Brand names can trigger various responses depending on the observer and an offended shopper went the extra mile in having Sainsbury’s “big daddy” steak rebranded. Rose Robinson, a 38-year-old mother-of-three from Norwich, England, believes the gendered term “big daddy” is sexist and inappropriate for the meat.
When she was running her errands at a local Sainsbury’s in North Walsham, she stumbled upon “Big Daddy beef rump steak” on the shelves. She did a double take since the “sexist and misogynistic” name caught her off guard.
Robinson said: “A big daddy steak is still on the shelves in Sainsbury’s supermarket in 2023, it just felt wrong and unnecessary.”
She had a strong urge to address this name choice and walked up to the customer service desk to offer some feedback for a new name. An employee informed her that they’re not allowed to say “ladies and gentlemen” in case people feel offended. When compared to “big daddy,” the latter feels less offensive.
Robinson did a quick Google search to learn the meaning behind the name as doubts started to creep in about whether or not she was blowing up the situation. She explained: “I got home and thought ‘Oh gosh, have I overreacted?’ and looked up ‘big daddy’ in the urban dictionary to try and gauge a common understanding of the term and it doesn’t even just relate to a masculine power boss, there’s actually a sexual prowess meaning to it.”
“One of the terms, forgive me for speaking freely, that came up on the top of the Google search was referencing someone who is ‘good with his wood.’
“I just felt that it was unnecessary. There’s so many ways it could have been named that would have equally communicated the super-sized nature of this particular product. I was shocked and just a bit disappointed that in this day and age, it was possible for it to make it through whatever channel it had to have made through to get onto the shelves.”
The shopper couldn’t shrug off the peculiar name and reactivated a dormant Facebook account to push Sainsbury’s to rethink their marketing strategy.
Rose said: “I just felt like I wanted to do something to bring it to the attention of someone in Sainsbury’s that was able to address it, ironically I don’t think they even noticed it. I think the lack of response has certainly made me feel again, a little bit disappointed.
“I’m shocked and horrified that I’m probably the only person that has brought it to their attention and I really don’t feel like that’s an overreaction on my part.”
Identifying a name that doesn’t ruffle any feathers might be a tall order. A Sainsbury’s spokesperson eventually said: “We strive to be a truly inclusive retailer where people love to work and shop. Customer feedback is important to us and we regularly review ranges in line with this.”