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This advert has actually been in the catalog for long; just had to pick it out to review for “Advert Friday” on Ogefash blog. This Nivea advert features one time most beautiful girl in Nigeria for year 2005- Omowunmi Akinnifesi.
You can watch one of our Kenyan Nivea advert review here (https://ogefash.reviews/2019/03/08/advert-review-nivea-body-lotion-kenyas-version-why-are-the-images-so-blurry/)
Moving on…
I don’t exactly know what issue people have with this advert o, biko (please), who doesn’t want a glowing skin? Certainly not me! As in, I do wanna have a glowing skin. Dictionaries define the word “glow” as something that is shining. You can be a brown skin girl and
still be glowing in your brown skin.
But I think I know why people misunderstood this advert and criticized it. Would let you know in the main review…
THE ADVERT
In the first scene, a lady-Omowunmi Akinnifesi is seen sitting in front of the mirror and looking at her skin intensely. She is cheerless because her skin is dull. She ponders on what skin care product that will make her skin glow.
Next, Omowunmi is seen applying Nivea body lotion to her skin which eventually makes her body glow and also makes her cheerful.
Next, she goes to her daughter’s school to pick her up. A male parent is seen admiring her glowing skin and mistakes Omowunmi’s child for her sister.
ADVERT DIALOGUE
Male Parent: Hello, here to pick up your sister?
Female parent (Smiles)
Female parent’s daughter: Mummy!
Male parent: Mummy! Wow! Such beautiful glowing skin.
ADVERT NARRATOR
| I need a product that I can really trust to restore my skin’s natural glow. Nivea natural finesse body lotion. Containing unique berry extras and lubry protection. To restore your natural glow and care for your skin.
Reveal your natural glow with natural fairness body lotion. From Nivea!    |
THE MESSAGE IN THE ADVERT
If you are looking for that perfect moisturizer that would make your skin glow and radiant for hours, then grab the Nivea natural fairness body lotion.
You want that lotion cream that would reveal your true colour, then go buy Nivea lotion; shikena!
THE REVIEW
The advert is so straightforward. But if I may ask, what exactly is the difference between Omowunmi’s skin color before she applied Nivea lotion and after she applied the lotion? If you ask me, ko really si (nothing much). However, with the camera effect, they were able to make her skin a little bit dull before she applied the cream and then made it glow after she applied the cream.
So what exactly is the complain of people about this advert? That it is a bleaching cream, bla bla. So funny! People really need to understand that there is a difference between a bleaching cream and the cream that helps save your skin from ageing from the scorching sun and helping it to glow. If you ask me, this particular Nivea cream is about the latter.
For instance you definitely can’t compare the skin of one who is constantly exposed to the scorching sun to one who is constantly exposed to an AC. So the message Nivea company was trying to push was that if you fall into the “scorching sun category set of people” or people that their days are always very hectic, and you know that you don’t want your skin ageing quickly or probably one side becoming darker than the other; then you need to apply Nivea lotion cream to save your skin from all the aforementioned points.
Why people misunderstood the advert? That must be because of the underlined word “Fairer skin” yes that is glowing skin, did they say white skin. It says “Nivea Natural fairness lotion will restore your skin’s natural glow”
There is even a place where they wrote for all skins. You can re-watch the advert if you can find it. Come to think of it, Omowunmi’s skin was practically the same before and after applying the cream; it is not as if she turned “Zari the boss” after applying the lotion. Her skin just started glowing.
There is this underlying tone in the advert that associated closeness of women to female children only and men to male children only; if you know what I mean. This is because of the way the male parent asked Omowunmi “Came to pick your sister?”
Finally, does this advert have the pull strategy? Well partially! I really didn’t see much difference after Omowunmi applied the lotion, except that she became cheerful in the latter part of the advert compared to the beginning of the advert. There is no really no way that someone would smile and the person wouldn’t be shining.
COSTUME: The model has got a beautiful shape that agrees to all kind of clothes and brings out the beauty in whatever she wears. Nice costume! It blends well with the colour associated with Nivea skin care product- Blue.
SOUND: Instrumentally tuneful!
JUST WONDERING
- The way she was walking though when she stepped out of the car
- Though she did not do any talking all through the advert, but shunning that male parent was somehow
- Then, the male parent’s question “Came to pick out your sister?” was just out of it. C’mon! Here to pick up your sister bawo? How na? When he did not put gum in the eyes (Kidding!); niece would have been better though.
DURATION: 30 SECONDS.
VIEW MORE IMAGES FOR NIVEA ADVERT BELOW
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WATCH NIVEA ADVERT 1 BELOW
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1hFLYqK69I
WATCH NIVEA ADVERT 2 BELOW
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXEuk4MI6xM
WATCH NIVEA ADVERT 3 BELOW
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92x-3wdR-Zk
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