All Holidays Are Not Celebrations

As we roll into June, the seasonal displays that herald the start of summer have already become fixtures in your favorite big box store. At the entrance of many stores, you’ll find a plentiful celebration, replete with all things red, white and blue. More recently, these end caps have expanded to include items adorned in rainbows to honor PRIDE, a month-long celebration of the bountiful expressions in and contributions of the LGBTQIA+ community. By most accounts these displays are aligned with the celebratory nature of the observations and holidays that punctuate the season.

Juneteenth becomes a Federal holiday

This year you may have noticed a new addition to the seasonal endcaps, items with a red, green, and black color scheme. Designed in the colors of the Pan-African flag, a symbolic representation of freedom for people of the African Diaspora, these new additions are intended to celebrate Juneteenth. Dating back to June 19, 1866, in Galveston, Texas, Juneteenth is the observance of the first anniversary of the date on which the last of the enslaved peoples of African descent were emancipated, more than two full years after the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation. Accordingly, the occasion struck a balanced tone, a somber celebration accented with prayer, feasts, dance, and song. Until very recently, Juneteenth was observed almost exclusively within the African American community, continuing to serve as a reflective commemoration of a pivotal moment in history.

Last June, President Joe Biden signed an executive order recognizing Juneteenth as a federal holiday. In some respects, this can be viewed as a victory, the long-deserved recognition of the ugly end to an even uglier era of American history. In others, a softball lobbed to appease the masses demanding racial justice, a superficial solution to persistent and pernicious social issues. In others yet, an opportunity for commercialization.

A new holiday presents new “opportunity”

From a marketer’s perspective, the almost irresistible allure of a new seasonal offering is scrutable. After all, the “new” holiday comes ready made with its own color scheme, tagline and target market and timing that happens to align with the frenzied glut of barbeques, beach days and family reunions. Unfettered by the weight of the symbolism embedded in Juneteenth, creative imaginations can concoct a million ways to commodify and monetize its recent arrival on the federal calendar. Beach balls, water balloons, smores kits anyone?

For consumers who expect the sanctity of the holiday to be maintained, the approach and presumed thoughtlessness with which some firms took Juneteenth themed items to market can be deeply disturbing. Though there has been sufficient criticism to go around, Walmart, the discount behemoth that we love to hate, has drawn the most ire around its Juneteenth offering. Among other items, they introduced a flavor of their house brand, Great Value, ice cream packaged to celebrate Juneteenth. Evidencing at least basic understanding of the holiday, the selected flavor, red velvet, aligns with historic use of red to signify during this observation. Nonetheless, the effort was woefully misguided. As it is wont to do, social media served as an arbiter, with a swift and unbridled response. Just a day after launch, Walmart issued an apology and announced that it was pulling some of the “concerning” items from the Juneteenth line from shelves.

Companies miss the mark with Juneteenth

The spate of recently launched party-centric Juneteenth product lines ring hollow at best, exploitative at worst. Unlike the flag and rainbow themed items that they may be displayed alongside, joyously celebratory Juneteenth items are not in keeping with the tone the holiday. Without an associated campaign that points to deep understanding of the importance of the observation or support of the communities that continue to be impacted by the same systems that necessitated in the first place, launching a Juneteenth line appears to be nothing more than a money grab, a clumsy attempt to gain a foothold in a nascent market.

Many firms have spent the last two years attempting to convince customers that they, too, are champions of racial justice. It is in moments like this, when profits are pitted against values, the wheat is separated from the chaff.

Though a federal holiday, a commemoration that is deeply rooted in the shared trauma, pain and repression of a people is not a cause for universal celebration. It is not an opportunity for marketing teams to regurgitate their July 4^th wares, shroud in different colors. The market does not need themed soda cans, novelty socks and tangentially related ice cream flavors. The market needs sincere acknowledgment and appreciation of cultural difference. If marketers want to honor Juneteenth, they can start by recognizing that all holidays are not celebrations—while a blowout bash, complete with themed favors and snacks, is appropriate for some, a humble, reflective observation is more fitting for others.