Nivea Ad: Racially Insensitive or No Big Deal?

[Colossal Spoons]

The intended message: shave, cut your hair, dress properly, etc and use our products

The supposed underlying message: look less like a savage black person and be more "civil"

 

[Hotwire]

The intended message: shave, cut your hair, dress properly, etc and use our products

The supposed underlying message: look less like a savage black person and be more "civil"

Makes me wonder two things.
1. Is there a version of this add with a white guy in it?
2. Would anyone be at all upset if the guy in ghe ad was white?

 

[MadVillainy]

As a black guy myself, Im not offended. With a huge fro and beard like that any person or any race will look savage.

 

[November Rain]

oh for the love of god, if anyone is going to get upset over this, they have too much time on their hands

Hey why don't we ban all ethnic groups from the media so there's never a chance they would be misrepresented by titchy members of their own society with nothing better to do than to find meaning in the meaningless

SEGREGATION FTW!!!!

 

[November Rain]

The intended message: shave, cut your hair, dress properly, etc and use our products

The supposed underlying message: look less like a savage person and be more "civil"

fixed the first post for ya

 

[AndThePickles]

I don't think that anyone would be upset if the man was white because the racial implications/history in this ad would be moot. I do think think that some people would be upset by this ad. The US has an intense and terrible history in terms of viewing blacks as "uncivilized" and less than human, so to feature a black man in an ad where it looks like the "uncivilized" hair is natural/curly, well...I'm pretty shocked that someone on Nivea's marketing team gave this the go-ahead. It's not exactly fitting the "PC" mold.

 

[Colossal Spoons]

As a black guy myself, Im not offended. With a huge fro and beard like that any person or any race will look savage.

If the caption didn't say "re-civilize", I'd be totally fine with it. I'm not mad, but I see where the problem is. The head he's holding in his hand is what "savage" Africans looked like 400 years ago.

oh for the love of god, if anyone is going to get upset over this, they have too much time on their hands

Hey why don't we ban all ethnic groups from the media so there's never a chance they would be misrepresented by titchy members of their own society with nothing better to do than to find meaning in the meaningless

SEGREGATION FTW!!!!

Nivea's facebook is taking a tongue-lashing of epic proportions right now.

 

[AndThePickles]

I agree that "re-civilize" is a key word here...

 

[MadVillainy]

is there a version with a white guy?

 

[Colossal Spoons]

is there a version with a white guy?

Don't think so

I don't think that anyone would be upset if the man was white because the racial implications/history in this ad would be moot. I do think think that some people would be upset by this ad. The US has an intense and terrible history in terms of viewing blacks as "uncivilized" and less than human, so to feature a black man in an ad where it looks like the "uncivilized" hair is natural/curly, well...I'm pretty shocked that someone on Nivea's marketing team gave this the go-ahead. It's not exactly fitting the "PC" mold.

This. How did this get a thumbs-up from everybody in the board room. If it has even the slightest chance of offending an ethnic group, I'd imagine the idea would be scrapped. Especially considering how lawsuit/boycott happy consumers are in 2011

 

[Colossal Spoons]

FYI, I was just gonna post this in the Soul-Glo Thread but it's closed

 

[November Rain]

how can re-civilize be the problem word when if it was a true issue, it should be simply civilize

re-civilize implies already coming from a state of being civil and regressing somewhat.

which would imply coming from a state of equality.

civilize on its own at the very VERY worst, would imply that there has been no evolvement and savagery is the norm.

Is there actually anything concrete to argue on this platform.

and if it's a picture of a guy with long hair and a beard, woopy do, that's what happens when you don't groom, it's not a look unique to black dudes

 

[MadVillainy]

how can re-civilize be the problem word when if it was a true issue, it should be simply civilize

re-civilize implies already coming from a state of being civil and regressing somewhat.

which would imply coming from a state of equality.

civilize on its own at the very VERY worst, would imply that there has been no evolvement and savagery is the norm.

Is there actually anything concrete to argue on this platform.

and if it's a picture of a guy with long hair and a beard, woopy do, that's what happens when you don't groom, it's not a look unique to black dudes

See thats what Im saying.

 

[November Rain]

Nivea's facebook is taking a tongue-lashing of epic proportions right now.

really?

how ironic that an advert about becoming civil leads to people acting somewhat childish.

man, i wish i was white sometimes, I'd just lay out the bait and watch some idiot go on about equality for fun. It's kinda pathetic, in a sad way...

*sigh*

 

[Colossal Spoons]

and if it's a picture of a guy with long hair and a beard, woopy do, that's what happens when you don't groom, it's not a look unique to black dudes

But the head doesn't need to shave or get a hair cut, a comb would make that man totally presentable. Why must a face be clean-shaven and hair be short(er) in order to be civil?

 

[Hotwire]

Nivea's facebook is taking a tongue-lashing of epic proportions right now.

Link?

 

[November Rain]

the reason people started cutting their hair in the first place back in the day was for the rich 'civilised' people to differentiate themselves from the poor.

that's the premise.

it's a grooming product, if one isn't aware of the history of why grooming was invented, of course you are going to bark up the wrong tree.

 

[Hotwire]

But the head doesn't need to shave or get a hair cut, a comb would make that man totally presentable. Why must a face be clean-shaven and hair be short(er) in order to be civil?

Sad misconceptions ingrained in culture. I have to be clean shaven for work because, my boss feels it makes me more presentable to customers.

 

[November Rain]

but it's true, apparently you are less likely to get a job also if you turn up to the interview with a beard.

 

[Colossal Spoons]

Link?

http://www.facebook.com/NIVEAusa?sk=wall

 

[MessiahDecoy123]

1) The afro is symbol of black pride from the black is beautiful movement.
2) Africans and Native Americans were considered uncivilized by whites for most of America's history.
3) The ad implies that dressing preppy is the ultimate form of being civilized. Why couldn't the black guy wear urban clothes?
4) The ad is an attack on past symbols of black pride implying the afro is uncivilized and that a black person dressing "more white" is civilized.
5) The man with the afro (black pride symbol) is decaptiated and the preppy black man (possible uncle tom) is about to throw the head. It looks like an ad sponsored by the Klu Klux Klan.

 

[Colossal Spoons]

Sad misconceptions ingrained in culture. I have to be clean shaven for work because, my boss feels it makes me more presentable to customers.

Reason #49209 I'm glad I'm a mad scientist. Wild hair and bushy bears are not only acceptable, but almost encouraged

the reason people started cutting their hair in the first place back in the day was for the rich 'civilised' people to differentiate themselves from the poor.

that's the premise.

it's a grooming product, if one isn't aware of the history of why grooming was invented, of course you are going to bark up the wrong tree.

Then I guess I take more issue with the facial hair discrimination than any racism implied by the ad.

 

[Why Are You Crouching Spock?]

I find it really weird this is specifically being complained about black people (as with alot of things) when actually, in general, we are conditioned to think that beautiful people are "good" and people who are unattractive, alot of the thing with deformities such as being physically scarred are "bad". It's the case with practically every story ever told. And something really frickin horrible that has been drilled into peoples heads.

It's why Darkman (Dark man? get it? Thread pun!) is a cool hero imo, he needs to look temporally like the "normal people" to operate. And even though he looks like a monster, he's actually the hero.

[YT]L58rdhCfDIU[/YT]

 

[Spider-Nerd]

I don't see anything inherently wrong with the ad. I get how it could be interpreted as having racial overtones, but if it wasn't brought to my attention I never would have even given it a second look.

 

[Colossal Spoons]

It's why Darkman (Dark man? get it? Thread pun!) is a cool hero imo, he needs to look temporally like the "normal people" to operate. And even though he looks like a monster, he's actually the hero.

But Dark Man X is DMX's alter ego who he admits is a very bad man. And Anaconda Malt Liquor gives you Little Richard!