Most supermarket customers should know that some products are enclosed in glass showcases. Until recently, this was also the case in some branches of the US retail chain Walmart. Only one group had to call for an employee to get the goods: African Americans. The dealers mostly included products popular with blacks, such as special hair care and beauty products. Some even had additional theft protection.
The message that Walmart sent out for many: Black people are under general suspicion. The supermarket chain was therefore repeatedly faced with accusations of racism. Now Walmart has given in. The company announced last week that it would end this practice. “We made the decision to stop placing multicultural hair care and beauty products in closed containers,” it said.
However, the announcement has one flaw: it obviously took a movement to rethink its own domestic policy. Since the black American George Floyd was killed by a white policeman, tens of thousands have been on the streets in the United States on a regular basis. Under the motto “Black Lives Matter”, they demonstrate against racism and police violence.
And like Walmart, numerous companies are reacting to the movement. Some of them see themselves forced to make big changes. Because even the trade is not spared from the protests. The US association manufacturer Band-Aid announced that its plasters will soon be released in different skin tones. In future, customers will have the choice between light, medium and various shades of brown and black, explained the subsidiary of the pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson.
Popular brand could disappear from the shelves
The cosmetics chain Sephora wants to keep 15 percent of its shelves free for the products of black entrepreneurs in the future. And food manufacturer Mars has also responded. The company wants to expand mandatory anti-prejudice training for employees.
In addition, there will be no brand of the company in the future: rice from “Uncle Ben’s”. Mars has announced that it will continue to develop the brand without giving details. A white-haired African American has been decorating the emblem on the package for more than 70 years. Critics see this as confirming the stereotypes of US slaves who had to do forced labor on rice fields in the southern states in the 19th century. The title “Uncle” was used by slave owners for older African Americans instead of being seen as men.
“The change was an overdue step,” says Roland Albrecht, managing director of the Heidelberg agency Goya, which advises companies such as BMW or Samsung on the brand strategy. “Little sensitivity in the culture of remembrance is never useful in marketing.” You have to show an attitude, even if it hurts in the short term. “People are increasingly expecting companies to make a social or ecological sense,” says Albrecht. This is different than in the 20th century, when product advertising was openly used to promote sales.
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Today it pays to convey values. Whoever does this will contribute to long-term customer loyalty. “It’s also economically worthwhile,” says Albrecht. “Because regular customers are the best customers.” So do values only serve economic success? “Sooner or later, if you only pretend values, you will fly around your ears,” says Albrecht.
Starbucks initially banned expressions of solidarity
This can be seen in the example of Clemens Tönnies, who advertises happy animals next to the lettering of his slaughterhouse. “Now it became apparent that neither animals nor humans are happy there,” says Albrecht, referring to the latest corona infections in the slaughterhouse. And not communicating is communication, says Albrecht. “Those who behave neutrally ultimately look away wrongly.”
The US coffee house chain Starbucks recently felt this. For example, the company initially prohibited its employees from showing their sympathy for the Black Lives Matter movement with T-shirts or badges. The US portal “Buzzfeed” first reported about it.
Consumers demand social and ecological values
The coffee house chain has moved away from this again – probably also due to massive criticism on social media and boycott calls. Now employees can again carry the symbols of the movement openly. Even more: The company even designed its own t-shirts for its 250,000 barista, on which a clenched fist and protest signs are printed. Starbucks is said to have suffered image damage.
The coffee house chain should only have looked at market surveys. Three out of four consumers expect brands to actively participate in solutions to social and ecological problems – at least in this country. This shows the latest report by the media agency Havas. “Millennials in particular have significantly higher expectations of brands than previous generations and make their purchasing decisions not only based on the pure product benefit,” explains Havas Director Thomas Sudholt. A little more than one in two even thinks that companies play a more important role in building a better future than politics.
Complaints to the advertising council are increasing
Others also feel this expectation: the auditors at the German Advertising Council. Consumers can contact the organization if advertising is legally unobjectionable, but is nevertheless considered to be inappropriate. Over 3,600 complaints were received last year – more than in the previous year.
The advertising council then checked almost 800 advertising measures. With success: Nine out of ten companies stopped or changed their advertising if the advertising council objected to it. At the top of the list of complaints: sexist advertising. In addition, consumers saw above all moral values violated and complained of discriminatory advertising. Complaints about discrimination have more than doubled in 2019 compared to the previous year.
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Companies repeatedly make mistakes in campaigns. A few weeks ago, Volkswagen had to apologize for an advertising clip on Instagram. The ten-second video showed an oversized white hand pushing a black man around and flipping it away. Towards the end of the clip, a sequence of letters appeared briefly, which indicated the word “Negro”. VW sales director Jürgen Stackmann spoke of a “racist advertising video” that offends every decent person. No one in his team would have racist intentions.
By the way, Walmart had the opportunity to rethink the practice of the enclosed products. In 2018, a California woman sued the company for discrimination. The case even reached the federal court, but the plaintiff dropped her allegations. Both sides are silent on whether there was an out-of-court settlement.
