Aunt Jemima's Name Change

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After 130 years, Aunt Jemima will no longer be on your pancake box. What companies are doing to shift culture in America.

Today, after more than 130 years, Aunt Jemima will no longer be on your box of pancake mix or on your bottle of syrup.

I don’t think I can start even talking about marketing without acknowledging the intolerable events that are happening in the world today due to the systematic racism and injustice that continue to be present in our country. Let me emphasize, right off the bat, that I share in the heartbreak and sadness and outrage that has been ever-present in our country these past few weeks, and stand in solidarity with people of color on the issue of racial equality. What’s happening today has given me the motivation to use my platform to spread awareness and understanding.

When I think of my children, it’s disheartening to think that we’re creating a world of division for them. I’m relived that they don’t see color the way older generations do and I hope that we can turn this around by the time they’re old enough to realize the kind of racial inequality that is present today.

That being said, we can get to the marketing piece…

I think it’s certainly progress on behalf of the Quaker Oats company that they’ve made the decision to change their logo. It’s long overdue for them.

Did you know that the Aunt Jemima logo is based on a real person? Her name was Nancy Green, and the company website will tell you that she was “a storyteller, cook and missionary worker.” However, they fail to mention that Nancy Green was born into slavery in 1834 in Kentucky, and wasn’t hired to become one of advertising’s first brand ambassador’s until she was in her 50s.

The Aunt Jemima logo was first used in 1890. But it doesn’t make sense anymore. The image of a black woman in America has drastically changed in the past 130 years. In fact, the image of women in America has drastically changed in this time.

In my opinion as a marketing strategist, it’s a good move by the Quaker Oats company to show support for this movement toward racial equality. In fact, it’s overdue.

I believe brands have a responsibility to take a stand here. It’s going to take many people and companies coming together to move the needle here. Quaker Oats is doing the right thing by showing corporate support for this movement.

As we look back at most influential ads over the years, you can see how they track the culture of society: a visual legacy that succinctly captures a social feeling and message in a single visual. A snapshot in time.

In many instances, ads actually change culture too. I mean, who has never repeated a phrase from a commercial before… “Just do it” or “Because you’re worth it” or “The quicker picker-upper” or “Can you hear me now?”

And throughout history, there have been so many ads that have done much more than just persuade us to buy a product. The very best campaigns have affected the way we communicate and interact with one another.

In 1916, Uncle Sam motivated young men to fight in World War I just by pointing and saying “I want you”

Then in 1942, Rosie the Riveter called the ladies with “We Can Do It”

Coca-Cola may have invented what we all think Santa Claus looks like today because of how they portrayed him–with a big-bearded, jolly, pink-cheeked Santa holding a little glass of Coca-Cola.

1959 “Think small” with a Volkswagen beetle

 1983 “Friends don’t let friends drive drunk”

1997 Apple’s “Think Different”

1988 Nike’s “Just Do It”

The list goes on…

The choices that companies make in their ads can change societal preferences, behavior, and even thought patterns. If we want to change culture in America, we need stand united in the power of diversity and in the innate belief that all people are created equal.

A move like shifting a logo on a pancake syrup bottle may not seem like a big deal, but it is a stand in the right direction. Over time, these little things add up and it’s the culmination of a lot of these small changes by huge corporations that are going to make a big difference in our society.

For my business Bixa Research, a lot of the market research we do informs big companies about how people perceive their products and brands, and gives them the data they need to be confident in making bold choices like this.

I know for me, I’m sure going to be buying Aunt Jemima’s this week when I go to the grocery store. I think a lot more people will, to support the cause.