Posted on 11/12/2013 6:49:25 AM PST by marthemaria
GB Glace launched a new flavor of a classic ice-cream the other week, and were promptly accused of racism. The ice-creams unfortunate name is "Nogger Black" as it is a liquorice flavored version of the classic nougat-flavored "Nogger".
A couple of years ago they made a liquorice version of the 88. It had a crunchy outside, liquorice and vanilla inside and was really quite good. However, it failed to become popular and was discontinued. This year GB decided to try their luck with a liquorice version of another classic ice-cream, the nougat covered vanilla and then soft nougat center ice-cream called Nogger.
Their first mistake was to make the outside salt liquorice... Ugh! I don't think this one will be as popular as the liquorice 88, but I might be wrong. Their second mistake was to name it Nogger Black.
My guess is that with a name like that - which has an English word in it - someone was bound to recognize that if one replaces the "o" in Nogger with another vowel...... You could spell out a word considered quite nasty in English and not used at all, unless you are a rapper. I don't know what was wrong with the 100% Swedish language names like "Nogger lakrits" or perhaps "Nogger svart", but they were clearly rejected in favor of the cooler-sounding "Nogger Black" which is getting GB into deep deep trouble.
Soon the Ice cream giant was slammed for "racist" ads as the Center Against Racism issued a press release denouncing the new ice-cream. Perhaps the Center Against Racism has very little to do.
"We're not critical of the color of the ice cream or the name 'Black' but the whole concept of the advertisment," said Amina Ek of the Center Against Racism to Svenska Dagbladet.
The ad itself features a heart drawn in white 'chalk' on a blackboard type background with the words "Nogger + lakrits = sant!" (Nogger + liquorice = true) inside, mimicking the hearts drawn by young couples everywhere. I've tried really hard to figure out what is offensive about this ads "whole concept", shown below. Remember it's not the color of the liquorice, nor is it the name that offends according to Ms Ek's quote above No sooner had the storm over the liquorice Nogger calmed down when the Anti Discrimination Bureau in Malmö Aftonbladet (Swedish only) decided to up the anti and attack the classic GB ice-cream called "88" because it is clearly connected to Nazis. Yes, Nazis. See, "88" stands for "Heil Hitler" in modern Nazi-parlance apparently, as "H" is the 8th letter of the alphabet. Nevermind that the 88 ice-cream is much older than the newly invented code-language for Nazis, and nevermind that hardly anyone knows the 88 code unless they are a modern Nazi (not even the English version of the Wikipedia, though the Swedish version does). According to a spokesperson from GB the 88 first appeared way back in 1964.
Right, so now I'm confused... If the old 88:an is a Nazi ice-cream, and Nogger Black is a racist ice-cream what did last years liquorice 88 really mean?
wasn’t there a lawsuit in Seattle the other day over something just as stupid?
Welllll.....What can be said of “We Are The Master Race!” Ultra Vanilla flavor ice cream? There might be code in there somewhere.
Scouts Out! Cavalry Ho!
There is a course to this world, it is no longer subtle, but in your face.
Ephesians 2:2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the (course of this world), according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
How niggardly.
Nogger needs to change the name for sure. Maybe to Nogga.
Can’t be just be happy? When did EVERYONE become so damned sensitive. It’s FREAKIN’ Ice Cream! Eat it and shut up. Man...
The "88" thing is especially nonsensical, since eight is a lucky number in Asia and just about every product or business category has some entities with "88" in the name.
Dadburnit! Beat me to it!
OR don’t eat it and shut up... either way...
The best thing to do in these circumstances is LOL. I mean it. Immediately LAUGH OUT LOUD. This should be your natural response anyway. Don’t worry about hurting their feelings, shame and embarrassment are great tools.
Oh no, I believe you. I was directing my comment at the stupidity that oozes from these morons in the article.
The world was a much better place when these village idiots only inflicted their psychotic thoughts on the village and not the world at large. Now these lunatics have a way to easily group up and encourage each other!
Some folks just seek out ways to be offended..
When I was a wee boy we used to ask the ice cream man for a blackman, two chocolate nougat wafers with ice cream in the middle, fantastic they were too.
Life is too short to worry about code words that may offend certain people who are always looking for something to be offended by.
yaaaaawwwwwwwnnnn!
Speaking of ice cream-related racist code words, why is it that liberals haven't called Ben & Jerry's on the obvious secret racist code words "Chunky Monkey"?
Glad I took the time to read through the thread, but I think you were too niggardly in your comment, especially for the origin of this word; related to the Old Norse verb nigla = "to fuss about small matters". So the word is almost native to the region (smile!)
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