This new ad for Nivea, which in an effort to promote the company’s men’s skin care line seems to encourage men of color to “re-civilize” themselves and “look like [they] give a damn,” has outraged scores of bloggers and forced Nivea to issue a public apology.

The ad, which appears in the September issue of Esquire, features a clean-cut African-American male holding what appear to be a mask of a black man with an Afro and a beard. The copy reads, “Look Like You Give a Damn. Re-civilize Yourself.” Twitter lit up with complaints yesterday, making “Nivea” a trending topic, as some called the ad “unapologetically racist.”

Nivea responded by pulling the ads and issuing a statement to CNN:

We are deeply sorry to anyone who may take offense to this specific local advertisement. After realizing that this ad is misleading, it was immediately withdrawn.

Diversity and equal opportunity are crucial values of NIVEA: The brand represents diversity, tolerance, and equal opportunity. We value difference. Direct or indirect discrimination must be ruled out in all decisions by, and in all areas of our activities. This applies regardless of gender, age, race, skin color, religion, ideology, sexual orientation, or disability. Nor should cultural, ethnic, or national origin, and political or philosophical conviction be of any significance.”

For what it’s worth, Nivea also ran a version of the ad featuring a Caucasian man:


As one online commenter says, “”In my opinion, if you look at both ads, you can clearly see that they are referring to cavemen…not afros.”

What do you think?