Gamertell

When I read this release, I couldn’t help but think of the Eddie Griffin movie Undercover Brother, and some of the ridiculous ads in that’s film’s storyline including a chicken meal that came with a free 40 oz. But here goes - Church’s Chicken announced Monday (January 26,2009) a promotional partnership with Surge (a subsidiary of Namco Bandai Games America) and the new game Afro Samurai. Church’s Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer Farnaz Wallace said this was a way to reach the “urban youth market through non-traditional media.”

OK, maybe I’m cynical, but couldn’t that tie-in with this game inadvertently say, “Young Black folks love Church’s Chicken and video games?”

In fairness to Church’s Chicken, last year the company did a similar promotion with Soul Calibur IV. And look, I have enough sense to know that companies openly target who they think the majority of their market is going to be. I noticed when I was about five years old that while Soul Train was on, commercials went to a magical world where there wasn’t a single White person at McDonald’s, or any other establishment trying to sell me things.

For that matter, I’m a young African-American male who is considering buying the Afro Samurai game pending decent reviews. I can say with reasonable certainty that I will eat some fried chicken at some point soon, but the same can be said of a few million households, Black and White, in the United States.

So, you’re asking, “Brian, you just admitted you fit the demographic and want to play the game and eat the chicken. What are you whining about?” Initially, the promotion struck me the wrong way. Not enough to boycott games based on anime characters or fried chicken, but I’m betting within the week some politician, activist or religious leader is going to seize on this. It’s my contention this campaign could easily be construed the wrong way, especially since the guy who is taking credit for the promo has given a statement that is PR speak for “We think this campaign will be a hit with young Black people.” If you’re unaware, “urban” is a way PR guys can say Black without actually having to say Black.

I’m a very easygoing guy who can laugh at himself. If it hit me wrong, I promise you an African American who is a lot less easygoing isn’t going to find it funny at all. They will find it completely offensive and within the hour, Jesse Jackson and/or Al Sharpton will be outside the nearest Church’s restaurant with a group of professional picketers. Church’s, you have been warned.

The purpose of an ad is generally not to offend people, and I’m betting the questions I’m raising weren’t even asked by anyone at the ad agency. If they had been, I guarantee the agency would have backed away from this promotion and waited for a much safer game without any potential negative connotations. In this day and age, precious few people mean to be politically incorrect. They just don’t ever ask the proper questions before doing something. I encountered a similar incident locally when some people putting together a Juneteenth (a celebration of the Emancipation Proclamation) event planned party games including a watermelon-seed spitting contest. I really did a triple take when that release crossed my desk. I’m guessing there weren’t many, if any, minorities involved in that decision and the same may apply to the Church’s Chicken/Afro Samurai promotion.

But it’s out there now, so Church’s and whatever soon to be unemployed ad agency that conceived this promotion are about to learn this lesson in ways I couldn’t begin to teach them. I suspect I’ll be talking to our readers again soon about the fallout from this one.

Read [Atlanta Journal Constitution] Also Read [PlanetXbox360] Via [Destructoid]