “Wow @NiveaUSA. This is horrendous,” the person wrote. “Your comments are FULL of society’s refuse. This cleared your marketing department? #prnightmare”

Still others appeared to praise the ad — for the same reasons. The Daily Mail captured an image of a post by a white supremacist group on Nivea’s Facebook page that read, “We enthusiastically support this new direction your company is taking. I’m glad we can all agree that #WhiteIsPurity.”

“Nivea has chosen our side and the most liked comments are glorious,” another Twitter user said, with an image of the top comments on Nivea’s Facebook post. One showed a picture of Nazi leader Adolf Hitler edited to depict him with glowing orbs of light for eyes.

A handful of threads on the online forum 4chan praised the slogan’s apparent, if unintended, link to white supremacy and encouraged people to “LIKE ALL COMMENTS, BUY THEIR PRODUCTS.”