This is a photo that I took in February in Toronto.
It was a lovely day in the city; there were big, fluffy snowflakes falling all day long. Everything was pretty and picturesque until I stumbled upon this lovely example of cow-gnitive dissonance.
I don't know if "Chester Fried Chicken" is a Canadian or American company - I seem to recall seeing more of them in my youth than I do now. KFC is everywhere in Canada, and we also have a chain called "Mary Brown's Fried Chicken" up here.
What I find fascinating about this campaign is the apparent link between the chain's name and it's logo. KFC, for example, still features pictures of Colonel Sanders (who was, by the way, really a retired Colonel. Also, he got his famous white suits made… where? TORONTO!) and Mary Brown's Chicken features a picture of a pretty lady. These chains feature the pictures of the people who (presumably) are COOKING your chicken.
Note: Of course, this is not the case. Your chicken is being cooked by any number of people who are likely underpaid for their hard work and I could go on and on about that for DAYS.
But good old "Chester Fried" features a picture of the chicken itself, looking downright happy to be eaten. Once again (and I sense that this is going to be a pretty constant theme on this blog) we have personification. He's clearly southern: look at his jaunty cowboy hat! Look at the sassy bandana! (Um.. are we really meant to think that this chicken is herding cattle as his day job before he is killed and fried?) Most of all, look at his simultaneously relaxed and encouraging pose! One hand is behind his head, and the other gesturing up at the name of the restaurant, as if to say "Hey! You know what would hit the spot after a long day of herding cattle? Gettin' killed and fried up good! C'mon in, y'all! YEEE-HAWWWWW!"
Weird, right? I'm not the only one who thinks that this is weird, right?
Let's get back to what matters, and appreciate what chickens really look like:
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