"In the late 1990s, the California Prune Board set out on a quixotic mission to amend this sales-flattening reputation. It would attempt to rechristen this ancient fruit in the hopes the prune could one day be as unencumbered as an apricot, a raisin, or a fig."
"In a world where every product and person increasingly believes it's one good rebrand away from changing how they are seen, the story of the prune's attempt to become the 'dried plum' is a telling tale about the impossibility of escaping who you really are—and the freedom that comes with self-acceptance."
The California Prune Board launched a rebranding campaign in the late 1990s to rename prunes as 'dried plums,' seeking to distance the fruit from its well-known laxative reputation that hindered sales. This effort reflects a broader cultural belief that strategic rebranding can fundamentally change public perception. However, the prune's case demonstrates the limitations of such attempts—some identities prove too deeply embedded to overcome through marketing alone. The story serves as a cautionary tale about the impossibility of completely escaping one's established identity and suggests that acceptance of inherent characteristics may ultimately prove more liberating and authentic than pursuing image transformation.
Read at Slate Magazine
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