Write a journal entry about the decision to drop the Native American image from the company’s marketing.
Journal Entry #9: Marketing Forward For Change Journal #9 may be appealing to those of you who are interested in or studying business, marketing, or graphic design. This may also be very interesting to anyone who is involved or supportive of civil rights matters. Companies put a lot of time and money into finding the perfect logo and sometimes mascot or spokesperson for their brands. When they are lucky, these become so enduring that they last for decades or even over a century. Look at something like McDonald’s (Ronald McDonald the Clown) if you see that clown, you know which fast food restaurant he belongs to and McDonalds has been using that character for a very long time. These mascots and characters will sometimes undergo changes to make them more modernized; however, sometimes, companies choose to get rid of them for one reason or another. Sometimes, this happens because the mascot or character has not aged well as society has changed, and may be culturally insensitive. Land O’Lakes has been using the image of a Native American girl/woman on their packages and advertisements since 1928; however, she will no longer be used. The company has said it was just time for a change and they want to focus on the farmers. Others, believe it was a strategic move for the company to clean up its image. Native American rights advocates think this was the correct decision to make; however, there are some who have taken to Twitter to show their outrage of the company’s decision. Write a journal entry about the decision to drop the Native American image from the company’s marketing. Do you agree or disagree with their decision to do so? Should other companies think about doing the same with their mascots or characters (watch the videos on Aunt Jemima)? You will learn about the change that Aunt Jemima went through in the late 1980s. Do you think enough about that character has changed, or would you do more to alter her image now? Would you recommend that they simply stop using the Aunt Jemima image all together? articles to use: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=syTFc-dzulM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=syTFc-dzulM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zi_msqtOPc
