Nancelia Prince

The bliss of a family weekend was shattered when an ad for Nivea’s men care products appeared. In the campaign “Look like you give a damn,” the picture depicts a handsome clean cut black man tossing the head of a bearded afro-centric male. The slogan being “re-civilize yourself,” sent chills down my spine. Here we are in 2011; who would have thought such a huge brand would be so culturally insensitive?

My visceral response was that of disgust. I couldn’t help but think from a marketer’s prospective, the reaction expected from African Americans? Surely this could not have been intentional blatant racism but how could the marketing department launch this national campaign without any knowledge of the cultural offensiveness of its manner? Said to have been the brain child of an African American VP, who was hired to reach an urban market, completely missed the mark of multicultural audiences.

Critics say that African Americans are too sensitive; however, the effects of our history have profound scars that have not fully healed. Rationally there is an underlying issue that still throbs in the hearts and minds of all American citizens, black, white, red, gold or green. After all if this were any other protected class (for example the advertisement portrayed a Muslim woman ripping off her burqa with the slogan “re-civilize yourself”) there would be just as much backlash.

I recently bought Nivea’s night cream and it really works to keep my skin soft but now when I pump its contents into my hand I can’t help but think that this company has no respect for who I am. Despite company’s apology, they’ve lost a customer in me.

Check out the ad and share your feelings.

Photograph Credit:
Sabrina Segal