Nivea Pulls Ad After Online Outcry

Nivea, the skincare and beauty products company, said Thursday it would <a href="http://www.trading666.com/UGG-snow-boots-5815-f2-72-c3-140.html"><strong>wholesale cheap ugg 5815 online from china </strong></a> halt its advertising campaign that suggested black men "re-civilize" themselves, after an outcry erupted Wednesday on Twitter.The ad appeared in the latest issue of Esquire magazine, and the negative public reaction began in earnest on Wednesday, when pictures of the ad, which featured a shorn black man holding a decapitated head with an afro and beard, began to circulate on social media Web sites.(Another ad from the same campaign featured a white man but had a different slogan.)The ad was created for the company, which is owned by Beiersdorf USA, by the creative agency Draftfcb, according to AdWeek. In AdWeek, Beiersdorf USA issued a statement that came down strongly against the advertisement."This ad was inappropriate and offensive. Diversity and equal opportunity are crucial values at Beiersdorf and we do not tolerate insensitivity. It was never our intention to offend anyone and for this we are deeply sorry. This ad will never be used again. Beiersdorf, as a company, represents diversity, tolerance and equal opportunity. Direct and indirect discrimination must be ruled out in all decisions and in all areas of the company.”The company also issued a similar statement on its Facebook page, thanking fans for "caring enough to give us your feedback."It is difficult to trace the root of the social media conversation concerning Nivea, but a picture posted on the Tumblr blog "Life of A Nappy Headed Fat Chic" at 12:45 p.m. on Wednesday was widely shared across the network. The word "Nivea" soon became a trending topic on Twitter (a chart of the topic’s popularity can be <a href="http://www.trading666.com/others-t1-29.html"><strong>cheap marlboro red cigarettes online </strong></a> found here).The Internet has emerged as a powerful tool for social commentary on advertising. Many complained that a commercial for the social coupon Web site Groupon that ran during the Super Bowl in February joked about the imperiled culture of Tibet, and the ad faced a similar onslaught of criticism on YouTube and other networks.Another Groupon commercial featured Cuba Gooding Jr. seeming to make light of endangered whales.After initially trying to defend or explain the ads, which were created by the agency Crispin Porter &amp; Bogusky, Groupon pulled the commercials about five days after they were first broadcast.