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Heinz, a food company most notably known for its ketchup products, is facing racism accusations over several of its recent advertising campaigns.
In one controversial ad for its new line of jarred pasta sauces, a Black bride in a wedding dress is seen eating spaghetti at a table with her white husband, white in-laws, and her Black mother. The bride's new family appeared to give her a disapproving look after she seemingly spilled red sauce on her white wedding dress.
Ad consumers quickly noticed that the bride's father was missing from the table scene. Many people felt Heinz was promoting the racist stereotype of the absent Black father as he didn't appear at the "head table" at his daughter's wedding.
The pasta sauce ad ran in several London subway stations. In a post on X, formerly Twitter, British writer Nels Abbey shared a photo of the ad from a tube station, saying "For my brothers with daughters. Because, believe it or not, Black girls have dads too.”
"Total erasure of Black fathers by such a mainstream brand is shocking. How did this get approved?" one X user responded to the post.
"It's subliminal messaging. It's a 'subtle' way of perpetuating myths. The media have been doing this for years. One of the benefits of SM, is that these narratives will be challenged @HeinzUK you should be embarrassed," another user wrote.
In response to the backlash on social media, Heinz issued an apology earlier this month, saying “We always appreciate members of the public’s perspective on our campaigns. We understand how this ad could have unintentionally perpetuated negative stereotypes. We extend our deepest apologies and will continue to listen, learn and improve to avoid this happening again in the future.”
Heinz again faced racism allegations over its "Smiles" campaign, which depicted consumers smiling with ketchup smeared around their mouths. Many ad viewers said an image of a Black man resembled blackface and minstrel shows where white actors played Black men with exaggerated, clownish features including large red lips.
"This is so subtly violent," one X user said of the ad.
"*This* is why we need representation in those ad agency rooms," another wrote.
The food giant again released a statement addressing the controversy.
“As a consumer-obsessed company, we are actively listening and learning, and sincerely apologize for any offense caused by our recent ‘Smiles’ campaign,” a spokesman said in a statement. “Although it was intended to resonate with a current pop culture moment, we recognize that this does not excuse the hurt it may have caused. We will do better. We are working to remove the advertisement immediately.”
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