The Tragic MooLatte

[Andrew Fenton]

Slate's Timothy Noah ponders the racial implications of DQ's new frozen drink.

[bleachboy]

You know, I thought the same thing the first time I saw those ads. Compounding the problem was the fact that the ad I saw, anyway, never once printed "MooLatte" on the screen, leaving me to wonder just what the hell they were saying the product was called.

[Fat Guy]

The similarity in terms didn't hit me at first. When I first got the DQ press release, my only thoughts were that it was a cute name -- I'm a sucker for anything with "Moo" in it -- and that I wanted to try one. I had my first Moolatte a couple of weeks ago at a DQ in New Jersey and thought it was quite good. It wasn't until last week, still unaware of any controversy, that a couple of us were reliving the glory of the Moolatte and it dawned on us: the thing is just about halfway between cream and brown in color and it sounds really close to mulatto any way you pronounce it. Not good.

The word was almost completely out of use when I was growing up, and I think the only reason I knew it was from reading old books, so my guess is that a bunch of Gen-X marketing people came up with the name without ever having an awareness of the implications. Still, DQ is going to need to yank this ad campaign quickly -- there's realy no other way to handle this unfortunate situation.

[fresco]

Dairy Queen. Sounds like a nasty gay slur.

[Mabelline]

As well as the fact we are tired of seeing that ditz run into the window.

[browniebaker]

Having grown up completely fluent in two languages and passably conversant in a few others, I have always noticed how inoffensive words or names in one language may sound like insults or slurs in another. And most of the time, monolinguals are completely unaware of the unpleasant associations that homophones in another language can bring to a word or name. I am used to words in one language sounding like words in other languages. No big deal, as it happens all the time.

So, no, the Dairy Queen name, "MooLatte," does not make me think "mulatto." Not even close. In fact, I like the name.

[Gifted Gourmet]

I concur with you, FG, that it does rather sound racially insensitive yet it always hits me, when I read about the history of New Orleans, and I think Passover coconut cookie when I read the word "octoroon" ...

[Carolyn Tillie]

Absolutely fascinating... yet another faux pas in corporate advertising history.

(Anyone else remember the Pinto -- I know but can't recall others, and this is the first one that comes to mind.)

[Fat Guy]

Browniebaker, we're not talking about another language. We're talking about English! I think the Slate guy nailed it, and my free PR advice to DQ is that the sooner they figure this out and ditch the name the sooner this will blow over.

[NulloModo]

I would lose a lot of faith in DQ if they pulled the product or changed the same for something as silly as this. It is obviously a take off of Moo, as in cows, and Latte, as in the drink it is trying to emulate, and obviously not meant as a racial slur. There are many people who try to get offended at things, and look for any excuse to cry foul, they make the world rotten.

On the same note, I would be similarly pissed if Aunt Jemima syrup changed the name or bottle (as is mentioned in the article) simply due to PC reasons.

[Gifted Gourmet]

(Anyone else remember the Pinto -- I know but can't recall others, and this is the first one that comes to mind.)

I remember when the car called "the Probe" came out ... and someone remarked "I sure wouldn't want that on my rear bumper!"

Corporations sometimes have the oddest senses of humor ...

[browniebaker]

Browniebaker, we're not talking about another language. We're talking about English! I think the Slate guy nailed it, and my free PR advice to DQ is that the sooner they figure this out and ditch the name the sooner this will blow over.

Actually, "mulatto" is from the Spanish "mulato," which is from the latin "mulus." English is not always English in origin!

I agree with Nullo Modo: I hope DQ stands firm against the silliness.

[Hest88]

I'd also bet that, since it's such an old-fashioned word, it just never registered that it sounded like something offensive. Ah, those young kids nowadays have no knowledge of history.

[Fat Guy]

One last try:

This is not political correctness. This is common sense. Had Moolatte been the name of a tuna sandwich that just happens to sound a little bit like the term mulatto, then opposing the use of that term would be an example of political correctness. But come on, people: this is vanilla ice cream mixed with coffee into an iced beverage that is as clear a metaphor for mulatto as you'll find in the world of food (and yes I'm aware that in slang some use "Oreo" in a similar context). So it's just too much to leave it out there. DQ would be insane not to turn tail and run. There is no principle for DQ to stick up for here. Just change the name of the product, issue an apology, say it was totally unintentional, and move on.

[Richard Kilgore]

If DQ is concerned, they could do a little market research to see if the name is offensive. But I doubt few people have made that leap or care about the similarity in sound to a word that is not in common use and that many have never run across. Could be very wrong, of course. If there is enough media attention to this similarity, it will make it impossible for DQ not to make the change without looking like insensitive, racist slobs. Even when people of mixed Anglo and African-American heritage are not particularly bothered by the hue of their skin.

Edited July 14, 2004 by Richard Kilgore (log)

[sparrowgrass]

Mulatto was the first thing I thought of when I saw that commercial.

Isn't it weird that using the word niggardly correctly in a speech gets someone in a pile of trouble, but this hasn't caused any fuss at all? (Except here, of course.) Seems like an indictment of the intelligence of the American public.

Edited July 14, 2004 by sparrowgrass (log)

[fresco]

I'm finding it a bit of a stretch to see this as offensive or a blunder. The name itself strikes me as cloyingly, almost nauseatingly cute, which would be reason enough to kill it. I'm sure it tastes much like that, too.

[tryska]

huh. i didn't even pick up on the play on words....

[Jason Perlow]

Man I totally have a craving for one of those things now.

The thing is, I've heard some hispanics proudly refer to themselves as Mulatto. I'm betting if you brought the drink to Spanish Harlem or East LA with Spanish language promotional materials and it becomes immensely popular with them there. Or the Cuban part of Miami or the Dominican part of the Bronx for that matter. Do ads for it on Univision/Channel 47.

In Mexico, there's a candy called "Negrito" which actually has a African headhunter character on it that is actually very popular.

http://www.candywrappermuseum.com/bimbo.html

[Squeat Mungry]

Mulatto was the first thing I thought of when I saw that commercial. 

Me, too, and I was pretty surprised that they had chosen to call it that. But then, I also thought that the word "mulatto" was well within common parlance for most Americans.

[Moopheus]

I'm a sucker for anything with "Moo" in it

Really?

I have to say that this didn't occur to me, but I also don't pay very close attention to Dairy Queen commercials. Has anyone besides this one guy and this thread said anything about this? Is it offensive if no one appears to be offended?

[suzilightning]

Absolutely fascinating... yet another faux pas in corporate advertising history.

(Anyone else remember the Pinto -- I know but can't recall others, and this is the first one that comes to mind.)

the nova - doesn't go?

gifted gourmet - i had to laugh hysterically since i am technically an octoroon - my great grandmother was a black woman from the west indies.

just saw the commercial for the first time yesterday. can't say that moolatte made the jump in my mind to mulatto, though.

edited to say - guess i'm just too literal

Edited July 14, 2004 by suzilightning (log)

[bleachboy]

I have to say that this didn't occur to me, but I also don't pay very close attention to Dairy Queen commercials. Has anyone besides this one guy and this thread said anything about this? Is it offensive if no one appears to be offended?

The connection with the word "mulatto" definitely came to me when I first saw the ad. But like yourself, I pretty much tune out most advertisements and didn't give it any further thought. I certainly wasn't offended, but I did think it was a wierd product naming decision.

[FistFullaRoux]

I hadn't noticed it until it was mentioned here, and then of course it sounds like that.

It's been a weird couple of days. Last night I was in the process of finding a copy of "My Old Kentucky Home" for a friend moving back there. And then I realized what the lyrics to the official state song were. Or at least what they were until 1986.

What the hell were they thinking?

[Mabelline]

Fist, what part did they change? I just googled it and found huntin' the possums and the coon, but wasn't there a line about cotton and slaves, or somesuch?