Delegitimizing Racialized Brands

Abstract

Despite the increased focus on racial justice in markets and society, the delegitimization of racialized brands employing racial stereotypes to enliven themselves remains unexplored. This study draws on media data and discursive (de)legitimization to compare the initial maintenance and eventual removal of a mainstream racialized brand name through public discourses in the popular press. Specifically, it unpacks how brands’ spokespeople and other professionals legitimized Gypsy Sauce in the German marketplace in 2013 only to delegitimize the controversial brand name in 2020. “Gypsy” is a racially charged and derogatory term for the self-designated Roma ethno-race. The critical discourse analysis reveals two commonly used delegitimizing discourses (antiracism and social tolerating) as direct responses to two dominant legitimizing discourses (romanticizing and market dynamicizing) for the racialized brand. This article concludes with consumer implications, branding recommendations, and future research directions on delegitimizing culturally insensitive brands.