THE NEW FACE OF BETTY CROCKER (1996)
BETTY CROCKER has not only been one of capitalism's most successful visual symbols, she has long since transmuted from a mere brand name into a corporate icon of the American hearth. In fact, her periodic and loudly heralded portraiture shifts, involving sometimes dramatic changes, have taken her beyond even that: Betty Crocker is by now the American Dorian Gray.
Gray, you will remember, is the protagonist of "The Picture of Dorian Gray," Oscar Wilde's classic tale of a man who remains outwardly the same, while his portrait, hidden upstairs in the nursery, yet alters over the years to reflect the changes going on in his soul. Of course, there's an element of horror in Wilde's tale, and it is quite possible that, for some people, an element of at least surprise has entered "The Picture of Betty Crocker": A peek in the cake mix aisle, where we store this family portrait, will reveal that Betty's gone ethnic.
Last month, General Mills, the baking products manufacturer, unveiled the latest Betty Crocker incarnation, the eighth such makeover since 1936. The last seven versions all portrayed her the way generic white Americans have always been portrayed in commercial art: as a blue-eyed Heartland Anglo-Saxon. The new version has been described in news accounts as "multicultural," "a little more whole wheat than white bread," with eyes that are "brown and slightly almond-shaped," and a face that could be "Caucasian, Hispanic, Asian or Native American." General Mills' press people have told reporters that "She's got a bit of all the women across America today in her."
Moar https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/opinions/1996/04/14/the-new-face-of-betty-crocker/eb2d5499-6996-4f3d-855c-123a10caf823/