True, but the ad doesn't refer to skintones, it's about clothes and deodorant stains.
White is purity when referring to color is as innocent as saying green is envy or blue is hope.
Nivea wins most racist ad for 2017
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White is purity when referring to color is as innocent as saying green is envy or blue is hope.
Salty Rice
Member
In color psychology the color white is always a representation of "purity".
Thats also why heaven and angels are always shown with the color white.
Thats nothing new or racist only if you really wanna see it and its in context with someones skin color.
Also is Wikipedia and common knowledge racist too?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White
"In many cultures white represents or signifies purity, innocence, and light, and is the symbolic opposite of black, or darkness."
Thats also why heaven and angels are always shown with the color white.
Thats nothing new or racist only if you really wanna see it and its in context with someones skin color.
Also is Wikipedia and common knowledge racist too?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White
"In many cultures white represents or signifies purity, innocence, and light, and is the symbolic opposite of black, or darkness."
OG Shaka Zulu
Member
"White is purity" in terms of discussing clothes... goes without saying and doesn't need to be pointed out. Nivea is race trolling.
bootsthecat
Banned
I thought we needed a moment of levity here
Apocryphon
Member
No, they're not. The people who created this as simply didn't draw the same connotations as you. You don't have to like the ad and you're entitled to wherever opinion you hold, but if you look at this ad and immediately see racism then you're either just too sensitive or your part of the problem.
https://youtu.be/XmTV62mE1PA
LookAtMeGo
Member
The historical context of white representing purity took on a different meaning after things like eugenics, racial hygiene and ethnic cleansing took place during the times of the founding of America and Nazi Germany. If you want to ignore all that then yeah, its not racist in of itself.
adamsapple
Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
ScatheZombie
Member
It's a little early to call it "most racist ad of 2017" when it's only April.
We can do worse. We can always do much, much worse.
We can do worse. We can always do much, much worse.
Ragnorok64
Member
Wait, I interpreted those as being part of the same ad campaign as opposed to a reaction.Then Sony scrambled to balance it...
The damage was done.
Poor GRIMES
Banned
Yes. I understand what the advert is attempting to convey.
I was responding to the claim that there isn't a precedent in discussing issues of colorism and race on an international scale. There's a chance that someone in the Middle East could absolutely interpret the ad to be about skintone, which was my point. These aren't just problems unique to the USA.
You should probably stop making excuses for the marketing team when their message is muddled and the negative implication of black = bad and white = good is universal. Hell, even the color theorists here are kind of proving my point.
The Futurist
Member
Go to Miami and you have people trying to get as tan as possible.
Go to many parts of Asia and you have people carrying umbrellas in the sun so they don't get a tan.
Go to many parts of Asia and you have people carrying umbrellas in the sun so they don't get a tan.
TAJ
Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.
That's a myth. The reason was that it signaled wealth. It was a past equivalent of lighting hundred dollar bills on fire today.
They're not using it as an excuse to make racist comments. These people probably do that all the time on Facebook. They're telling Nivea "We see you.".
Sometimes I feel like I now live in a completely different world. I would have never seen anything "racial" about this ad or slogan if a bunch of people hadn't all of a sudden started freaking out about it - either taking offense or taking it to back up their already racist ideas. Way too many people are just looking for new was to get offended and way too many others are just looking for new opportunities to offend those people.
The most that could be said about it to me is maybe it was a bit tone deaf given the wacky world we currently live in at this moment and it may be best to not add any more fuel to that fire. Even if it is totally innocent, and is speaking in terms of what the color white has stood for symbolically for...lord, I don't know how long. Thousands of years? This isn't even remotely a new concept.
Disheveled_Zen
Member
My mom is friends with a talent agent that does commercial casting. Most of the time the actors are never told what the ad is for or what it will even look like until it comes out. Dude was probably just told it was for a Nivea product and that's it.
LookAtMeGo
Member
I thought white was a common colour to be worn by lower class people and Queen Victoria wore a white wedding gown when she married her cousin as some kind of show of humbleness. And people copied her.
That was my understanding of the origin of the white wedding gown tradition. Before then it was just common to wear your most expensive dress which were usually purples and other more expensive colours.
Yea it reminded me exactly of that Sony PSP ad
Don't forget the male equivalent
"Fair and Handsome"
Goddamn these Indian ads are aggressive as hell
TAJ
Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.
Nope.
"The pristine white color was difficult and expensive to produce and therefore worn by the wealthy. Only those who could keep their clothes clean (they had servants) would wear the pristine white color"
http://m.elizabethan-era.org.uk/color-white.htm
That's bullshit and you know it. Skin colour wasn't even a big part of Nazi propaganda due to the fact basically everyone from central Europe was white at that time- especially Jewish people, the main target.
It's kinda funny though, that you indirectly blame a company for using supposedly Nazi rhetoric, that was owned by a Jewish family during the Holocaust and is still partly owned by said family.
Alcotholic
Banned
Then Sony scrambled to balance it...
The damage was done.
It's unfortunate that the ad was so poorly thought out. They are aesthetically appealing.
LookAtMeGo
Member
Ah word. I guess white was worn by poor people but not the pristine white, which was expensive. Good to know.
People who were considered subhuman by nazi eugenic standards included anyone who wasnt white.
Edit: also a Jewish family partly owning a company doesnt mean some people who work for the marketing department cant make a dumb mistake.
VenomousCoffee
Member
I have zero idea of where you are getting any of this. I know that it's not related to the post I made, though.
Orniletter
Banned
Definitely a poor ad for sure, but on the other hand, it's pretty clear what the ad was alluding to (which is definitely not black = bad).
Different things fly in different cultures, what is a loaded term in one country is utterly innocuous in the next (hell, ask Germans about the word "race" in reference to ethnicity ) , this seems to be one of those instances where Americans get their knickers in a twist over something that the target audience wouldn't interpret that way.
Nivea's PR department needs to do better.
Different things fly in different cultures, what is a loaded term in one country is utterly innocuous in the next (hell, ask Germans about the word "race" in reference to ethnicity ) , this seems to be one of those instances where Americans get their knickers in a twist over something that the target audience wouldn't interpret that way.
Nivea's PR department needs to do better.
test_account
XP-39C²
Source on that ad coming later?
Septimus Prime
Member
Sounds more like a Clorox ad.
Fenderputty
Banned
The ad wouldn't be so bad if "white" and "purity" had anything to do with what they were selling. Like if they sold wedding dresses or some shit. Since I don't see how those relate to their product, the argument that "white is pure" has ulterior meaning kinda falls flat.
backflip10019
Member
The product keeps deodorant streaks and sweat stains from appearing on your white clothes, thereby keeping them purely white.
The strategy is sensible. The execution is not great.
Jack The Nipper
Banned
That's a strange ad even without the black man. Holding a head? It's like a horror movie joke or exaggeration.
Dude Abides
Banned
Whiteness is the essence of wetness.
And wetness is the essence of beauty.
And wetness is the essence of beauty.
Apocryphon
Member
From that Jason guy? You sure he's not joking? I figured most of those comments were people making fun of that "white is purity" absurdity lol.
well i see you jumping over lanes to interact with my reply to someone else's question. But what the fuck does what you posted have to do with anything?
edit: oh, you thought...hahahahah. Bish fuck Trump, I ain't talking about his diamond and gold encrusted orange ass. You mus be new to pendulums or something. FOH.
Trump is a symptom. Not the illness.
Don't forget the male equivalent
"Fair and Handsome"
it made him ashy
One of the few sane replies in this thread. Considering the world we live in right now with racists on the rise it's easy to interpret it as in poor taste but I find it hilarious that people refuse to understand the intended meaning of the ad.
Which is why they have a black version and a white version. It keeps stains off so your white shirt stays white and your black shirts stays black.
TAJ
Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.
You did bring up a good point, which is that buying a dress specifically for your wedding was not a thing, at least before that.
Fenderputty
Banned
Wow so they even have product to make the add seem readable yet still failed
"White is pure" isn't bad depending on context. Wedding dresses are white because it's a sign of purity. Which is why it's becoming more common to see off color wedding dresses since less and less people stay pure for marriage. That argument falls flat here though, because the add fails miserably at expressing an appropriate context.
Clockwork
Member
somecrazymember
Banned
This.
I understand that people might see it as racist but personally i didnt even think of skincolor when i read the title.
Massive Duck. C.M.
Banned
Obviously not intentional but come on ad agency lol
You voted Trump, your opinions on racism are invalid
You voted Trump, your opinions on racism are invalid
It's different when it's vague and you feature a white or a black person as the personification of the color. It reads as you talking about white people or black people.
I'd the black is courage ad was clearly a black person, people would take it, from the vague context it's presented, to mean it's tapping into a black pride message. That's what's happening when you say white is... And feature what appears to be a white person.
Take the PS3 as that people have been posting. "White is coming" a white person represents white and a black person represents black. It's naive to think that ads, which by nature exclude context, won't have people fill in the central blanks by linking colors to skin colors.
There is something in social studies that people call it institutionalized racism that is about how racism helped shape institutions and the world view of people.
So yeah, as "many cultures" are racist, specialy long time ago, than common knowledge can and will probably be racist, sexist and homotransphobic.
See how in "most cultures" feminine is something connected to only bad things like fragility, weakness and not doing "real" jobs.
Raonak
Banned
Too sensitive? No, they're not. The people who think it's racist simply didn't draw the same connotations as you.
You don't have to like the fact people think it's racist and you're entitled to wherever opinion you hold,
but if you think pointing out racism is somehow bad then you're either just too sensitive or your part of the problem.
Ah man, this shit is classic, I remember the initial GAF thread for this ad when it came out. When I see racism this blatant in advertising all I can do is laugh, it's so ridiculous that someone or some group saw this & thought, "yeah okay guys let's give it a go!"
basically a whole lot of people are just being too sensitive. not just sensitive, but too sensitive. because those people are sensitive, and this doesn't bother them. so some other people are just being overly sensitive and they need to just do...whtever. something. what do they want them to do?
Anyone have an HD version of the civilize yourself Nivea ad? I use that one for my bias training and I've not been able to find a high res pic that I can enlarge to have the text readable.
Also they have several other sketchy ads that have racist implications. One body wash one where the darker skin is said to be dirty and it progresses through​a couple of lighter black skin women until it gets to the white woman that is said to be "clean".
Racist ads are everywhere.
Also they have several other sketchy ads that have racist implications. One body wash one where the darker skin is said to be dirty and it progresses through​a couple of lighter black skin women until it gets to the white woman that is said to be "clean".
Racist ads are everywhere.
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