So long Uncle Ben...

antijoke · 23 Sep 2020 at 15:20

News hit this afternoon that its being rebranded to Ben’s Original with anew image to be announced.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1308723365327368193

Got to admit I never ever thought of it in the way I’m reading online of the happy black servant always being on hand to serve his white master. Just thought he was the owner/creator, turns out he’s a popular Chigaco chef/waiter.

jsmoke · 23 Sep 2020 at 15:21

Cool.

Deleted member 77746 · 23 Sep 2020 at 15:23

my poor old Uncle Ben

noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

SixTwoSix · 23 Sep 2020 at 15:24

No one tell Peter Parker.

mattyg · 23 Sep 2020 at 15:26

So they are no longer paying homage to popular waiter and are deleting history

Another win for the Anti Racists....Oh hang on

Akagi · 23 Sep 2020 at 15:28

According to Mars, Uncle Ben was an African-American rice grower known for the quality of his rice. Gordon L. Harwell, an entrepreneur who had supplied rice to the armed forces in World War II, chose the name Uncle Ben's as a means to expand his marketing efforts to the general public.

According to this article however, he was just a random person who Gordon L. Harwell knew, and he thought he had a "trustworthy face".

http://www.factfiend.com/man-packets-uncle-bens-rice-called-frank/

mattyg · 23 Sep 2020 at 15:30

Acme said:
The brand was named after him, and his image appeared on every packet.

Surely removing him from the packets and changing the name of the company is more racist than not doing it?

Genuinely baffling.

Yeah remove the black dude from our marketing material. And thats supporting Anti Racism. Another blow for equality.

I'm sure I'm looking at it wrong though..Right!

Akagi · 23 Sep 2020 at 15:31

mattyg said:
Yeah remove the black dude from our marketing material. And thats supporting Anti Racism. Another blow for equality.

I'm sure I'm looking at it wrong though..Right!

Apparently I was wrong, and so is Mars' claim.

The guy in the picture isn't Gordon L Harwell, its a guy called Frank Brown, who was a server in a restaurant. And Harwell paid him $50 to use his likeness forever, with no additional payments.

Pudney · 23 Sep 2020 at 15:38

mattyg said:
Yeah remove the black dude from our marketing material. And thats supporting Anti Racism. Another blow for equality.

I'm sure I'm looking at it wrong though..Right!

Yeah, you are looking at it wrong. You're effectively using the same mindset as those who say "I have a black friend so I can't be racist".

robfosters · 23 Sep 2020 at 15:40

It’s gone beyond pathetic now.

200sols · 23 Sep 2020 at 15:41

What a stupid decision.

Akagi · 23 Sep 2020 at 15:41

robfosters said:
It’s gone beyond pathetic now.

Agreed...

200sols said:
What a stupid decision.

Agreed...

Pudney said:
Yeah, you are looking at it wrong. You're effectively using the same mindset as those who say "I have a black friend so I can't be racist".

My black friends also agree...

Bassmansam · 23 Sep 2020 at 15:43

Pandering to the twitter brigade. Glad I deactivated my account a few months ago, absolute cesspit of hell.

Akagi · 23 Sep 2020 at 15:44

Bassmansam said:
Pandering to the twitter brigade. Glad I deactivated my account a few months ago, absolute cesspit of hell.

I only use it to satisfy entry requirements to competitions and things. My twitter feed is just spam.

I dislike the platform, but at least they are beginning to censor the worst of the hate speech.

Junglist · 23 Sep 2020 at 15:44

Acme said:
Apparently I was wrong, and so is Mars' claim.

The guy in the picture isn't Gordon L Harwell, its a guy called Frank Brown, who was a server in a restaurant. And Harwell paid him $50 to use his likeness forever, with no additional payments.

Yeah found that out a few years ago, seems he got a bit short changed!

Wonder if they're going to go after Aunt Bessie/ Aunt Jemima next

Edit: Turns out they are and it also turns out Aunt Bessie has nothing to do with Aunt Jemima. I always thought they were the same thing!

JRS · 23 Sep 2020 at 15:44

Is a company choosing to rebrand genuinely something that we're all supposed to care about that much? It doesn't feel like it should be, especially right now...

Pudney · 23 Sep 2020 at 15:45

Acme said:
My black friends also agree...

Assuming you are joking, but the other ridiculous thing is that this has nothing to do with us. It’s an American issue, it’s just a global brand with a unified image. If they want to change for their home market for home market issues it’s nothing to do with us.

robfosters · 23 Sep 2020 at 15:47

I demand they remove Aunt Bessie’s image in the interests of equality.

Akagi · 23 Sep 2020 at 15:48

Pudney said:
Assuming you are joking, but the other ridiculous thing is that this has nothing to do with us. It’s an American issue, it’s just a global brand with a unified image. If they want to change for their home market for home market issues it’s nothing to do with us.

I chose to say it as a joke, but the statement is in itself not a joke.

And yes you are absolutely right, but we can still watch from afar and comment on how silly it is. We are British after all, we are good at judging others.

antijoke · 23 Sep 2020 at 15:49

JRS said:
Is a company choosing to rebrand genuinely something that we're all supposed to care about that much? It doesn't feel like it should be, especially right now...

it is when it’s the direct result of events happening right now.