Shaking off racist imagery: Public protest inspires string of brand redesigns
07 Jul 2020 --- “Power concedes nothing without a demand,” US social reformer Frederick Douglass declared in 1857. The statement has rung true in recent weeks with brands across F&B sectors scrambling to ensure that their packaging visuals are aligned with consumer expectations of social equality. Notable examples include the rebranding of Mars’ rice brand Uncle Ben’s following public pressure to discontinue brand imagery with racially insensitive origins.
For similar reasons, PepsiCo announced the removal of its signature Aunt Jemima brand name and image from its packaging by Q4 2020. PackagingInsights delves into how brands are working to avoid racial biases and injustices by maturing their visual identities.
“We recognize that we need to evolve the Uncle Ben’s brand, including its visual brand identity and name, which we will do. Any change to a global brand is a complex decision, but we know now is the right time,” Sara Schulte, External Communications Manager, Mars Food North America, tells PackagingInsights.
The exact changes and timing of the brand redesign are to be determined, but to continue to “evaluate all possibilities,” Mars is “listening to the voices of consumers, especially in the Black community, branding experts, and of our associates worldwide to inform our decision,” Schulte highlights.
In the same week, Aunt Jemima, one of the long-time pancake syrup brands of The Quaker Oats Company, a subsidiary of PepsiCo, pledged to remove the image of “Aunt Jemima” from its packaging and change the name of the brand.
“This step is in line with PepsiCo’s journey toward racial equality and the evolution will help carry the 130-year-old brand into the future. These initiatives comprise a holistic effort for PepsiCo to ‘walk the talk’ of a leading corporation and help address the need for systemic change,” PepsiCo states.
Insensitive F&B packaging needs a visual overhaul
The main criticism behind these signature food brand images lies in the negative connotations surrounding the original depictions. Mars states on its Uncle Ben’s website that the original Uncle Ben character is a combination of a Black Texan rice farmer known as Uncle Ben and 1940s Chicago chef and waiter Frank Brown, “who has come to personify the brand visually.”
Uncle Ben's wants its brand image redesign to "help put an end to racial injustices." However, this portrayal has been criticized for being part of a tradition of stereotyping Black people in brand images and packaging. “The only time Black people were put into ads was when they were athletic, subservient or entertainers,” Marilyn Kern Foxworth, the author of “Aunt Jemima, Uncle Ben and Rastus: Blacks in Advertising Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow” told the New York Times in 2007.
Similarly, the Aunt Jemima image initially embodied the plantation myth of the happy-to-serve Southern “mammy,” which romanticizes the white enslaver’s relationship with the enslaved kitchen staff. In light of this, the visual representation has undergone an evolution in recent decades, with Quaker swapping out the “mammy” kerchief and headscarf with a white collared shirt and grandmotherly pearl earrings in 1989.
“We recognize Aunt Jemima’s origins are based on a racial stereotype. While work has been done over the years to update the brand in a manner intended to be appropriate and respectful, we realize those changes are not enough,” explains Kristin Kroepfl, Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, Quaker Foods North America.
Giving the people a voice
Consumer criticism of insensitive brand images has previously sparked redesigns. In February, Land O’ Lakes unveiled new packaging for its butter brands to focus on the business’s farmer-owned cooperative aspect. The new brand eliminated the depiction of the Northern American indigenous child, widely criticized for its racialized and sexualized portrayal, without providing a substitute. The mountainous landscape remains, with the words “Farm-Owned” in red above the horizon.
“As a farmer-owned co-op, we strongly feel the need to better connect the men and women who grow our food with those who consume it,” says Land O’ Lakes CEO Beth Ford. “Extending that farmer-owned story to our packaging is arguably our most direct vehicle to communicate with consumers,” adds Heather Anfang, Senior Vice President of Land O’ Lakes US Dairy Foods. Although the company did not explicitly state the farm-focus was a replacement to Land O’ Lakes’ indigenous forefront figure, many welcomed it as such.
Consumer concern for other forms of injustice has also resulted in notable packaging redesigns. Outside of the racist packaging debate, consumers concerned with animal welfare celebrated when Barnum’s Animal Crackers removed the depiction of circus animals in cages on its cracker boxes. Since 2018, the animals are now seen roaming freely. The change is “a result of evolution,” the company of more than 115 years said at the time.
Innova Market Insights research shows that increased consumer concern for ethical issues is having a knock-on effect on product development in the F&B industry. Also, F&B experts shared with PackagingInsights during Pride Month 2020 that raising awareness and funding for the LGBTQ+ community through packaging can deepen consumer-brand relationships.
Ramon Laguarta, CEO of PepsiCo, concludes: “We have much work to do going forward, and to echo Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., ‘The time is always right to do what is right.’”
By Anni Schleicher
