A picture is worth a thousand words. But what happens when the picture communicates an entirely different message from the one a brand intends?
There is a fascinating marketing anecdote involving Gerber, the American baby food manufacturer, that illustrates this very point.
Gerber’s iconic logo features the face of an adorable baby. The illustration was created by artist Dorothy Hope Smith in 1928, using four-month-old Ann Turner Cook as her model. It became the company’s official trademark in 1931 and has remained central to its brand identity.
A widely circulated marketing story claims that when Gerber entered African markets, it retained the same packaging used in the United States, complete with the baby’s picture. The problem, according to the anecdote, was that in some markets where literacy levels were low, consumers relied heavily on pictures to identify packaged products. Manufacturers often used images of the actual contents to help customers understand what they were buying.
Consequently, the story goes, some consumers interpreted the baby on Gerber’s packaging as an indication that the product contained baby meat!
The anecdote is frequently cited as an example of cultural insensitivity in international marketing. However, there is no reliable independent evidence establishing that this misunderstanding actually occurred or that it resulted in a commercial failure for Gerber. It should therefore be understood as a popular marketing legend, not a verified historical incident.
The lesson, however, is worth remembering: A brand may have a universally appealing identity at home, but its meaning cannot be assumed to travel across borders unchanged. Successful global marketing requires more than translating words. It demands understanding local cultures, consumer behavior and perceptions.
Sometimes, the biggest marketing mistake is assuming that everyone sees what you see.
