The skincare empire Nivea has severed ties with pop superstar Rihanna, who during her year-long contract with the company was featured in their 100th birthday campaign.
“I do not understand how to bring the core brand of Nivea in conjunction with Rihanna,” said Stefan Heidenreich, CEO of Nivea’s parent company Beiersdorf. “Nivea is a company which stands for trust, family and reliability.”
According to The Daily Mail, Heidenreich told the German newspaper Welt that Rihanna’s party-girl image does not work with the 100-year-old brand’s family friendly aura.
“Within the future and brand positioning, Nivea focuses more than ever on its core values,” said a spokesperson for the company to U.K. website Marketing Week. “This leads to a change in advertising strategy as well as marketing campaigns. Beiersdorf and Nivea thank Rihanna for her work in relation to the 100th birthday anniversary campaign and feel respect and sympathy for her as a person.”
Beiresdorf denounced any assumption of Rihanna being fired by Nivea, insisting that her departure was followed only after the end of her contract.
Nivea announced its partnership with Rihanna in the spring of 2011. During that time her single “California King Bed” was featured in the 100th anniversary campaign. In addition, they also sponsored her Loud tour last year.
Though Heidenreich offered his thanks to the singer, one could expect that Rihanna wouldn’t very pleased with the news handed down by the CEO. In response, Rihanna shared her thoughts via twitter—where she seems to share her thoughts every five minutes—posting a headshot of Heidenreich along with a caption, “No caption necessary.”
The pop star is currently taking a vacation, spending time in her native Barbados as well as the French Riviera. She tops the list with five nominations in this year’s upcoming MTV Video Music Awards, which air Thursday, September 6, at 8:00 p.m. EST in Los Angeles.
