Mrs. Butterworth's
 | |
| Product type | Syrup and baking mixes |
|---|---|
| Owner | Conagra Brands |
| Country | United States |
| Introduced | 1961 |
| Markets | Worldwide |
| Previous owners | Mrs. Butterworth's |
| Website | www |
Mrs. Butterworth's is an American brand of table syrups and pancake mixes owned by Conagra Brands. The syrups come in distinctive bottles shaped as the character "Mrs. Butterworth", represented in the form of a matronly woman. The syrup was introduced in 1961.[1] In 1999, the original glass bottles began to be replaced with plastic.[2] In 2009, the character was given the first name "Joy" following a contest held by the company.
Advertising
[edit]One of the main voice actresses for Mrs. Butterworth was Mary Kay Bergman.[3] She was also voiced by Hope Summers during the early to late 1970s.
Kim Fields appeared in a commercial for the product during the late-1970s.
In 2007, Mrs. Butterworth was used in a series of ads for GEICO, in which she helped an actual customer with her testimonial.[4]
In 2019, she appeared along with an actor playing Colonel Sanders in a KFC commercial spoofing a scene from Dirty Dancing, promoting chicken and waffles using Mrs. Butterworth's syrup.[5][6]
Controversy
[edit]
In 2020, following protests over systemic racism, Conagra Brands announced that it would review the shape of their bottles, as critics viewed them as an example of the "mammy" stereotype.[7] A competing brand, Aunt Jemima, revamped its brand and advertising following the attention on negative black stereotypes. In ads, Mrs. Butterworth's voice has evoked a grandmotherly white woman, and she has been portrayed by white voice actresses.[3][8][9] Despite this, some reports had claimed, without citing any sources, that the character was originally modeled on Butterfly McQueen, a black actress who appeared as the maid in Gone with the Wind (1939).[8][10]
As of 2024, Mrs. Butterworth’s syrup is still being sold with the familiar bottle shape, despite the “brand review” Conagra announced it would conduct back in 2020.
In popular culture
[edit]In 2005, Chicago rapper Lupe Fiasco made reference to the brand on Kanye West's "Touch the Sky," with the lyric "bottle-shaped body like Mrs. Butterworth".
In 2009, then-parent company Pinnacle Foods held a "first name contest" for the product's spokesperson; the winning name was "Joy", making the full name Joy Butterworth.[11][12] The character appears in the 2012 American film Foodfight!, voiced by Edie McClurg.[13]
In 2013, during episode 12 of the ninth season of Whose Line Is It Anyway?, Ryan Stiles uses comedian Nyima Funk as a bottle of Mrs. Butterworth's to pour onto Colin Mochrie's imaginary waffles during a game of "Living Scenery".
In 2017, she made a cameo appearance in the Family Guy episode "A House Full of Peters".
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Our History". Pinnacle Foods. Retrieved 10 July 2015.
- ^ "Plastic pleases Mrs. Butterworth's". Packaging World. 1999-08-31. Retrieved 2019-12-16.
- ^ a b Lemmerman, Kristin (1999-11-17). "Mary Kay Bergman, voice-over actress, dead". CNN. Retrieved 2022-02-12.
- ^ Geico Mrs. Butterworth, archived from the original on 2021-12-21, retrieved 2022-02-12
- ^ "KFC's Colonel Sanders gets sappy in love song videos co-starring Mrs. Butterworth". Marketing Dive. 12 Nov 2018. Retrieved 23 January 2024.
- ^ "KFC & Mrs. Butterworth's". SCPS Unlimited - We Create What Doesn't Exist. Retrieved 23 January 2024.
- ^ Durbin, Dee-Ann (18 June 2020). "Cream of Wheat, Mrs. Butterworth confront race in packaging". ABC News. Associated Press. Retrieved 2022-02-12.
- ^ a b Morona, Joey (June 17, 2020). "Mrs. Butterworth's syrup is considering changing up its branding and famous bottles". cleveland.com. Retrieved 2022-02-12.
- ^ "Mrs. Butterworth's® | Thick, Rich, Deliciously Sweet Syrup". www.mrsbutterworths.com. Retrieved 2022-02-12.
- ^ Silvey, Janese (2012-05-04). "Mrs. Butterworth award raises ire at MU". Columbia Daily Tribune. Archived from the original on 2020-05-24. Retrieved 2022-02-12.
- ^ "Mrs. Butterworth Has a First Name, It's . . ". Food Channel. 2009-10-03. Retrieved 2019-12-16.
- ^ "Mrs. Butterworth's first name is . . ". Los Angeles Times. 2009-05-09. Retrieved 2019-12-16.
- ^ Hawkes, Rebecca (2017-08-02). "Forget The Emoji Movie: discover Foodfight!, the worst children's animation of all time". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 2020-06-17.
External links
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