Darlie, Hawley & Hazel Chemical Company. Hawley

Darlie, original name is known as Darkie, it is the toothpaste brand of Hawley & Hazel Chemical Company. Hawley & Hazel was founded in Shanghai in 1933 and established in Hong Kong and Taiwan. Darlie is a derogatory term that referred to the black people and used mainly in United Kingdom, United States, Canada. There is an image of a wide-eyed, smiling dark-skinned black male wearing a top hat, monocle and bow-tie, an image associated with minstrel shows featured on the packing of Darkie. The logo design Hawley and Hazel marketed Darkie as a parody of an American minstrel performer Al Jolson inspired by the comedian, Al Jolson who became popular for his blackface performances. The marking and logo inspired by the whiteness of his teeth. In 1985 after Colgate-Palmolive acquired Hawley & Hazel, they were replacing the English name of the toothpaste to “Darlie” because they received significant controversy over the brand. Besides, they altered the image on the packaging that showed a racially ambiguous face in a top hat to avoid racial misunderstanding. However, the brand’s Chinese name “Black Toothpaste” remains unchanged, and a Chinese advertising campaign assures customers that “black toothpaste is still black toothpaste”. The darlie’s flavour is mint. Other flavours are available for children. In year 1989, darlie toothpaste has a 75% market share in Taiwan, 50% in Singapore, 30% in Malaysia and Hong Kong, and 20% in Thailand. Toothpaste and toothbrush are the main products of darlie. The definition of darlie is healthy white teeth and pure fresh breath that make people have a confident smile in every day. Darlie also has different kind of toothpaste which have different effects in order to satisfy the different need of consumers. Darlie’s products are divided into three functions: fresh breath, teeth whitening and kids care.