What’s in a Name? Ask Aunt Jemima.

“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose / By any other name would smell as sweet”

Thus, William Shakespeare lays the trap for his famous star-crossed lovers, Romeo and Juliet, in his eponymous play, because, in fact, long before the births and fateful meeting of the two characters, their families, the Capulets and Montagues, shared a long history of hatred and enmity.

Name matters.

Shakespeare, as far as I can guess, had never heard of “Brands” and their power to influence our senses and reactions so much so that one’s visceral reactions can and will change, despite the physical “truth.”

Take the famous blind taste tests of years past, like Coke and Pepsi—a true Shakespearean rose moment. Blinded, I will pick one over the other based on taste, but remove the eye mask, and suddenly my choice of rose isn’t a rose! Coke is Coke and Pepsi is Pepsi, and no matter what product I found most favorable while blindfolded, I will always default to my favorite brand. This is consumer behavior 101.

So, like Shakespeare, I ask: What’s in a name?

How about Aunt Jemima or Uncle Ben? What about the Washington Redskins or The Frito Bandito? Eskimo Pie, anyone?

Each of these products have strong Brand association defined by a name—a visual representation and a heritage that links all beyond the product. A rose by any other name? I think not.

Take Aunt Jemima and Uncle Ben, slave and servant archetypes, respectively. And, according to a 2007 New York Times article by my friend, Stuart Elliott, “White Southerners once used ‘uncle’ and ‘aunt’ as honorifics for older blacks because they refused to say ‘Mr. and Mrs.’”

According to a published academic article written in 1995 by Maurice Manning entitled, “Aunt Jemima Explained: The Old South, the Absent Mistress and the Slave in a Box,” “The woman on the box has undergone numerous makeovers, but she remains the same in important ways, a symbol of some unspoken relationship among black servant woman, the kitchen and good food.”

In short, a Brand.

Now let’s consider Uncle Ben’s. As Elliot pointed out in his NYT article, the honorific is clear, but rice? As it turns out, rice, not native to North America, was introduced commercially with slaves who brought their farming skills with them from Africa. It was brutal, lethal work, but slaves could produce more than six times their own market value in a year, so high mortality rates were acceptable.

In short…another Brand.

Now onto The Frito Bandito, once justified because in a survey of four cities in California and Texas, 85% of Mexican Americans liked him, was actually first banned in 1969 by three TV stations—one in Los Angeles and the other two in San Francisco, and by 1971, The Frito Bandito was history. Imagine that! The power of commercial media to have an impact—something to think about in our Tech Giant (read Media Company) world of little or no accountability…but that’s a topic for another time.

And yes, in short, another Brand story—albeit with a quicker end.

Eskimo Pie, Mrs. Butterworth, and the Redskins, amongst others, are all changing and will soon have new names, packaging, and Brand associations…a rose by any other name…

So why did it take so long? Why did it take yet another tragic, needless death of a black person to prompt corporate mea culpas and penance?

Frankly, it's the same dynamic that propelled and kept these Brands alive, for so long, that has led to their demise.

In one word: PROFIT.

Not that there is anything wrong with profit—don’t misunderstand or mistake me. But let’s be clear, the motivation for these much-needed changes isn’t education, the desire to be more inclusive or a stand against racism. It’s the fact that these Brands are poised to lose a lot of money in the coming years unless they change their names.

I don’t know about you, but I find it fascinating to follow the controversy of where these brand names originally came from and the conflicting origin myths surrounding them, as the companies fumble to find the right words: Eskimo Pie: “we recognize the term is derogatory”…Aunt Jemima: “origins are based on a racial stereotype”…Uncle Ben’s “Now is the right time…”

A rose by any other name…

Names will change, imagery will shift (as it has in the past), but what about the wake left by the years of marketing? The long-tail of brand association…how do these brands and their marketers deal with that?

Merely wiping the slate clean achieves little. And donating to the “right” causes, while an admirable step in the right direction (and BTW we need profit for that), doesn’t address the real issues of a brand’s historical legacy.

The great James Baldwin wrote the following, in what might be considered a prescient moment:

“Before, however, our joy at the demise of Aunt Jemima and Uncle Tom approaches the indecent, we had better ask whence they sprang, how they lived? Into what limbo have they vanished?”

And, I will add the following question to his eloquent statement: what has been created to replace them?

If we just erase the past without any thought to Baldwin’s prompts (and humbly, to mine), we will have achieved nothing. Nada. Zero.

Therefore, I will argue that well-meaning Political Correctness will not serve us well at all.

Aunt Jemima and Uncle Ben are people created to fit a Brand narrative. To portray a particular sensibility and sustain a generational story that made us buy and buy again.

But people are Brands, too. Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson. George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. Christopher Columbus. Teddy Roosevelt.

Each of these Brands has an origin myth, a narrative and a set of visual cues that have made them iconic across generations in different ways to different people.

And yet, there are some truths and some absolutes that have made statues topple, portraits defaced, and pages ripped from history books.

I apply James Baldwin here, too:

“We had better ask whence they sprang, how they lived? Into what limbo have they vanished?”

And again, I will add, what has been created to replace them?

If all we do is cut and replace, we will have achieved little or nothing.

This is a marketing issue of the highest order. One that affects us all. As companies and a country struggle to make sense of it and to create a lasting vision for generations to come built on amending the ills of generations past by using that knowledge to create something powerful and fresh.

Politics, culture, marketing, imagery, and narrative all collide in a perfect storm that roils us all. And while we are in different boats, let’s try to navigate to a safe harbor together.

Let me end as I began—with the Bard…William:

“What is past is prologue”

Seems to me that James Baldwin added deep layer of meaning to this. No matter what we do, there is prologue, and if we miss that, we can easily become mired in the wrong narrative.

What do you think?

Before you go...

Check out my mini book review this week. I'll be including these along with my weekly rambles. Enjoy!

What Would You Wish For? by (shameless plug) David Sable

Full confession, I’m the author and the book is magnificently illustrated by Emma Yarlett.

Wishes are powerful, but only if we make them so. And in times like these, we need to make sure we teach our children that power and frankly remind ourselves. Don’t waste your wishes. Read on..

And a Past Post for my New Followers

Do You Know the Difference Between Management and Leadership?

Do you agree that we seem to always remember the extremes? The best and the worst? It’s the mediocre that always seems to fade away into obscurity. If I asked you who the best teacher you ever had was, I bet you could answer—and I have no doubt that the worst would come to mind in an instant.

Needless to say, I would argue that the worst were not teachers at all, merely taking up the space of the real deal. But in retrospect, they did have something to teach us: what not to be/what not to do.

The same applies to leaders: the worst ones take up space from others and falsely use the title (and entitlement) to posture and poach.

Studying leaders and leadership, it’s important, critical, to note that title, entitlement, or perceived power/rank have no real bearing on a person’s ability to lead, or more importantly, their legacy.

Let me be specific, and share with you two leaders who made a huge impact on a young man first starting out in the corporate world, and who, over 40 years, are still remembered, thought about, and hopefully emulated, as I (who was that young man) strive to meet the high bar they set.

One, David, was our group head. He was in his early 30s at the time and was a star in the company. The other, Mark, worked two levels down from David, was in his late 20’s, and was the rock-solid core of the little group David managed. I, as a mere trainee, reported to Mark.

And there was me. Cocky, impatient, thought I saw the big picture, had no patience for the slog, hundreds of ideas per minute and couldn’t understand why we couldn’t get them all done (still working this BTW).

David was and is inspirational. Soft-spoken, yet clear and direct, he taught by example. He never raised his voice, never used his position to flex power, and his door always open. In an age of corner offices and closed-door power plays, he demonstrated endless patience and a deep insight into people.

The lessons David taught me are endless. Some were the more “spiritual” ones I enumerated above, but others were purely practical, and his influence follows me daily, still.

David folded his cuffs down and under his shirt sleeve…why? Because in a day and age before computers, when we still used pen and pencil, it was easy to get marks on your cuffs, and who wanted to go to a client meeting with ink stains like a scrivener? I still fold my cuffs like him.

He taught me to:

• Always have a pad and pen with you, take notes, good notes, and use a nice pad in a cover…I still carry one
• Publish or perish…always make sure to write up your notes and share them so there is never any confusion—or at least less
• Write in short paragraphs with lots of bullet points…notice…
• Be careful how you eat and drink in client meetings…you might be asked a question…be ready for it, don’t have your mouth full…don’t get coffee or crumbs on your shirt
• Take a moment before replying…weigh your words…be succinct…always answer the question before your editorial
• Treat everyone the same…the people you work with, no matter what they did in the company, your clients, your outside partners and your suppliers…perceived rank, status, and title are not important if you approach all with the same respect

He taught me so much more than that, but by now you get the picture…the Lesson…the soft and the hard. The spiritual and the practical aspects of life and business all need to merge, to follow on form one another. It’s not enough to say it…you have to do it.

Remember, I was way, way down the totem pole from David, and yet he had time for me…and clearly impact.

Mark was my direct boss. A big southerner, who sang opera as a hobby. If David was client focused, Mark was client-deliverable obsessed. Like I said the rock-solid core of the team.

Oil and water for me…at the start. I had been writing and selling copy in my own little start-up. I had worked designing, typesetting and pasting up ads for a local newspaper…pre-computer; I had even produced my own TV commercials for some local non-profits and small businesses….and here I was, compiling lists; adding columns; writing detailed analyses of ad campaigns and practicing presentations in a more corporate manner. It was my personal version of Hell.

I was sure Mark hated and resented me. He made me do and redo my work, and I pushed his buttons. He made me practice and go to the learning sessions, and then always checked my “homework.” I pushed his buttons, and he edited and rewrote my memos. I pushed his buttons…getting the picture?

And then came the big revelation, the game change: the realization of Mark’s true leadership skills—and my lifetime of following him.

I had my first evaluation with David. It was quarterly then, plus I was a trainee. I came loaded for bear, or more to the point, loaded for Mark, as I was sure he had trolled me. I was ready…David began…I was on the edge of my chair…almost hovering…“Mark tells me how much potential you have and how quickly you learn. He thinks you will go really far.”

I was stunned. And then all of a sudden, it all fell into place.

Mark had been leading me. Teaching me. Showing me. He had a different kind of patience than David did, but it was perfect and appropriate to our relationship and relative places in the company. His was tough love. I needed to learn, and his job was to teach. He never used his position or power…ever—just his imposing presence and knowledge. And most importantly, he taught me—even when I didn’t want to learn.

• He taught me to use a computer – we had one of the first – and how to do basic programming to use Simmons Research and drive insights as well as plans
• He taught me to create logical arguments for the short paragraphs and bullet points
• He taught me to listen before I shared my point of view
• He taught me to be more open to constructive criticism and to learn from doing
• He taught me how to mentor…he was the best

And he made me forever obsessed by the details…to sweat every last one and never leave anything for granted. And maybe most of all, he taught me largesse. Needless to say, he also embodied David’s own teachings and values.

Two leaders, both different in style and outcome. David influencing us all, and each man still influencing my everyday life. David I’m still in touch with, and Mark, sadly, died young, but I’ve never forgotten him. I was blessed by both, and either one could have just done what their bare bones job description was: manage me—make sure I did what I was told. But they went above and beyond, and that has made all the difference…listen:

“Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things”—Peter F. Drucker

Might seem a small difference to some, but those words are worlds apart. I have spent my career trying to follow in both Mark’s and David’s footsteps…

What do you think?