Saw “Chicken Run” a few days ago. Heard an interview with Nick Park the next day in which he was asked if the film has a vegetarian agenda. He said (paraphrasing loosely) that well, he hoped it would at least get people to stop and think for a minute.
Then today I see an add on TV. Seems there’s a promotional tie in between “Chicken Run” and Burger King.
WTF? “Hey kids, go see this movie about not eating meat, and after your done, come to BK for a nice juicy burger!!!”
It is to laugh…
maybe I should have named this the “magical sinking thread”. Watch it plummet from the skies faster than a falling space station…:eek:
nothin’ like killing your own thread…
I’ve actually long wondered if PETA would be more successful if they got some big-time pop culture corporate sponsors.
They could have the annual PETA “Rats have Rights, Too Parade” sponsored by KFC or something.
Anyway… just thought I’d toss out there that I saw the point and irony in your post. Just didn’t really have anything of note to add…
Oh… but how about this. I went through BK the other day to get some of those chicken strips they have, and <<ACK>> they were shaped like Chicken Feet. Yeah… that’s the way to make your product more appetizing, just shape it like something that is non-edible.
<<shoulder shrug>>
I think Burger King had a promotional tie-in with Babe, too.
Chicken feet are edible, I’ve had them several times at traditional(meaning not full of white yuppies) Dim Sum places. You kind of develop a knack for serpating out the knuckle bones with your tounge.
I heard an NPR interview with Nick Park and Peter Lord and the vegetarian question came up. Both said they were not vegetarians and that making the movie probably made them eat more chicken. They said people seeing the movie for the first time might cut back on chicken but they had become desnsitized to it.
The burger King tie in is bizarre. I could understand the “Save the chickens by eating beef instead” angle if BK didn’t have chicken sandwiches too.
[RANT]I can respect the vegetarian point of view though it’s not mine but movies like Babe taken as an anti-meat message are the most hypocritical kind of rubbish. Is the dog supposed to be a vegan too?[/RANT]
So, NOW I hear that PETA is actually in favor of the Chicken Run / BK tie-in.
Their logic is reported to be that the BK ads promote the eating of beef rather than chicken, and it is “less evil” to eat beef than chicken , because a single cow can feed more people than a single chicken. Therefore, the tie-in must be good.
What the F****!!!
Clearly, a long-term vegan diet can affect one’s ability to think clearly…
I saw Chicken Run. Rather liked it. I certainly didn’t perceive any PETA-type message in it. Believe me, I hate preachy movies and am pretty good at scoping them out (especially when the message is delivered with a sledgehammer).
This was just a clever little movie about a bunch of chickens who want to escape. Sounds reasonable to me.
After the movie, we went to Popeye’s. Love that spicy chicken!
Modern advertising has moved far beyond such quaint, Victorian ideas as “rationality”.
Does seeing an uninspired tie-in like this lessen your appreciation of the movie, or Park and Lord’s work in general?
I’m not sure if advertising’s goal was ever really an appeal to the rational. Seems like it’s the emotions that cause us to buy more.
Heck, I loved the film. I find the tie-in itself juicily ironic, and the hoo-haa over the tie-in extremely amusing.
Could be something wrong with my keyboard, I could have sworn I hit the Sarcasm Lock key.
**
Hmm, haven’t heard any hoo-haw heretofore.
Chicken Run was great, and the Burger King ads can’t take that away. But the first time I saw one, my reaction wasn’t “must have Whopper”, it was “oh Nick, how could you”. And it’s not all a matter of selling out either. Aardman Animation did some commercials for Chevron a few years ago, and they had a certain cleverness to them. It’s just hard to see a genius stumble.
On occasion we use the Sarcasm Filter on this end to prevent seeming amused when the Humor Police are running inspections. (Man, I’ve seen the Smile Removal Equipment and it’s NOT pretty.) We are adjusting our filter per your feedback.
Not an easy transition to the longer form, I guess. OTOH, they signed a 3 pic deal with Dreamworks. They’ve got one under their belts and I hear the next will be a Wallace and Gromit affair, so they’re back on more familiar territory. Let’s hope for the best…
It’s not the longer form that tripped them up, Chicken Run is fantastic. It’s just the commercial that seems so uninspired, and that’s the last word I ever thought I’d use about something from Aardman.
But I am very forgiving of people whose work I enjoy, and I will cut Nick Park all the slack he needs. In a few films he’s already given me more laughs than most people do in their entire careers.
I’m suprised PETA hasn’t made the inevitable connection w/ Soylent Green. Having eaten at Taco Bell, there’s a certain appropriateness. (Though maybe that one would be Flicka.)
Think I’ll go have some nice pasta w/ spinach and pine nuts.
Veb
I’m pretty sure Soylent Green is outside of PETA’s jurisdiction.