If you take the Taipei Metro, you will know that instrumental music is broadcast at stations on different lines, with each line featuring a unique theme. However, passengers taking the Bannan Line (Blue Line) and the Songshan–Xindian Line (Green Line) last Tuesday would have heard the new jingle for Haolai toothpaste as trains neared the platform.
Haolai, formerly known as “Heiren” — meaning “black person” in Chinese — is the most famous toothpaste brand in Taiwan. Its English name was originally “Darkie” but the owners dropped the racially-charged name and replaced it with “Darlie” in 1989. The skin tone of the mascot was also changed from black to white, but the Chinese name for “Darkie” remained unchanged until this March, when “Heiren” officially became “Haolai.”
On May 10, instead of the standard melody, passengers taking the Blue Line heard a new theme song sung by singer William Wei, also known by his stage name WeiBird. The key refrain from the song is: “Heiren toothpaste of the past is now Haolai / fresh and confident / Call me Haolai.”
Photo: CNA 照片：中央社
Taipei Rapid Transit Corporation explained that the idea for a creative advertisement was proposed by Haolai toothpaste and is a first for Taipei Metro. Haolai toothpaste hopes that WeiBird’s song can convey a “fresh and appealing” brand image to the public, an image that Taipei Metro happens to share.
(Translated by Rita Wang, Taipei Times)
台北捷運各線原設有不同列車進站音樂，不過上週二有民眾搭乘時發現，板南線、松山新店線的進站音樂變成好來牙膏主題曲。
好來牙膏前身是家喻戶曉的黑人牙膏，原本英文名稱為Darkie，但因該詞涉及種族歧視，一九八九年時改名為Darlie，並將黑人商標換為白人，中文部分則維持黑人牙膏，直到今年三月才正式更名為好來牙膏。
五月十日當天通勤的民眾發現，板南線列車進站響起的不是往常熟悉旋律，而是歌手韋禮安獻唱的好來牙膏主題曲，「以前的黑人牙膏，就是現在的好來，清新自信，叫我好來」。
台北捷運公司說明，這是由好來牙膏主動提出的創意廣告案，也是北捷前所未有的全新嘗試，希望藉由韋禮安的音樂，傳遞品牌「清新、美好」新氣象，與北捷的形象不謀而合。
（中央社）
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