Tate and Lyle have announced they are dropping their iconic lion from some of their packaging! Since 1883 they have had that amazing picture of the dead lion surrounded by the bees, with the quote from the book of Judges."Out of the strong came forth sweetness" I love this story. However it appears that some "Gen Z" consumers might be offended by this 'religious symbolism' What?!?! Have they actually had any complaints? Both Jews and Christians have this story in their scriptures - might they not be upset after almost 150 years to have it suddenly considered offensive?
However Tate and Lyle are at least retaining the image on their tins, if not the squeezy bottles. It is after all the longest branding image in continuous use, according Guinness World Records.
However Tate and Lyle are at least retaining the image on their tins, if not the squeezy bottles. It is after all the longest branding image in continuous use, according Guinness World Records.
I do not have the energy to rant properly - Holiday Club is going well, but it is rather tiring!
Liz - who knows that I love the poem "This is just to say" by William Carlos Williams has just sent me this pastiche by Daniel Kennedy..
I have removed
the dead lion
that was on
the syrup can
and which
you were probably
saving
for breakfast
Forgive me
it was so dead
so inexplicably dead
and so covered in bees
Thanks Liz!
I love the old fashioned tin. There was a limited edition tin produced for Queen Elizabeth’s diamond Jubilee. I had better hang onto mine for a bit longer - maybe I need one with the old lion on too!
ReplyDeleteI have a jubilee tin too
DeleteAll this 'wokery' is just ridiculous - why are the powers that be pandering to the minority who choose to be 'offended' about anything?
ReplyDeleteI think sometimes people expect others to be offended, when actually they don't care two hoots
DeleteThanks for the update on Tate and Lyle. I think the new logo looks like the poster from The Lion King but then I spotted the bee. Going to batch cook today although the sun is currently shining so some garden tidying may be done. Catriona
ReplyDeleteRain of biblical proportions here right now!!
DeleteAs my grandma used to say , 'I dont know what the world is coming to'.
ReplyDeleteWise grandma!
DeleteOh no! Not Maggie!
ReplyDeleteSorry! 😉
DeleteTaking offence has become a national pastime but trying not to offend doesn't stop the really nasty people being really nasty to other people (and animals).
ReplyDeleteI can't actually see Margaret Thatcher in that image myself, which is a blessing!
A blessing indeed!
DeleteI get getting really fed up of the few that complain, changing things for the many that love things just as they are. I for one will continue to buy only the tin and completely disregard the plastic squeezy bottle with it's silly cartoony Margaret Thatcher lion. I have always loved the original and will continue to do so. Now I need to go and have a cup of coffee and calm down. :-)
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DeleteSo funny to hear about Golden Syrup. I had not thought of it in years when I suddenly came across a recipe for Anzac cookies and my old squeeze bottle of GS was used! They were really enjoyed by friends here ( Pacific Northwest) and I mentioned the recipe to a school friend now in Canada. She was able to buy GS there and also made the recipe. Then, one of my English friends here has brought back a new squeeze bottle of it and traded me for a fancy jar of relish.
ReplyDeleteActually I don't like the idea of the dying lion on the logo. Why would they have wanted to do that? JanF
Abram Lyle, who founded the company, wanted people to recognise the tin was very strong, but its contents very sweet. He remembered the Bible verse about Samson's experience, when he found bees nesting in the lion's carcase, and decided the phrase was the thing to in his branding. The factory in Silvertown, London, has a huge replica can on the side.
DeleteBeing PC is a minefield these days. Bit like red tape never ending and never really achieves anything at the end of the day. It is a shame that something well loved should be messed with just because of a few. Cest la vie. What goes around comes around.
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DeleteIt's daft. I never even NOTICED the lion, let alone had a stupidity to get offended over it. Gen Z- urgh, I just can't even offer my opinion on the entitlement and stupidity that sometimes arises.
ReplyDeleteIt's not clear of anyone has been offended, but just in case...
Delete*the* stupidity.
ReplyDeleteHa ha now you've said Margaret Thatcher I can't un-see her! Shame they changed the logo, but woke has gone mad in my view.
ReplyDeleteSorry!
DeleteI am more offended that the tin has a Margaret Thatcher look alike than of the old lion with the bees! I reckon they just wanted an excuse to update the product and just make it look more modern. Everyone is so into 'branding' these days but take little care over customer relations. Often it is take it or leave it if you want to complain.
ReplyDeleteI feel that I must point out that many companies DO take branding very seriously, with lots of polls, and focus groups etc. And the better branding companies work hard to provide good information to their clients to enable them to make wise choices. Changing the brand image is an expensive business, and wise companies will invest in good advice before they change anything.
DeleteWhy on earth do we have to pander to people who have nothing better to do than find offence in the most unlikely things! I'm surprised that such small minded people even realized that there was a religious significance in the picture of the lion surrounded by bees!
ReplyDeleteI think a very high proportion of people have no idea - and I wonder why T&L have decided to do this now
DeletePC gone mad as they say........
ReplyDeleteAlison in Wales x
👍
DeleteI don’t you will find that supermarket syrup is as good as Tate & Lyle. My dad worked for Tate & Lyle for many years. It is good stuff. Nicky K
ReplyDeleteI've always used T&L - the golden syrup and black treacle are consistently reliable. If they keep the original lion on those tins I shall be happy to go on buying it. It was our late Queen's preferred syrup, after all! Squeezy syrup is not the same thing.
DeleteWell, I, for one, as a non-Christian and a non-Jew, never realized the biblical reference in the logo. We had Lyle's Golden Syrup when I was a child, until the ban on imported goods went into effect, when I was around 5 years old. As a child, I could never understand why a can of sugar syrup had a picture of a dead lion with what I thought were flies buzzing around it! It didn't make any sense to me. Even if someone had explained that they were bees and not flies, it still wouldn't have many any sense to me. Why would bees hover around a carcass?
ReplyDeleteThe bees made a honeycomb inside the chest cavity
ReplyDeleteWhat irritating wokeness and giving in to probably one complaint. I like the story of the lion and the bees.
ReplyDelete😉
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