Candy killed after complaints from mentally disabled Americans
CMAJ 2000;162:400
Nestlé USA recently stopped marketing Tangy Taffy bars under the brand names Loony Jerry, Weird Wally and Psycho Sam after a campaign by the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI). The group argued that the candies' names and packaging promoted the stigmatization of people with mental health problems.
For more than a year the US mental health awareness organization had unsuccessfully tried to persuade the food giant to drop the names, which NAMI considered to have "long-standing stereotypical associations with persons suffering from mental illnesses."
Nestlé USA officials responded that the names were simply "rooted in a silly, playful humour" that was intended to "amuse children and give personality to our cartoon characters" rather than ridicule people suffering from mental disorders.
However, it wasn't until late last summer, when NAMI threatened to drop its behind-the-scenes negotiations and mount a grassroots boycott by "stigmabusters," that Nestlé agreed to reconsider its naming decision.
Last September Nestlé's consumer services manger, Cathy Johnson, informed NAMI that the company had decided to stop producing the offensive products. In explaining its reversal, Johnson informed NAMI: "As with all businesses, we evaluate our brands and change business strategies based on consumer preferences and trends."
NAMI executive director Laurie Flynn applauded Nestlé's decision, saying: "Mental illnesses are not silly, playful or humorous." — Gil Kezwer, Toronto
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© 2000 Canadian Medical Association or its licensors
