Music
Fuse ODG calls out Nivea over Billboard with Tagline “For Visibly Fairer Skin”
Ghanaian musician Fuse ODG on his Instagram has called out personal care brand Nivea for an ad campaign the brand is running all over Africa.
The ad, for the brand’s lotion, featuring former Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria Omowunmi Akinnifesi, has as its tagline: “For visibly fairer skin”.
Fuse ODG, on his Instagram, posted a photo of a billboard as seen in Ghana.
He asked that the billboard be taken down all over Africa, else people would do it for the brand. He added the hashtag #PULLITDOWNNOW. He wrote:
Dear Nivea,
Kindly take down these billboards you have placed all over our beloved countries in Africa. I saw this one with my own eyes today in Ghana and we love our complexion the way it is. And if you don’t take these down. We will.
Every African everywhere should stop buying any Nivea product. Tag the Nivea branch from your country so they understand how foolish this is!
With love#PULLITDOWNNOW
@Nivea_uk@NiveaUSA@reggierockstone711@Sarkodie@r2beesmusic
Nivea will be the second personal care brand this month criticized for an insensitive ad, following the Dove Facebook campaign that was condemned as being racist.
The call out has elicited mixed reactions from social media users with some saying the ad is not insensitive because some people who may desire fairer skin may not necessarily intend to bleach or tone; while others say it is insensitive to dark-skinned persons adding that it subtly suggests that fair skin is better.
Another group of persons say the problem is not Nivea or any other brand with ad campaigns such as this, but an issue of demand and supply because if customers or potential customers do not suggest they need fairer skin, brands won’t run such ad campaigns. This group ads that the ultimate goal for the brands is to make money.
BNers, what do you think?
See Fuse ODG’s post below:
Photo Credit: fuseodg
