Did that make you cry?

Offensive imagery for brands have been pervasive in American history and many of these brands are propagated by derogatory stereotypes (Bhasin, 2011). For instance, Aunt Jemima, a brand that still exists today, but has been dramatically altered since its first introduction. Propagating an African-American archetype of “Mammy” the Aunt Jemima brand dates back to 1937 (Kern-Foxworth, N.D.)

Existing are other cases that bring responsible branding or political correctness to mind. The article, 12 Trademarks Declared Less Offensive Than Redskins, relays that the brand names mentioned in the article did not offend anyone enough to protest to the United States Patent and Trademarks Office (USPTO). “Federal trademark law does not allow the registration of any names that bring individuals or groups into contempt or disrepute,” noted the article. “Figgas over Niggas” or “Blanco Basura (White Trash)” didn’t offend, at least, according to the USPTO (Neff & Bennett, 2014).

Responsible branding heavily impacts corporate business. For example, Fedex initiated a risk analysis of ending their sponsorship of the Washington Redskins brand (Kramer, 2013). Long since controversial in the NFL, the Washington Redskins team name has received the description of being racially derogatory. Fedex had paid $200 million to sponsor the team through to 2026 (Kramer, 2013). and wants to know how it impacts the company.

A Los Angeles Times contributer pondered, “Wouldn’t it be nice to stop worrying… and concern ourselves with simply being honest?” (Willens, 2014). The brand, Ben & Jerry’s did not change the name of the ice cream “Hazed & Confused” after the company was accused of “supporting hazing, or even inferred hazing” in the product’s name (Stanford, 2014), but will it hurt the Ben & Jerry’s brand?

How much is too much politically correctness or inversely, how much is just the right amount of responsible branding?

Resources:

Bhasin, K. & Laya, P. (June 2011). 26 shockingly offensive vintage ads. Business Insider. Retrieved from http://www.businessinsider.com/vintage-sexist-and-racist-ads-2011-6?op=1

Kern-Foxworth, M. (N.D.) Aunt Jemina, uncle Ben, and Rastus. The African American Experience. Retrieved from http://testaae.greenwood.com/doc_print.aspx?fileID=GR5184&chapterID=GR5184-561&path=books/greenwood

Kramer, M. (October 2013). Why responsible branding matters to shareholders. Green Biz. Retrieved from http://www.greenbiz.com/blog/2013/10/28/responsible-branding-shareholders

Neff, B. & Bennett, J. (June 2014). 12 trademarks declared less offensive than redskins. Joe for America. Retrieved from http://joeforamerica.com/2014/06/12-trademarks-declared-less-offensive-redskins/

Stanford, D. (October 2014). Ben & Jerry’s refused to change ‘Hazed & Confused’ name. Bloomberg. Retrieved from http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-10-17/ben-jerry-s-won-t-rename-hazed-confused-after-complaints.html?ncid=txtlnkusaolp00000618

Weinman, K. & Bhasin, K. (September 2011). 12 uncomfortably racist vintage brand mascots. Business Insider. Retrieved from http://www.businessinsider.com/racist-company-mascots-2011-9?op=1

Willens, M. (October 2014). Political correctness police should give Joe Biden a break. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved from http://www.latimes.com/opinion/opinion-la/la-ol-ben-affleck-bill-maher-joe-biden-political-correctness-20141007-story.html