Remember back in June when Nestle made the announcement that they would be changing the names of Aussie classic lollies Allen’s Red Skins and Chicos?
It caused quite a stir with some people agreeing with the decision due to the derogatory nature and others suggesting it was an overreaction.
Fast forward to now and Nestle has announced the new names of their popular lollies. Chicos will now be known as Cheekies while Red Skins will be rebranded as Red Ripper.
What was the issue?
Nestle made the decision to change the names due to “overtones” which are “out of step with the company’s values”. Both Chicos and Red Skins are synonymous with racial slurs, especially over in America.
For those not familiar with the Allen confectionary, Chicos are chocolate flavoured lollies in the shape of a baby. However, the term “chico” is also a slur against people of Latin-American descent.
While “chico” translates to boy in Spanish, the new Cheekies works well as the little character on the packaging is pretty cheeky. Sure, he kind of looks like the winking emoji and the ice cream/poo emoji combined, but, hey, I guess it’s better than before.
Red Skins are the red coloured raspberry flavoured lollies. But “Red Skin” is also a derogatory term for Native American people.
The name Red Ripper does make sense as you have to rip the packaging to get to the lolly. But it also is pretty close to Red Rooster’s Rippa don’t you think?
According to General Manager Confectionery Chris O’Donnell,
We hope Australians will support the evolution of these two much-loved lollies – while the names are new, the lollies themselves remain unchanged.
We will keep pack changes simple to help lolly lovers find their favourites easily.”
Cheekies and Red Rippers will be available in shops in 2021.
What do you think? Do you agree with the name change?
