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19 June 2020TrademarksStephen Coates

Comment: Dropping of PepsiCo’s Aunt Jemima is long overdue

On June 17, PepsiCo announced that it would rebrand its Aunt Jemima syrup and pancake mix range, the first major brand to be pulled for its racist overtones during the social movement that followed the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police on May 25.

The company stated that it will change the Aunt Jemima name and remove the associated character from packaging. Consumers will start to see changes to packaging in Q4 2020.

PepsiCo provided reasoning for the change: “We recognise 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 realise those changes are not enough.”

Aunt Jemima was a character taken from the antebellum south and was initially represented as a  “mammy” caricature, a white construct created to show a happy slave. An actress who played the Aunt Jemima character in early advertisements was herself a former slave.

Attempts to update the character were made over the years, but the brand could not get past its origin. For many, the modernised Jemima simply represented the black servant moving from the plantation to being the maid in the house.

Within hours of PepsiCo’s announcement, other companies announced they were modifying or dropping brands which were considered iconic, but rooted in racial stereotypes. Mars Food, maker of Uncle Ben’s rice products announced an intention to make changes, stating that it “recognises that now is the right time to evolve the Uncle Ben’s brand, including its visual brand identity”. Uncle Ben’s packaging has long featured an image evoking caricatures of black servants.

ConAgra Brands, maker of Mrs. Butterworth’s syrup, stated that it had begun a complete review of the brand and its packaging. The company said the brand was intended to evoke images of a loving grandmother, but could instead be interpreted in a way that is inconsistent with its values.

Mrs. Butterworth’s syrup bottles have long been in the shape of a mammy caricature, much like the early depictions of Aunt Jemima. Competing brands have often tried to emulate each other, so consumers in the 1960s would have had the choice between Aunt Jemima or Mrs. Butterworth’s pancake syrup.

Other reviews

B&G Foods, maker of Cream of Wheat cereal, announced that it was initiating an immediate review of the Cream of Wheat brand packaging, acknowledging concerns over the Chef image. B&G stated it “will proactively take steps to ensure that we and our brands do not inadvertently contribute to systemic racism”. That character was originally named “Rastus,” an offensive and pejorative term for black men.

In February, before the current protests, the maker of Land O’Lakes butter began quietly removing the Native American woman featured on its products, informally known as the “butter maiden”. The change came on the 100th anniversary of the brand. Instead of featuring the butter maiden, the farmer-owned co-op instead started depicting its own farmers on the packaging.

The implications for trademark counsel are clear in one sense: the protection of brands rooted in offensive stereotypes will likely continue for many years, if only to keep them from becoming zombie trademarks. These are abandoned brands that are revived by other companies in order to monetise their existing notoriety and goodwill.

The last thing these companies will want is someone else continuing the use of such branding on products and services. Consumers will still associate these brands with the original owners, and continued use will perpetuate the racial stereotypes. That might be a challenge in countries such as the US where continued use is required to maintain trademark rights.

Other brand owners have resisted change: there has long been criticism against Eskimo-branded candy and Chiquita-branded bananas. We are in an era where consumers are barraged by platitudes from brands.

PepsiCo’s announcement is in stark contrast to those, because it resulted in meaningful action. Perhaps the American breakfast table will look very different in the near future.

Stephen Coates is the founder of Coates IP. He can be contacted at: steve@coatesip.com

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