Monday, January 03, 2005

Tempest in a crock pot...

How quickly can you drop a hot potato?
We'll find out soon, depending on what Chick-fil-A does with this...

I experienced one of those "What the hell?" moments as I watched the Peach Bowl - excuse me, the Chik-fil-A Peach Bowl - on the tube last night. One of the game's sponsor's ads came on, based on the memorable, if intellectually undemanding, theme that cows would rather we "eat more chikin." It started with a cow blocking the progress of a bulldozer....Yep, the commercial's director was evoking Tiananmen Square, where a lone dissident faced down a column of tanks...

Libertyblog, replete with pictures, was picked up by Michelle Malkin this morning. It looks like Chick-fil-A has pissed on itself in a tasteless effort to be cute.

This one has all it needs to travel fast, or as they say "This story might have legs." Short. Pointed. Sharp. Timely. Snarky.

Personally I have a high regard for Chick-fil-A and all they stand for. Because they are closed on Sunday (corporate policy, per owner Truett Cathy's belief that they shouldn't do business on the Lord's Day) the company can tell the most influential mall developers in America that if Chick-fil-A is in the food court that store's gate will be closed on Sundays. And that will be understood, in writing, in the lease. If you want Chick-fil-A under your roof, you will have to accept that arrangement. If not, no deal.

Who can argue with an outfit that seems to be as successful in six days as the rest of the industry is in seven?

We'll see how long it takes for the company to make a correction...or if and how.

Follow-up...

My angst was all for nothing. The whole thing is a non-starter. No legs after all. Seems the ad is nothing new, and anyone who knows anything about the company also knows that at worst there may have been a simple mistake. Again, I am reassured about the collective judgment of the blogosphere.

Tip to Michael King.





1 comment:

vietnamcatfish said...

Hoots, I was watching the game and saw the commercial. Evidently I am/was not brite enough to make the connection. And being from the pop culture I had just seen the infamous incident [ T Square ] on VH-1's "The 100 Greatest T.V. Events of all Time" earlier in the week.It had made the list in the top ten or fifteen.

Most of the viewing public Shirley didn't make the connection as well. We had our minds on the game, politics, global warming, house payments, New Year's resolutions, hootsbuddy's blog of renown,etc.
The cow ads have done their job as Chick-Fil-A has increased business two-fold. No statistics-just remember reading that somewhere.

Seems too there is a faction within the company to open on Sundays once Truett Cathy passes away. [ euphemism for expires, dies, etc. ] Ain't nothing sacred, eh?
Have a good one, v.c.