Summary:
- The Bridge Group wrote and open letter to Walmart on May 23 keying in on why the Juneteenth ice cream marketing effort was problematic
- Walmart got a calvacade of complaints on social media
- Walmart says they will pull the product
Walmart has pulled its brand of Juneteenth ice cream following accusations of racial insensitivity and claims that they copied Creamalicious, a black brand sold in it stores.
Bridge, a diversity and inclusion organization penned an open letter to the company demanding that they cease the sell of the vibrantly packaged Great Velvet frozen dessert. They wrote, "Clearly, from the slogan on the packaging, you intended to share in the emancipation celebration of Black Americans. But launching an ice cream by its name creates more pain than support. "
Bridge called out Walmart for presumably not having a Black voice in the development process up to the sales level. Another main issue they highlighed was inadequately capturing the feeling of freed slaves in the graphic on the container.
CEO of Bridge Sheryl Daija said, " Choosing the image of two hands in the middle of a high-five to represent the sentiment of how Black people might feel after being freed from slavery clearly does not capture the essence of the impact that is being memorialized with Juneteenth, but rather diminishes it."
The letter concluded with a request to remove the product from stores.
The retailer apologized in a statement:
"Juneteenth holiday marks a celebration of freedom and independence. However, we received feedback that a few items caused concern for some of our customers and we sincerely apologize. We are reviewing our assortment and will remove items as appropriate."
"Share and celebrate African-American culture, emancipation and enduring hope," the label read in reference to the African American holiday that was nationally reconized in 2021. It was intended to be a celebrator. Instead, pointed out AdAge, the company got backlash "for trivializing and cashing in on an event that commemorates Black people’s emancipation from centuries of slavery."
Some of the feedback online ranged from the company being called capitalistic to outright racist for choosing a red velvet flavor, a sterotypical Black food preference, which Bridge says the store co-opted from Creamalicious.
Walmart also released ice cream products in tribute to LBTQ pride.