Cartel Food Co., the people behind the first-ever frozen burrito in New Zealand, is rallying for support of the world’s first Day of The Dead emoji, ahead of the holiday on the first and second day of November. The local food brand launched a campaign via change.org and is organising a social media competition, where the public (including those overseas) can submit their own ideas for the emoji.
Day of the Dead, also known as Dia de los Muertos is a festivity celebrated by thousands of people throughout Mexico and the rest of the world. The holiday is a time where family and friends gather to pray and remember the deceased in hopes of helping their spiritual journey. Cartel Food Co. argues that the holiday emojis currently available are restricted to mainstream festivities and need to diversify to not leave out other cultures and celebrations.
Founders Melissa and Jason Phillips are holding the worldwide competition for the Day of the Dead emoji on Facebook and Instagram. “One of the most iconic and colourful items during the Day of the Dead festivities is the sugar skull or calavera, so we’re expecting to see a lot of variations on that design,” Phillips said. The duo will choose a winner at the end of November and include the winning design in Cartel Food Co.’s petition to Unicode Consortium; a non-profit that exists to advance Unicode standards.
The company is encouraging other Mexican brands from New Zealand and the rest of the world to get involved. The hashtag #DayoftheDeadEmoji will be used to spread the word. “It would be fantastic if we could all come together to make this happen.”
