This Santander Bank commercial from Engine and Sidhu & Simon in the UK is part of a campaign starring fictional bank CEOs Ant and Dec—who are seeking to teach money skills to school kids in the latest episode. Their scheme involves impersonating hip-hop wiggers in an execution that’s so awful, it’s patently offensive.
It took two agencies to excrete such shit? Consumers should think twice about using a bank that wastes money on advertising like this. Word.
As brands continue scrambling to erase “controversial” characters from packages and promotions, it appears at least one cuddly critter is causing lots of head-scratching: Mrs. Butterworth. After all, Mrs. Butterworth’s background has never been officially confirmed. Even the manufacturer—Conagra Brands—insists the bottle design and persona are “intended to evoke the images of a loving grandmother,” seemingly void of race or ethnicity.
The Columbia Daily Tribune once reported, “Thelma ‘Butterfly’ McQueen—best known for playing the young mammy ‘Prissy’ in ‘Gone with the Wind’—was the black actress who modeled for the original Mrs. Butterworth syrup bottle.” Yet MultiCultClassics could find no other sources to fully corroborate the alleged factoid.
There appears to be no historical evidence showing Mrs. Butterworth in culturally clueless campaigns, clearly contrasting Aunt Jemima, Uncle Ben and Rastus. Could Mrs. Butterworth be the pancake syrup equivalent of a wigger—a Caucasian grandma biting Aunt Jemima’s style? Is she as anti-racist as her dancing partner—KFC’s Colonel Sanders—who has also apparently been falsely accused of racism?
Conagra Brands reviewing Mrs. Butterworth’s brand after Aunt Jemima, Uncle Ben’s announcements
By Kelly Tyko, USA TODAY
Add another venerable brand to the list of companies under review.
After decisions by Aunt Jemima and Uncle Ben’s to overhaul their imaging in the wake of renewed calls for racial equality, Conagra Brands announced Wednesday it has “begun a complete brand and packaging review on Mrs. Butterworth’s.”
Though there have been debates over Mrs. Butterworth’s race, some have associated the shape of the brand’s syrup bottles with the offensive “Mammy” racial caricature of stereotype for Black women.
“The Mrs. Butterworth’s brand, including its syrup packaging, is intended to evoke the images of a loving grandmother,” Conagra Brands said in a statement Wednesday. “We stand in solidarity with our Black and Brown communities and we can see that our packaging may be interpreted in a way that is wholly inconsistent with our values.”
Pancake syrup company Aunt Jemima, owned by Quaker Oats, said Wednesday that it would retire Aunt Jemima from packaging on its brand of syrup and pancake mixes because it’s “based on a racial stereotype.” It acknowledged that its prior work to update the character was “not enough.”
Mars-owned Uncle Ben’s said it plans to change its rice but said in a news release that it didn’t know “what the exact changes or timing will be, but we are evaluating all possibilities.”
Contributing: Dalvin Brown
Politician wins election by pretending to be black
By News.com.au
A white candidate who tricked voters into believing he was black to win a local election is unapologetic about his deception.
“Every time a politician talks, he’s out there deceiving voters,” Dave Wilson, a conservative white Republican who ran for office in Houston, Texas, told K Houston.
Wilson, whose tactics were labeled “disgusting” by opponents, sent out fliers to his overwhelmingly black Democrat constituency strongly implying he was black.
The fliers had photos of smiling African-Americans and were captioned “Please vote for our friend and neighbor Dave Wilson.”
One of the fliers referred to an endorsement from Ron Wilson, a name local voters were likely to associate with a former Houston state representative who is also black. In fact the endorsement came from Wilson’s cousin who lives in Iowa and shares the politician’s name.
The tactic worked and Wilson won the election to the Houston Community College System board.
Bruce Austin, the longtime Democrat incumbent pushed out by Wilson, said: “I don’t think it’s good for both democracy and the whole concept of fair play. But that was not his intent, apparently.”
JWTIntelligence—which is clearly an oxymoron—unveiled 100 Things to Watch in 2013, a holdover event from the days when self-proclaimed futurist and trendspotter Marian Salzman worked for the Commodore’s crew. BTW, Salzman is currently employed by Havas PR and just released an e-book titled, “What’s Next? What to Expect in 2013.” The woman still takes credit for having identified wiggers, while JWTIntelligence boasts having trendspotted Lady Gaga. The latest JWTIntelligence list includes:
Allergen-FreeChia Seeds
The End of Voicemail
Gender-Blurred Toys
Mobile-Optimized Goes Mainstream
Online Groceries
Responsive Web Design
Self-Service
Tablet Shopping
Video Games As Art
Window Shopping
Yogurt Shops
Wow. Looks like someone spent serious time on Google. In 2013, clients should watch where JWTIntelligence and Salzman are billing their hours.
