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Should People Be Mascots?

7/21/2020

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by David Hagenbuch, founder of Mindful Marketing & author of Honorable Influence

After evading public pressure for decades, financial concerns have finally sacked the National Football League’s (NFL) Washington franchise, causing it to change a name that Merriam-Webster defines as “offensive.”  While it’s good that Native Americans will no longer be subject to that denigration, a broader question remains:  Should any sports team’s mascot be a person?
 
High school, college, and professional sports are peppered with teams named after people groups.  In 2014, USA Today reported that of the 10 most popular high school mascot names, three had human connections: Vikings (#4), Warriors (#9), and Knights (#10).  People names are also prevalent in Division I collegiate athletics, e.g., Knights and Spartans.  Then there are professional sports franchises like the Dallas Cowboys, Milwaukee Brewers, and Cleveland Cavaliers.
 
In fact, nearly a third of teams in the United States’ four major professional sports leagues use people as mascots (39/123 = 31.7%).  Here’s the breakdown by league:
  • Major League Baseball (MLB):  13/30= 43.3%
  • National Football League (NFL):  13/32= 40.6%
  • National Hockey League (NHL):  9/31= 29%
  • National Basketball Association (NBA):  4/30= 13.3%​
 
To argue to change a team name that serves as a racial slur is pretty straightforward, but what about the dozens or hundreds of other anthropological nicknames?  Is society failing to see now a practice that in years to come will be deemed abhorrent?
 
Apparently, few people objected in 1933 when George Preston Marshall changed the name of the then-Boston-based football franchise from Braves to the current one.  Likewise, few appeared to challenge the  U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s decision in 1967 that gave the name legal protection. 
 
In 1972, a variety of Native American organizations asked team president Edward Bennet Williams for a name change, but their plea evidently gained little public support and ultimately failed to alter his attitude.  
 
The point is this:  Just as the majority of the population was apathetic about the need for the Washington football team name change for most of its history, people might look back 20 years from now and wonder, “How could individuals in 2020 have been so ignorant to have people as mascots for sports teams?”

Now, however, many see being chosen as a team mascot as a sign of respect.  After all, sports are about competing and winning.  So, teams tend to pick mascots that are known for strength, speed, or ferocity or that possess some other desirable qualities that might reflect positively onto the franchise.  Although sports teams called Acorns and Spudders actually exist, they are the exceptions.  Instead, most team names are chosen because they suggest power and inspire confidence, like Wildcats and Warriors.
 
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At first glance, Merriam-Webster’s definition of mascot reinforces the notion that being chosen as one is a positive thing:  A mascot is “a person, animal, or object adopted by a group as a symbolic figure especially to bring them good luck.”  How many people, however, want to be someone else’s good luck charm?  Most people probably want to be the one enjoying success, not the token symbol responsible for helping someone else win.
 
A mascot, therefore, is a kind of ‘second class citizen,’ more of a possession or pet than a person.  Of course, many mascots are actual animals, kept in cages or put on leashes and paraded in front of fans on gameday.  Although mascots are typically chosen for their prowess, it's strength subdued in service to another.
 
At this point, some of you may be understandably thinking, “Relax!  They’re just mascots.  Sports are supposed to be fun!”  I get that.  I’ve appreciated mascots for many years and still do.
 
When I was much younger, I played for Danville, PA’s high school basketball team, whose mascot name still is the “Ironmen” (granted, not very gender friendly); the town was a key player in America’s 19th century iron industry.  I’m also a long-time fan of the NFL’s Pittsburgh Steelers.  Honestly, I never thought much about implications of these mascots being people . . . until now. 
 
Would an iron mill or steel mill worker mind that their occupation was selected for mascot status?  I'm speculating, but my guess is they wouldn’t; in fact, they might even feel honored.  Their reputations as occupations that require unique physical and mental toughness probably makes their selection seem complimentary.
  
These two examples, however, help identify a potentially important distinction:  Not all human mascots involve occupations, which people self-select.  Some mascots are based on demographics like race and ethnicity (e.g. Cleveland Indians), over which people have no say.
 
That lack of choice is compounded by the issue of stereotypes.  Any human mascot suggests a certain image for all those belonging to the demographic.  For instance, the name Braves implies that all Native Americans are courageous and strong.
 
But, what could be bad about being perceived as strong and courageous?  Aren’t they attributes that anyone would want?  Perhaps they are, but the reality is, not everyone has them to the same extent.  For Native Americans, that 'positive stereotype' might negatively impact them in at least two ways.
 
First, the Braves mascot stereotype might make those who weren’t born with as much natural strength or courage feel inadequate, like they’re not living up to an important social standard.  Second, a seemingly positive stereotype still pigeonholes people, or presents an unnecessarily narrow or inaccurate view of their abilities.
 
For example, I’ve been around sports enough to know that African American men are often stereotyped as great athletes.  At first blush, that stereotype may seem positive, but if you’re an African American man, you may not appreciate people assuming that you played and/or excelled in sports, especially if you never did.  You also wouldn’t like it if people discounted your intellect, as they sometimes do for athletes, inaccurately assuming that a strong body means a weak mind.
 
There really is no such thing as a positive stereotype.  Unfortunately, mascots perpetuate stereotypes, which may not be an issue for animals or inanimate things but can be problematic for people if the mascot is tied to a demographic like race or ethnicity that individuals do not choose.
 
In more recent years, it seems that sports leagues have become more ‘enlightened,’ as it’s rare for expansion teams to be given human names.  For instance, since 1976, six new teams have entered the NFL, but only one was given a people name—the Houston Texans, which is not directly tied to race or ethnicity. 
 
The Washington Post reports that the Cleveland Indians are now considering a name change.  It may not be long before other teams named Indians, Braves, Chiefs, etc. do the same.  Projecting further into the future, it’s conceivable that some of sports’ most storied franchises, e.g. Celtics, Fighting Irish, will do the same.
 
Mascots related to occupations, which people choose, can likely stay.  However, team names based on race or ethnicity should be retired because of the narrow and unfair stereotypes they project.  Years from now, if not sooner, people will see such team names and call them “Single-Minded Marketing.”
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How Marketing Still Needs Racial Redemption

7/4/2020

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by Dr. Sonja Martin Poole, associate professor of marketing, University of San Francisco

Our nation is clearly in crisis. During a time focused on re-opening the economy after the onset of a viral pandemic, there are glaring signs that the United States is suffering from another type of pandemic—racism.  While conquering COVID-19 lies mainly in the hands of certain medical researchers and pharmaceutical companies, overcoming racism depends on everyone and everything, including marketing.

Over the last few weeks, throughout cities across the United States and the world, people have been taking to the streets to express their pain and anger over the senseless deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and countless other Black people killed by police and vigilante whites. At the same time, videos of racial violence and racists threats toward Black people in America are flooding social media and news outlets.

Racism is not a new disease. It is a malady that has deep historical roots. It is a system of racial oppression and violence steeped in colonial and imperialist practices that sought to legitimize White privilege and power. That means it is not just a sum of the prejudicial acts of individual “bad seeds.” Rather, it is ingrained in the fabric of our society. Despite the elimination of explicit state-sanctioned policies, such as segregation under Jim Crow, many overtly racist practices are now interwoven into our institutions and normalized, and have a reverberating impact that still significantly affects the lives of racially targeted people.

So, what do these actions have to do with marketing? The short answer is, everything. Interpersonal, systemic and institutionalized racism are often normalized, immortalized, and (re)produced through marketing and marketplace practices.

Take the case of artificial intelligence (AI), a tool that is dramatically transforming industries, institutions, workplaces, and consumer behavior. The technology is being used to analyze and predict or generalize consumer behavior from their unique set of traceable digital activities, actions, contributions and communications. By being able to predict consumer behaviors, marketers can considerably improve their ability to target buyers with personalized promotions and advertising, or protect against fraud. AI is also used to benefit consumers throughout the consumption process, from automatic logins and entertainment suggestions based on viewing history, to self-driving cars and suggesting the fastest routes to and from work.

One application of AI is facial recognition technology which is used to check the identity of people based on the symmetry of facial features unique to every individual. It allows users to unlock their smart phone, verify their identification for travel and entry to sporting events, and complete purchase transactions. Major corporations such as Unilever also use it in the labor market to assess job candidates’ facial and linguistic performance against information compiled from successful prior interviews.

While facial expression technology has been praised as a bias-free tool, concerns have been raised that this powerful tool is imperfect and potentially dangerous. Numerous studies have found that the software is not 100% accurate in identifying individuals. In particular, studies have found that when two different people were wrongly identified as the same person, error rates for Black people were two times higher than for white people.

Even more unsettling, the software has been known to misidentify people of color as non-human, often as animals or objects. This happens because the accuracy of any machine learning tool depends on the machine’s ability to detect algorithms ‘taught’ to it by engineers who are, needless to say, human. Since humans perpetuate biases that exist in society, so can the machine.

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Studies in marketing which address the use of AI technologies generally emphasize how consumer experiences are enhanced through AI-powered applications and assume that the impact is equal across all consumers. But these assumptions ignore disparities in lived experiences. These assumptions also ignore research evidence which indicates inherent (automated) bias in AI technology. This automated bias has serious implications in the treatment of and opportunities for people of color.


The issue outlined here is just one example of the insidious ways that racism operates in marketing. Keeping silent, becoming overly defensive and overgeneralizing are other ways racism is perpetuated. To adequately address racial injustice, it is important to move our discourse in marketing and business beyond marginalization in the workplace and harmonious interpersonal relationships. We must take a close look at the impact of racism in marketplaces and how these effects are shaped by intersecting forms of systemic oppression.

The good news is that marketing and business leaders are starting to accept the challenge to acknowledge, affirm and act in ways that promote equity and justice and activate meaningful change. As was proclaimed by authors in a recent Harvard Business Review article, “racism isn’t just a Black people’s problem its everyone’s problem because it erodes the fabric of society.”

It’s good that certain companies finally have resolved to remove overtly racist branding (e.g., Aunt Jemima, Uncle Ben), but as the example of AI-powered facial recognition shows, there’s still more, often less conspicuous marketing that needs to change in order to offer people of color the respect they deserve.  Framed positively, many opportunities remain for racially-aware organizations to redeem the field in pursuit of more “Mindful Marketing.”
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