French civilization, description and analysis of a publicity for Banania

Extract

[...] 2 Joséphine Baker in the show Un vent de folie at the Folies-Bergère, 1927 3 Publicity for Banania, ca © RMN-Grand Palais / image BnF. Good Banania for little girl If she eating always, she never get ill, never die 4 Advertisment campaign for 'Banania', 1983 "How do you think I was fit to storm the Bastille? [...]

[...] So the French authorities decided to teach them a simplified language which they named « Tirailleur French ». So, presenting, displaying and advertising the fact that a black person could not speak any other « civilized » language but pidgin French was anchored in the French colonial society and was, logically enough, never questioned as long as the colonial empire lasted, that is to say until the 60s. It took then decades, after the colonial empire collapsed, to get rid of this racist state of mind, as the slogan « Y'a bon Banania » kept being used by the brand in advertising campaigns until 1977. [...]

[...] As Monique Sicard states it, pictures like the one we have just analysed go along with the deliberate sacrifice of a collective dignity, for the sake of sheer consumerism4. But what is even more shocking and worrying is that, in my opinion, it's not just for the sake of consumerism. This racist state of mind is indeed so deeply anchored in our societies today that even quite recently, in 2009, the famous brand L'Oreal whitened Beyoncé's skin in an advertising campaign5. [...]

[...] On the picture, the dark colour of the African soldier undoubtedly attracts the attention and mirrors the dark colour of the chocolate powder he is crazy about. He is wearing his traditional soldier outfit - the red muslim shashia, the blue jacket - and has a rather good-natured and naïve smile. The caption on the bottom right-handside is actually a comment the soldier makes about Banania's benefits, especially for children's health. To echo this comment, the mother insists with the brand's slogan : « Y'a bon ». [...]

[...] French civilization, description and analysis of a publicity for Banania Description Publicity is basically as old as trade. Knowing that advertising posters have been existing since the fifteenth century, it is relevant to note that from about 1850 onwards, their popularity and influence on western societies have been increasing, to the point where they even became one of the cornerstones of the press booming develoment throughout the twentieth century. In such a context, the creation of the brand Banania in 1914 and the subsequent development of advertising strategies revolving around the ubiquitous figure of a rather silly black soldier is worth analysing for it embodied, for decades and decades, the racist stereotype of the French colonial state of mind. [...]