Old Sam isn't going anywhere, but the label on the popular bottle of rum is changing.
The new version comes after a Newfoundland and Labrador Liquor Corporation review of the possible negative stereotype on the original label, which depicted a laughing, elderly man. That move was made in the wake of PepsiCo pulling the name and logo of its Aunt Jemima product line because of its racial stereotype.
The NLC, which blends and bottles the Guyana rum at its St. John's plant, committed to reviewing the brand in June 2020 and has now dropped the image and altered the label.
Wally Dicks, the NLC's chief operating officer, told CBC Radio's On The Go the company spoke with the production distillery, and with the brand's previous owners,but couldn't find anything conclusive that linked the name or the label to any negative stereotypes.
But Dicks said the company couldn't find anything conclusive to say otherwise, either.
"What we decided to do was basically do the right thing. Since we couldn't conclusively say that, or others might perceive it as a negative stereotype, we decided to change the label," Dicks said.
"We were planning to review Old Sam anyway. Every five or six years we'll review our brands, we'll update, we'll refresh. We did it with Screech back in 2013 or so."
Old Sam is among the company's best sellers, with between 8,000 and 9,000 cases sold each year — about 5,000 of which are sold in Newfoundland and Labrador. The NLC bought the brand, which dates back to the 1700s, in 1999.
Dicks said the new labels are slowly rolling out across the province over the next couple of months, with certain stores only stocking certain-sized bottles with the new look for the time being. The design was created in-house at the NLC.
"Basically what we're saying is 'new look, the same Old Sam'," said Dicks.
"We haven't seen any real positive or negative reaction yet."
Dicks said the old label Old Sam bottles can still be found in stores, but the idea is to sell out those bottles to avoid any financial hit as the new bottles slowly replace them on the shelves.
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June 20, 2021 at 09:25PM
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A new look for Old Sam: NLC swaps label on popular rum after reviewing brand's history - CBC.ca
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