Eskimo Pie changing its “derogatory” name to avoid cancel culture

Following in the footsteps of brands like Aunt Jemima, Mrs. Buttersworth, and Uncle Ben’s, the ice cream bar company Eskimo Pie has decided to change its name citing that the name is “derogatory”.

It was considered derogatory because “Eskimo” is a name given to Inuit Indigenous people by non-Inuit people, and was said to mean “eater of raw meat” according to the Alaskan Native Language Centre. 

The Company was started all the way back in 1922 and has had the name Eskimo Pie since the beginning as well.

Head of marketing for Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream Elizabell Marquez released a statement saying, “We are committed to being a part of the solution on racial equality, and recognize the term is derogatory…This move is part of a larger review to ensure our company and brands reflect our people’s values.”

It seems like at this time due to the growing momentum of the Black Lives Matter political organization, after the tragic death of George Floyde cause by police in Minneapolis, that many brands are trying to fit within what they think the new cultural standards are moving towards.

Quaker Oats which is removing the Aunt Jemima name and logo off of their syrup and pancake mix did so stating that it was “based on a racial stereotype” but the company had already rebranded away from the original stereotypical version of Aunt Jemima in the past. It is said that the “aunt” part of the name still fits into an old racial stereotype, but it is unlikely it meant anything to the vast majority of people living today.

Aunt Jemima had some pressure exerted onto them, but when Eskimo Pie declared that they would be moving to change the name of their product there was no public outcry for the branding to be changed.

It seems that Eskimo Pie is trying to get ahead of what they thought would become a media frenzy if activists targeted them in what is often described as the current “cancel culture” where persons and companies are subjected to a purity test to find any sort of perceived wrongdoing.

Based on Eskimo Pie and other brands now unprovoked started to change branding it wouldn’t be a surprise if in the coming weeks more companies rebrand products to avoid any potentially offensive stereotypes or implications customers may take away.

None of the brands that will be changed have yet released any idea of how much the rebranding aims to change about the original.