Gypsy Creams
Erm…
Woman's Weekly / 25th April 1969
Brooke Bond, of course, also produce PG Tips, which eventually became the main tea brand of the company in the UK. The thing is, I don’t think the picture used at this time is actually racist, because tea pickers do tend to have dark skin as a result of prolonged sun exposure…but it’s interesting that PG lightened the picker’s skin in later years, and finally removed her altogether. I suppose this is the same issue that Camp Coffee faced when they altered their label in 2006. Now, of course, the label is historically inaccurate, but I’m not really sure that I want the old one back. Historical accuracy (or even modern-day accuracy) is one thing, but ignoring its legacy and impact is another. It’s a positive sign of the progress of ethnic minorities in the UK that companies now realise that there’s no point offending your consumers.
Tags: Brooke Bond, retail, social history, tea
4 Comments
Tanya Jones on 8 August 2010 @ 7am
Perhaps it was for people making the scary change from loose tea to tea bags, or who only bought tea bags for work or something. It’s not a size you tend to get nowadays, is it?
Martin Fenton on 12 August 2010 @ 4pm
My aunt used to have an 18 box to take to work. She’d top it up every few days with tea bags from a larger box. Knowing her as I do, I suspect she didn’t simply take a larger box to work with her because she was afraid she’d be obliged to share them.
Nik on 8 August 2010 @ 1am
I’m surprised by the idea of a box of 18 teabags – that’s hardly worth bothering with!