Tradition vs. Human Rights? Analyzing Racialized Branding from a Business and Human Rights Perspective

Sammanfattning: Systemic racism is a prevalent and longstanding problem in society that gained widespread public interest through the Black Lives Matter movement. Following the murder of George Floyd in May 2020, the movement expanded to Austria and brought heightened attention to the racialized branding of an Austrian brewery. Here, this expansion contributed to an existing resistance of the NO MOHR campaign against the racialized branding. The company, having already been criticized for nearly ten years for using racial stereotyping in the brand logo and a derogatory brand name, eventually presented a slight change in the branding in 2022. This study examines the problem of racialized branding from a Business and Human Rights perspective, as the link between human rights and racialized branding is currently underrepresented in research. The ground for the analysis lays in the discourse on the racialized branding of the Austrian company. The discourse, consisting of statements by the protest campaign and the company, as well as newspaper articles published on the case, is the primary data within which this study is grounded. The data is analyzed through Critical Discourse Analysis and discussed in the broader context of Austria’s Business and Human Rights field and in consideration of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. It is argued that this international standard on Business and Human Rights is lacking implementation on a state and business level.