August 01, 2007: Darkie toothpaste

Darlie is an Asian toothpaste brand of a Hong Kong based company Hawley & Hazel.  The original name of this toothpaste was called "Darkie", as shown on the picture below.  In the 50's, Darky/Darkie was a racist term used to refer to black people in the Northern United States.

What's interesting is that during the earlier decades, these racist branding and advertisements were very common.  As times changed, these companies had to eliminate their racist branding practices.  During these times, "Darkie" was changed to "Darlie".  You can see this from the pictures of the toothpastes below.  Another tobacco product "Nigger Hair" was changed to "Bigger Hare.".  

Though these changes took place in the United States, the Chinese name of the Brand (which means "Black Man") has stayed the same.  In China, they don't think of the term "Black Man" as offensive.

From the picture above, you can see the evolution of the toothpaste brand.   The 3rd toothpaste from the right(most recent), has a picture of a white man and has the name changed to 'Darlie'.

Darlie products are still sold online. Check this link >> http://toothpaste.bind.org/c122667.html 
 

Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darlie
http://www.prmuseum.com/kendrix/abroad.html
http://toothpaste.bind.org/c122667.html