Nabil Luqman

0f9d2dd4f71434084e2b6094de1865e23abb37bb9f28ca51feeabee679ec9be2

Social

China

Racism

Darlie

Darkie

Rename

Stop Black Hate

Did You Know

Toothpaste

Have you ever gone abroad and see a brand you&rsquo;re familiar with and said to yourself, &ldquo;eh why is it named differently?&rdquo;
Well, it&rsquo;s no stranger that some products do have their own version and local name despite coming from the same manufacturer but this on the other hand can come out a bit racist.
<img src="https://cdn1.myc.com.my/image/upload/v1639628939/unsigned/nnsfasndymhblhsd4mt0.png" />
&nbsp;
Darlie toothpaste in China will have a new Chinese name starting March 2022. The Taiwan-based Hawley &amp; Hazel company who currently owns the brand says that Darlie&rsquo;s current name in Chinese (黑人牙膏)&nbsp;to &ldquo;Haolai&rdquo;&nbsp;(好來) reflects Hawley &amp; Hazel&rsquo;s name in Chinese.
But when you take a language outside of it&rsquo;s native country, there can be many other meanings to it and in this instance 黑人牙膏, which reads hēir&eacute;n y&aacute;gāo actually means &ldquo;black man toothpaste&rdquo;.
<img src="https://i.redd.it/267br30wmfq61.gif" />
&nbsp;
Well that&rsquo;s&hellip;. racist.
The company says that the change is accordance with Darlie&rsquo;s brand mantra of &ldquo;Good Things Come with a Smile&rdquo; as their mission is to help people to be more confident with more smiles.
<img src="https://cdn1.myc.com.my/image/upload/v1639629148/unsigned/nf4koucrzwnhhjewgz7x.jpg" alt="This is how a Darlie ad looks like in China" width="600" height="740" /> This is how a Darlie ad looks like in China
&nbsp;
Aside from a name change, new fonts will be used to emphasize the signature Darlie smile. The company says that the rename will help in Darlie&rsquo;s brand purpose as according to their values.
Does that mean the English name will change too?
<img src="https://cdn1.myc.com.my/image/upload/v1639629158/unsigned/m0yyazus4eb098y1ih3k.png" />
&nbsp;
No, don&rsquo;t worry the English name won&rsquo;t be changing. But oh man the irony that the Chinese name directly translate to &ldquo;black man toothpaste&rdquo;, did anyone ever questioned it? 
Did you know that Darlie used to be known as &ldquo;Darkie&rdquo;?
<img src="https://cdn1.myc.com.my/image/upload/v1639629229/unsigned/pz6ixdbp5hmleukrwgsj.jpg" />
&nbsp;
Back in the past, the term &ldquo;Darkie&rdquo; is very popular in America and Europe referring to blacks. Due to it, there was tension among blacks as some people thought it contained racist elements.
The old logo had also featured a black man instead of the current white man logo we all know, and it was changed to be more polite to the community.
For those who don&rsquo;t know, &ldquo;Darlie&rdquo; also means &ldquo;black person&rdquo; in Chinese.
<img src="https://cdn1.myc.com.my/image/upload/v1639629264/unsigned/j01audpexksnmvnfmkwq.png" />
&nbsp;
The original Darkie tooth paste box from back in the day
After changing their logo and name, they managed to expand its market to Asian countries such as Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore where the name and logo isn&rsquo;t deemed offensive.
Check their old Hong Kong Commercial below:
<iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/pAxQpfaRgw4" width="560" height="314" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
&nbsp;
Initially, the name Darkie toothpaste was intended as a parody of an American minstrel performer, Al Jolson who was famous for his performances.
<img src="https://cdn1.myc.com.my/image/upload/v1639629485/unsigned/spcvsaqdwvihfihnaqop.jpg" alt="Al Johnson, the inspiration behind the logo of the tooth paste brand." width="838" height="629" /> Al Johnson, the inspiration behind the logo of the tooth paste brand.
&nbsp;
The term was commonly used by the westerners during the war to refer to those of black skin. &ldquo;Darkie&rdquo; is initially considered as a mild and polite word before it went south and was used as a racist term.
Well, as long as this goes notice then hopefully the company doesn&rsquo;t suffer from any other consequences. It&rsquo;s still strange that no one had ever brought this up until recently, but I guess that&rsquo;s one way to slowly prevent racism. 
&nbsp;
*Sources: Visual and Reference Credits to Social Media, SCMP, Gold Thread, Wikipedia &amp; various cross references for context.
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After all these years, did no one actually notice it’s direct translation? 

82a5d5eec86549e2e4d892a11f2b8a44127d845026ab780b92981bf7410bf4e9

Darlie Toothpaste Rebrands In China As Name Translates To “Black Man Toothpaste”

Darlie Toothpaste Rebrands In China As Name Translates To “Black Man Toothpaste”

After all these years, did no one actually notice it’s direct translation?

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