Mrs. Butterworth's is an American brand of syrups and pancake mixes owned by Conagra Brands. The syrups come in distinctive bottles shaped as the character "Mrs. Butterworth", represented in the form of a matronly woman. The syrup was introduced in 1961. In 1999, the original glass bottles began to be replaced with plastic. In 2009, the character was given the first name "Joy" following a contest held by the company. Advertising One of the main voice actresses for Mrs. Butterworth was Mary Kay Bergman. she was also voiced by Hope Summers during the early to late 1970s. Kim Fields appeared in a commercial for the product during the late-1970s. In 2007, Mrs. Butterworth was used in a series of ads for GEICO, in which she helped an actual customer with her testimonial. In 2019, she appeared along with an actor playing Colonel Sanders in a KFC commercial spoofing a scene from Dirty Dancing, promoting chicken and waffles using Mrs. Butterworth's syrup. Controversy In 2020, following protests over systemic racism, Conagra Brands announced that it would review the shape of their bottles, as critics viewed them as an example of the "mammy" stereotype. A competing brand, Aunt Jemima, revamped its brand and advertising following the attention on negative black stereotypes. In ads, Mrs. Butterworth's voice has evoked a grandmotherly white woman, and she has been portrayed by white voice actresses. Despite this, some reports had claimed, without citing any sources, that the character was originally modeled on Butterfly McQueen, a black actress who appeared as the maid in Gone with the Wind (1939). In popular culture In 2005, Chicago rapper Lupe Fiasco made reference to the brand on Kanye West's "Touch the Sky," with the lyric "bottle-shaped body like Mrs. Butterworth". In 2009, then-parent company Pinnacle Foods held a "first name contest" for the product's spokesperson; the winning name was "Joy", making the full name Joy Butterworth. The character appears in the 2012 American film Foodfight!. See also Aunt Jemima Breakfast French toast List of syrups Pancakes Waffles Betty Crocker References External links Syrup Baking mixes Female characters in advertising Food advertising characters Products introduced in 1961 Pinnacle Foods brands Race-related controversies in advertising and marketing