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Last week, the debate over the Sami at the Joika Box has broken out. Nortura released Joika cookies in new packaging, and since then both Nordlys and Ella Marie Hætta Isaksen have been among debaters about the use of the Sami boy in Joika’s logo and name.
On Saturday, Nortura opened to change the meatballs’ name and logo, but said the process was underway before the debate began.
There are still brands that have indigenous peoples in their marketing. Here, Diplom-Is has the mascot “Eskimonika” that was drawn in the 1930s.
But the name is no longer used, according to director of marketing and product development Anne Borgen Sturød. They will also remove the name from their websites.
Considering changing the indigenous logo
Sturød further states that they are now in a design process where they are considering changing the logo, but emphasizes that the process was already in progress before the debate began. She can’t say anything about what the logo will look like in the future right now.
Hatting has hamburgers and sausage bread called “Chief,” and a drawing of a man from the American Indian people. Aina Hagen, director of marketing and innovation at Lantmannen Unibake Norway, explains that she dates back to 2003 and was going to create a link to American culture.
The “boss” name and logo will be phased out, Hatting says.
Photo: The manufacturer
Cecilia Salinas, who has a doctorate in social anthropology from the University of Oslo, believes that brands use stereotypes or caricatures of people or groups that have historically been discriminated against.
She thinks it is time to stop using it in advertising.
– It is an unheard of practice that has been with us in society for too long.
I do not want to offend anyone
The diploma-ice logo should symbolize cold vs. heat. Then an Inuit was chosen to symbolize the cold, explains Sturød, director of marketing and product development.
“What we know is that almost everyone in Norway knows the logo and that it elicits positive associations in people,” he writes.
“We still don’t want to offend anyone with our logo and of course we apologize if we do,” he adds.
The company is now on a design project where, among other things, they look at the figure and consider what it will be like in the future.
– We want to bring with us the positive values found in the logo, but we also want to make adjustments so as not to offend anyone while recognizing ourselves, Sturød continues.
Phases “Boss”
At Hatting, they are currently following the debate, saying they are constantly working to adapt their brands.
– For the past two years, we have been working to decrease boss usage in our marketing. We are working to achieve a more contemporary design that suits today’s society, writes Hagen, director of marketing and innovation, in an email, adding that they want a gradual transition to a new design.
Hagen thinks it is a shame if someone sees the use of ethnic figures in the industry as discriminatory caricatures.
“It would be sad, because there are no political reasons for choosing Hatting’s boss,” writes Hagen.
They wanted to create a link to American culture where hamburger and sausage bread is huge, according to Hagen, adding that they have also used place names like Chicago and Brooklyn.
Recommend cooperation
Over the past decade, brands have changed and their marketing changed.
After nearly 100 years in production, Land O’Lakes has removed the image of a Native American woman from its packaging this year. In 2007, Toro changed the name to its sugar color, and in 2010 the spice series for Toro received only the Toro name.
In 2019, Dior showed a campaign ad for the perfume “Sauvage” with Johnny Depp. The ad had elements of American Indian culture and received much criticism for it.
The fashion house replied that they had worked with consultants from a group of Native Americans and rights advocates to avoid cultural appropriation, according to The Guardian.
Only collaboration with culture to obtain symbols from the recommended professor of social anthropology at the University of Oslo, Arnd Schneider.
– In some cases, where it can be beneficial to both, one can agree, he says.
– But it must be put in the correct context. Adding something from a culture and putting it in its own context is still a colonial way of doing things, he adds.
