Since shortly after 1921, the name Betty Crocker has made it into the home of Americans across the nation. Many of those same individuals might visualize an enthusiastic women ready to share her recipes with the world. The truth is a little less wholesom
e and the origins of this iconic figure point to little more that a marketing scheme for branding and publishing material.
The names stems form a demand to creat a powerful brand for all of their cooking endeavors. Historically, there have been strong connotations associated with masculine and feminine names. William Crocker was a highly esteemed director at the Washburn Crosby Company and would be honored through the adoption of his last name. However, the audience for their products was composed primarily of women. In order to become more successful in building public reception of the brand a woman’s name was selected as a “friendly” alternative for a surname.
An interesting approach, considering many female authors of the era were resorting to pseudonyms to avoid discrimination on the thoughts that their work would be inferior or romanticized compared to their male counterpart.
Betty Crocker proved to be a smart choice, and later the name received a voice in the form of Agnes White who would become the voice to portray Betty Crocker. She would lead to the the world’s first radio cooking show, “The Betty Crocker Cooking School of the Air,” pushing the boundaries from print publishing to the realm of digital. The Betty Crocker identity gives off a grandma or friendly neighbor-esque feel, and it can be easy to forget that the recipes and products are in fact the work of Fortune 500 company General Mills.
While not necessarily a direct act of deceit, it is important to keep in mind things are not always as they appear on print, and a little investigation can lead you to the larger picture. All the same, there is a reputation of quality and friendliness that has been branded through the publishing of the Betty Crocker name.