FRANCE BANANIA CONTROVERSY SKIN

On the left in the photo is a packet of biscuits called вЂcigarettesвЂ™. LetвЂ™s hope common sense will prevail soon. IвЂ™d rather see a photo or graphic of some smiling modern-day kids from different ethnic backgrounds, or just a bowlful of the product. LetвЂ™s be honest, itвЂ™s not a flattering portrayal of a little African boy, is it? ItвЂ™s long been the source of controversy, with accusations of racism and colonialism being aimed at the manufacturers. IвЂ™d avoided it like the plague up to till then because of the cringey packaging. I only bought my first packet for blogging purposes. IвЂ™m positive that a new image would do wonders for its sales. This chocolatey drink is an institution in France, although itвЂ™s slowly losing its place on the supermarket shelves. Vintage Banania advertisements, boxes and crockery are today highly prized by collectors.France isnвЂ™t known for its subtlety so itвЂ™s not really a surprise to come across some food items that make you wince slightly. In France the Banania brand is now owned by the newly founded French company Nutrial, which acquired it from Unilever in 2003. In the 1970s and early 1980s, Banania sponsored the Yellow Jersey of the Tour de France. Posters and reproduction tin-plate signs of the pre-war advertising continue to be sold. However, the original advertising has become a cultural icon in France. The form of the character has since evolved to more of a cartoon character. This deplorable caricature has led to hurtful insults against black children in schools and in the street,вЂќ it said.

FRANCE BANANIA CONTROVERSY SKIN

вЂњUse of the slogan since early in the last century has been so influential that some people now associate Banania with skin color. вЂњThe brand conveys a pejorative, degrading and racist image towards people of black color whom it portrays as ill-educated, inarticulate and barely able to string together three words of French,вЂќ according to the writ from the Collective of Caribbeans, Guyanese and RГ©unionnais. Slowly but surely, the slogan and the character became inseparable as the expression was coined: lвЂ™ami yвЂ™a bon (вЂњthe yвЂ™a bon buddyвЂќ).

The slogan YвЂ™a bon (вЂњItвЂ™s goodвЂќ) derives from the pidgin French supposedly used by these soldiers (it is, in fact, an invention).

The brandвЂ™s yellow background underlines the banana ingredient, and the Senagalese infantrymanвЂ™s red and blue uniform make up the other two main colors. Pierre Lardet took it upon himself to distribute the product to the Army, using the line pour nos soldats la nourriture abondante qui se conserve sous le moindre volume possible (вЂњfor our soldiers: the abundant food which keeps, using the least possible spaceвЂќ). Her image was replaced in 1915 with the drawing of a widely smiling Senegalese man.ДЄt the outset of World War I, the popularity of the colonial troops at the time led to the replacement of the West Indian by the now more familiar jolly Senegalese infantry man enjoying Banania. When he returned to Paris, he started its commercial fabrication and, in 1912, began marketing Banania with the picture of an Antillaise.

During a visit near Lake Managua, Nicaragua in 1909, the journalist Pierre Lardet discovered the recipe for a cocoa-based drink.

France banania controversy