A Whole Foods store removed a sign used to
advertise a sale on chicken after receiving complaints that the ad was offensive. The hand drawn sign featured the likeness of President Obama and advertised an upcoming sale on organic chicken.
Local residents in the largely liberal Upper West Side NY neighborhood where the store is located complained about the sign. The sign, which Whole Foods has since removed, showed a color drawing of Obama’s face with the caption “One Day Sale. Friday, February 22nd. Whole Organic Chicken. $1.99 a pound.â€
A spokesman for Whole Foods said store artists are allowed to use a variety of imagery to create promotional materials, including images from pop culture . The sign was removed “once it was brought to our attention by a shopper that it could be perceived as offense,†said the spokesman.
While many suggest there was no intention to degrade or be racist, recent events have made many particularly sensitive to any use of the President’s image. In December, a Kentucky man created a mannequin of the president eating a watermelon on his front yard.
This is not the first time President Obama has been used for the promotion of chicken. One Brooklyn restaurant changed its name from Royal Fried Chicken to Obama Fried Chicken, claiming it was out of love for the president and not disrespectful. A KFC in Beijing, also attempted to sell chicken using the President, by placing Obama’s head on the body of Colonel Sander’.
Source: International Business Times