Racism Still Clings to America’s Best-Loved Brands

June 2020 might be remembered as the month that corporate America came to grips with its institutional racism. At this writing, Aunt Jemima and Uncle Ben, two longstanding brands rooted in racial stereotypes, are scheduled to be phased out. The makers of Cream of Wheat and Mrs. Butterworth are considering shuttering those icons as well.

The apparent cause is Black Lives Matter-themed protests in major U.S. cities. One contributing reason is that an older cohort of consumers, who remember the brands as part of their childhoods, have died. 

In the 20th Century, a similar amount of consumers were likely outraged by such brand icons rooted in the Reconstruction era, but brands had little opportunity to hear them. One outcome of the social media era, though, is that suddenly such consumers can be heard. Brands, which may have swept such criticisms aside, have to publicly confront such charges. Often, this leads to an endgame in which the brand icons are pushed aside.

But wishing for brands free of such racial baggage appears to be wishful thinking. The reason? It may be that the whiff of racism associated with a top brand is too tempting a target for journalists who know that the word is the key to page views.

Why Racist Icons Have Lasted So Long

If Mars were to introduce the Uncle Ben’s brand today, many would point out that its image was rooted in a history in which blacks were expected to elicit a deferential attitude toward whites.

That questionable lineage would have prompted others to switch in a new icon, but as insiders have noted, Mars is a family-run organization that is loath to take on the expense of creating a new brand. So, instead Uncle Ben’s hobbled along, absorbing the occasional charge of racism while updating the brand by introducing new rice and noodle bowl meals. Mars clearly hoped it could update the brand without changing its brand icon.

Aunt Jemima, another brand that has faced a reckoning in 2020. (Kristin Kroepfl, vp and CMO of Quaker Foods North America, said in a statement to NBC’s Today show that, “We recognize Aunt Jemima’s origins are based on a racial stereotype.”) Critics have long charged that Aunt Jemima is rooted in Old South plantation nostalgia and the notion of an asexual woman more devoted to her white master’s children than her own.

While at one time, a longstanding brand icon might be able to weather such charges, today it’s different, in part because of social media. A viral TikTok video by SingKirbySing on June 15, 2020 makes a case that Aunt Jemima doesn’t belong in a 2020 kitchen.

In the wake of such criticism, it’s hard to make a case for other brand icons, including the Washington Redskins; Miss Chiquita; Rastus, the smiling black man on Cream of Wheat boxes; Sambo’s Restaurant; and many other questionable icons that still persist in 2020.

How They Can Fix It

As such brands are finding, the best way to deal with such brand mascots is to get rid of them and move on.

The good news is that consumers usually move on as well. Look at Netflix’s launch of Qwikster in 2011. The proposed spinoff was designed to handle its foundering DVDs-by-mail business. But, it quickly became obvious that the business held little appeal and the move merely confused customers.

Then Netflix did the right thing. It pulled the plug on Qwikster and most people forgot about it. Today, Netflix is a powerhouse in the TV business and the largest buyer of video content globally.

Netflix’s experience offers some guidance for brands suddenly coming to terms with charges of racism. For such brands, there is little upside to sticking with a racist property. The best thing to do is to peel off the Band-Aid and carry on.