The makers of Cracker Jack, the caramel popcorn snack popular at baseball stadiums across the country, and prominently featured in the classic baseball anthem “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” is receiving a woke repackaging, including a re-writing of the song with a gender equality message.
“Sometimes all it takes to believe you can do something is to see someone who looks like you do it first,” Cracker Jill wrote on its website. “It is in this spirit that Cracker Jack Proudly Introduces Cracker Jill. A team of new faces, showing girls that they’re represented, even in our most iconic snacks.”
Cracker Jack will repackage its snacks in 5 special-edition bags featuring women of different races, to represent girls in sports. The bags will be on sale in professional ballparks around the country, and anyone who donates $5 or more to the Women’s Sports Foundation through the Cracker Jill website will receive a free bag. Frito-Lay pledged to donate $200,000 to the Women’s Sports Foundation to support gender equality in sports.
“After more than 125 years as one of sport’s most iconic snacks, Cracker Jack is adding a new face to its roster, with the introduction of Cracker Jill to celebrate the women who break down barriers in sports” Frito-Lay, the makers of Cracker Jack, wrote in a press release. “Tapping into the brand’s rich history with America’s favorite pastime, Cracker Jill comes to life through five different representations on a series of special-edition bags, which will be available at the start of this year’s baseball season in professional ballparks across the country and through a donation of $5 or more to the Women’s Sports Foundation.”
“We are constantly inspired by the many women who are making history by breaking the mold, and we want to celebrate their achievements while supporting the progress,” Frito-Lay North America vice president of marketing Tina Mahal said. “Cracker Jack has been part of sports for over a century, as records were made and rules changed. We’ve been so inspired by how girls and women are changing the face of the game, so in this spirit we introduce Cracker Jill to show girls that they’re represented even in our most iconic snacks.”
In addition to the special edition packaging, Frito-Lay released a re-imagined version of “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” with R&B singer Normani, which “[updates] the lyrics to include Cracker Jill and celebrate the tenacity and grit of women and girls in sports,” Frito-Lay wrote.
The new lyrics are:
Take me out to the ball game
Take me out with the crowd
Buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jill
No one can stop you if you have the will
So let’s root, root, root for a girl’s dream
We’re adding our face to the game
And we’ll run, throw, never a doubt
It’s a new ball game.
Frito-Lay also touted the fact that the project “is led by women and underrepresented creatives,” including “powerful female and non-binary voices,” as well as the fact that the Sailor Jill drawings “celebrate the remarkable diversity throughout the country.” The Cracker Jill packaging was released in connection with the beginning of the Major League Baseball season, but Frito-Lay said in its press release that intends for Sailor Jill “to continue to join Sailor Jack as a member of the team roster and part of the brand ethos.”