Frederick Douglass: Branding Pioneer
Last September Yvon Chouinard, the owner of Patagonia, stunned the brand world when he gave away his company (valued at $3 billion) and donated all future profits to combat global climate change. This move was an act of unparalleled charity, a critique of corporate greed, and a loud counter-cultural statement. Yvon’s business move has made the Patagonia brand, already known for its environmental mindfulness, almost synonymous with human charity.
But there’s another brand pioneer that most people have overlooked: Frederick Douglass.
You may remember reading about Frederick Douglass in your high school history class; that he was a gifted orator and one of the preeminent figures of the 19th century abolitionist movement, second in notoriety only to Abraham Lincoln. I must admit that I didn’t know much about Douglass’s life and accomplishments until last week when I attended a screening of the PBS documentary, “Becoming Frederick Douglass.” Aside from his powerful speeches and political maneuvering (Douglass publicly promoted Lincoln’s recruitment of black men into the Union Army, which turned the tide of the Civil War), Frederick Douglass was also a master of branding.
One of the more unique facts about Douglass, in my opinion, is that he is the most photographed person of the 19th century. Not the most photographed black person, but the most photographed person of the 19th century, period. This was a conscious decision by Douglass. He commissioned formal portraits of himself and leveraged the new technology of photography against the cruel illustrated parodies of black people that were being produced at the time. Douglass believed that the camera would not lie, even in the hands of a racist white person.
The white ruling-class of the 19th century had successfully branded blacks as less-than-human, which eased the conscious of the masses and perpetuated chattel slavery. Douglass’s formal dress, imposing stature, and soul-piercing stare displayed in his portraits were a bulwark against the racist depictions of black people as morally-deficient, ape-like buffoons.
Douglass was re-branding black people as fellow human beings, deserving of the same respect and consideration as whites. His portraits were a reminder that the words of the Founding Fathers, “all men are created equal” applied to everyone and not just an elect few (Douglass was also an ardent supporter of the women’s suffrage movement).
Many modern brands put their efforts into convincing the masses to purchase more of their product or service. Some brands devote a portion of their efforts to combat things like hunger, discrimination, and climate change. A few brands, like Patagonia, put their money where their mouth is (literally) and go all in to further their cause.
Frederick Douglass resides at the top of that list as a powerful brand pioneer who went all in to further the cause of anti-slavery, anti-racism, and promote human dignity for all.