By Nikki Stephens
Strategy Assistant
Nivea’s “Re-civilize Yourself” campaign endured a serious backlash from social media users accusing the brand of racism in one of its ads. The ad in question features an African American man tossing out a mask of himself with an afro-style cut and a full beard. The tag line: “Look like you give a damn. Re-civilize yourself.” It was pulled from print almost immediately due to outraged Facebookers, Tweeters and bloggers who blew up their social networks with their disapproval.
This reaction to the ad got me thinking about the speed that the Internet has in controlling marketing moves. Because the company was able to get immediate feedback, it was able to take the necessary actions to rectify the situation. This is the norm in today’s digital world and brands need to realize everything now moves at hyper speed.
In the past, an advertisement would run in print and only those viewers with a ridiculously strong opinion – either positive or negative – would take the time to write a letter to the company via snail mail. Comments on the campaign would trickle in to the company over the course of several days, weeks or even months depending on when a consumer got around to sending it out. Only if enough people voiced their censure, would any real action be taken to remove the offense from future printing.
Fast forward to 2011 where content can be added or removed in a matter of seconds. Companies have the ability to take bigger risks and make a larger splash in today’s world, because if something gives off the wrong vibe, it is easily deletable. The problem or offense can be swiped clean before the full target population ever sees it.
Nikki Stephens 