ANS President, linguist, and co-founder of naming agency Catchword Laurel Sutton writes about the ethics of rebranding in a piece for the brand development magazine transform.
Throughout the essay, Sutton highlights many recent examples of problematic brand names and changes (including Aunt Jemima, the Washington Redskins, Uncle Ben’s and Eskimo Pie, for example), illustrating the dangers of maintaining these brand names. Sutton writes: “The cost of renaming a company or product might be high, but stacked against the cost of losing business, bad press, and, most importantly, perpetuating oppression, it’s a small investment for the greater good. Caring about other people wins over not caring, every time.”