Obama Fried Chicken Restaurant In China Sparks Controversy

A caricature of President Obama is the face behind a Beijing chicken restaurant, Shanghaiist points out.

The New York Post reports that the slogan on the sign featuring Obama's head on Colonel Sanders' body can be translated as, “We’re so cool, aren’t we?"

Rev. Al Sharpton told The Post that the sign is "insulting, offensive and plays to racial stereotypes.”

The Washington Post's BlogPost contacted a KFC China spokesperson, who said the company is not pleased with the Obama Fried Chicken logo.

“We’re considering legal action as it is a knock-off and has nothing to do with us and it infringes on our brand trademark,” the spokesperson said in a statement. “We find it distasteful.”

But the Atlanta Journal Constitution points out that a KFC China ad also used an Obama lookalike in a television commercial that ran in Hong Kong.

Obama Fried Chicken is not the first poultry restaurant to use Obama's name, either. The New York Post notes that there's an Obama's Fried Chicken in Harlem.

Using Obama's name or image to push chicken isn't a guaranteed money-maker. CNN notes that when a German frozen food company tried selling Obama chicken fingers, public outcry caused the company to halt test marketing.

WATCH the KFC China commercial and see the OFC image below:

Comments

[j main]

08:44 AM on 11/02/2011

Is there racism in Asia? A friend was teaching English to a class of elementary school students in Korea. He decided to show a video with Justin Bieber and Ludacris appeared. The class went silent and then started chanting "Gorilla" and then they laughed.

[Channa]

04:26 PM on 11/01/2011

I think Rev. Al is reaching on this one. Pick your fights. I have outrage fatigue.

[xiaozhang]

03:57 PM on 10/06/2011

Who cares? Obama's been on all sorts of brands in China. Americans can't begin to fathom the massive capitalism that has defined China throughout time. Brands, companies and enterprises are almost as common as dogs and cats. It's a jungle out there.

[HanMeiRen]

10:21 AM on 10/06/2011

My understanding is that this is just some merchants want to take advantage of goodwill by the Chinese people towards President Obama to make a few buck. You do not see Laden Fried Chicken.

Maybe it is not appropriate. But people should note the goodwill by the Chinese people towards Obama.

On the other hand we do not have a Hu Fried Chicken. Instead, we have “Chink's Steaks” as noted by a previous poster.

[brokenleoheart]

04:04 PM on 10/05/2011

for those who read memebase: Not Bad.

[jbarelli]

01:55 PM on 10/05/2011

That was just tacky, and doesn't even succeed at being spectacularly tacky.

If their bad taste extends to their chicken, that board should be down in a couple of days.

[sacmom3]

12:55 PM on 10/05/2011

I'm more offended that a black man would make that commercial. Where's your pride and dignity dude?

[Scott Fraley]

10:36 AM on 10/05/2011

If they buy up much more of our debt, they can probably get the REAL Obama to appear in their commercials.

[Food Review 101]

10:19 AM on 10/05/2011

http://www.foodreview101.com/ come on this is just funny

[HonkyTonkMan]

08:07 AM on 10/05/2011

They have no clue in East Asia. They just know it's American. Just like they have Nazi-themed restaurants, etc. They don't get the nuances of out vast culture the way we don't get theirs.

[Channa]

04:31 PM on 11/01/2011

This is exactly right. I lived in Asia for almost 30 years. To them, all foreigners look alike. This was not meant to be offensive. Besides, are people trying to claim that black people DON'T like fried chicken? Lots of ethnic groups have favorite foods. Big deal.

[European1919]

05:50 AM on 10/05/2011

Isn't it good that Asians do not have this hang-up about blacks living off chicken that the
Americans have. So dragging it down to the racist gutter is, as usual, utterly pointless and more revealing about Rev. Al Sharpton's racism than anybody else's.

[ihavegotnewsocks]

12:05 PM on 10/05/2011

it's not about the chicken, it's about the 40's style black man image. The black man who does what the white man tells him to. If you don't see that you're blind. I'm white and I see that plain as day.

[Robert SF]

02:31 PM on 10/05/2011

You see it BECAUSE you are a white American. You live in a hypersensitive Gotcha! world, where every little thing is over-analyzed for "offensiveness."

They have their own prejudices, but they are different, and you wouldn't pick up on them either. For example, the Japanese have an ethnic minority called the Ainu. Would you recognize a sign that mocked them? No, because you're culturally unaware of what's going on there.

[nickcho]

11:29 PM on 10/04/2011

So long as the Philadelphia shop "Chink's Steaks" exists, Americans have no right to complain about something like OFC. See: http://www.chinksteaks.com

[Scott Fraley]

10:38 AM on 10/05/2011

Don't knock Chink's Steaks. They're the best cheesesteak sandwiches in Philly! Chink's Steaks will have you saying ME RIKEY!

[Black Misfit]

11:24 PM on 10/04/2011

I know I wanted to say something, but....... Forget it. :-/

[AbstractImp]

11:17 PM on 10/04/2011

But at RFC -
Republican Fried Chicken -
They Take Your Money
and You Get No Food,
just the Grease.

[simpleperson]

02:56 PM on 10/05/2011

At Democratic Fried Chicken
You get to order anything you what...as much as you want
and the guy behind you has to pay for it.

[Blackwing]

11:08 PM on 10/04/2011

Pretty soon KFC will be importing all its chicken from Communist China.