When I first heard this I had no idea why anyone would have a problem with it. Then the story makes clear it’s because someone thought it was racist. I guess I’m not thinking ‘racist’ enough. Or something. Keep in mind, this happened in an Upper Westside New York City Whole Foods, filled with workers, I’m sure, who all voted for Obama and perhaps like me, don’t think of him on racial terms. But, alas, so many other people are now obsessed with race, and yet this was something we thought Obama and his bots would transcend. Silly us.

Via Newsmax.

An advertisement for organic chicken using a Barack Obama look-alike has been removed from a Whole Foods’ store.

A sign in front of the grocery chain’s store in Manhattan had a picture that looked like the president, some customers felt, and the store took it down after complaints, NBC New York reports.

A spokesman for Whole Foods, which is known for selling organic and locally produced foods, said “there was no disrespect meant at all” and that artists for the store often use pop culture images for advertising.

Woody Henderson, who lives on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, was offended and called the news station about the incident.

“There are certain things that have been used to put down black people,” he said.

While some agreed with Henderson, other neighbors thought that even though the man in the advertisement looked like the president, it wasn’t offensive.

In January, Whole Foods Market CEO John Mackey called Obama’s healthcare law “fascism” while promoting his new book on NPR. Shortly afterward he apologized for the comment, saying it was “a bad choice of words on my part.”

UPDATE: The Twitter response to this post, so far, has been pretty funny…

This section is for comments from tammybruce.com's community of registered readers. Please don't assume that Tammy agrees with or endorses any particular comment just because she lets it stand.
26 Comments | Leave a comment
  1. otlset says:

    Hmmmm, I guess this kinda rules out my “Obama’s Fresh Watermelons” marketing idea.

    • Tammy says:

      Yeah, I address this in the Daily TAM Briefing, and actually think that that *would* be inappropriate and offensive. I know you’re being facetious, but something like that is still *obviously* wrong. So with something like the chicken ad I need to make sure I’m not *under-reacting* to certain things simply because of the efforts by the left gin-up “racism” in general.

      Curious to see what all of you think.

  2. dennisl59 says:

    In my opinion, this ‘advertisement’ was done deliberately to provoke an emotional reaction.

    posted 2/22 740pm Texas[Psychological Warfare] Time

    • Tammy says:

      Now *that’s* interesting, you mean as a publicity stunt, or just to yank people around?

      • dennisl59 says:

        Scene: Somewhere in Northern Virginia in the 3rd basement of an unmarked building.

        1st Lab Worker: ‘Any update on our Obama Chicken ad for Whole Foods in NYC?’
        2nd Lab Worker: ‘Bingo! Prole #2987453, aka ‘Woody’ Henderson, has reported that he was ‘offended’ by the ad and reported it to the ‘authorities’.
        Supervisor: ‘Excellent work gentlemen! I’ll message the White House!’

        This ‘ad’ was deliberately and with malice of forethought designed to create friction in the community and to ‘play the race card’…imho.

        posted 2/22 930pm Texas[Ministry of Love]Time

  3. Alain41 says:

    Don’t think it’s racist. I don’t like it however for the same reason that I didn’t like the Dixie Chicks comment about George Bush at a concert. When DChicks made comment at concert hall, audience was captive trapped in a political narrative when all they wanted to do was hear music. DChicks can make their views known in media interviews or other such means, but at the music hall, shut up already. People go to market to get food. Picture/drawing of the President is by definition political and traps customers in a political narrative (or leave).

    I’m not pure on this. If a bar wants to advertise drink against the war-mongerers night, then forewarning. Same as a restaurant hosting 10% of night receipts go to veterans or … But basic supermarket buying or music listening, keep politics out.

  4. TX Soldier254 says:

    Tammy dear you’re not Slipping, remember the Left see’s RACISM in everything, even the $$$ Dollar Bill, while Conservatives just see God-Given Opportunity and just a $$$ Dollar Bill.

    I personally would have preferred a picture of the DB wearing a torn dirty Straw Hat, missing Teeth, Stained Coveralls and a big Smile on his Sweaty Face.

    Just Saying Tammy…..just freaken Saying

    Amen

  5. sourkraut says:

    I think if it had been a picture of Obama with fried chicken it could be deemed racist.
    This is more thought police stuff. It’s OK to show Jesus in urine, depict all southerners as stupid, make fun of Jesus on SNL, and make every middle aged white guy
    on TV look like a moron. We get bombarded each day with spam saying Obama can help us refinance our mortagages…is that racist too? Getting a loan without credit? We conservatives need to fight back using the same tactics as the left…we know they cannnot endure any type of push back. There was nothing racist about the ad and the dweebs need to get over it.

  6. mdannyg says:

    when i first see the ad, i notice the fact that the chicken is “organic” and would assume it was mocking liberals, or the obamas’ anti-obesity policing. so now just chicken alone is racist? not even fried chicken but plain old organic chicken too??? this is getting to be too much. pretty soon all meat in general will be considered racist or just any sort of protein.

  7. mrcannon says:

    That was a close one. I was just about to rush out and buy some organic chicken because the boss and father of the nation said so, when it was really just a pitch for white supremacy.

    It makes me wonder how that 2002 Kentucky Fried Chicken commercial featuring William “The Refrigerator” Perry ever came to be.

  8. 1ntbtn says:

    It would have been more appropriate if it said “Whole Organic Dog”

  9. Pat_S says:

    Apparently renaming the Country Boy Special (3 chicken wings and a waffle) to the Obama Special caused no problems in L.A.

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/11/obama-roscoes-chicken-and-waffles_n_1509844.html

  10. sourkraut says:

    Should they have offered the Hillary Chicken Dinner instead?
    Two fat thighs and two left wings..only %5.99

  11. ancientwrrior says:

    Obama in a chicken ad? Perfect, chicken is as chicken does. 🙂

  12. Piratin says:

    “…this happened in an Upper Westside New York City Whole Foods, filled with workers, I’m sure, who all voted for Obama…”

    I think the real “sin” here is that someone made Dear Leader look ugly and aggressive, unflatteringly depicted with his big mouth open. Woody! Good upstanding little Nazi! Call the newspaper and report this!! And make sure to tweet the Obama Truth Team while your at it!

  13. Piratin says:

    PS Don’t forget little people: Obama’s minions controls his image, not you!

  14. MaryVal says:

    Free national advertising for Whole Foods. I focused on the “organic” part, not the chicken part. I thought it was more a reference to Mooshelle’s healthy eating reign-of-terror. Libs are so thin skinned and humorless.

  15. hbmuzik says:

    Being from the south, there was always a long standing tongue-in-cheek cultural connection of chicken AND watermelon to African-Americans (even before that hyphenated term was ever used!). Even though I firmly believe our country is ridiculously over-sensitive to the least “midget” of a hint of racism (sorry, Tammy….after your pickle story I had to use the M word), had I seen that ad in a Whole Foods Store, my first reaction would have been, “Uh-oh, somebody’s gonna get sued.” I’m not sure that anyone (especially in the South) could convincingly argue that chicken references would be any less racially stereotypical than watermelon references. Compounding that with the picture of any black person–especially a faux-Obama–on the piece would only pull the scab off of the wound. Whole Foods was wise to pull the ad.

  16. Shifra says:

    Apparently, to some thin-skinned people with victimhood on their minds, *everything* is offensive:

    From ‘Annie Hall’ —

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DaPBhxXhprg

  17. Kitten says:

    While I don’t find the ad itself offensive, I’m sick and tired of OBummer’s mug everywhere. I mean, give me a break, please! Do I have to see his mug while I’m shopping for food, even?

    I agree with Tammy, if they were advertising watermelon, THAT would be inappropriate.

  18. angelaisms says:

    I was raised in the semi-rural Pacific Northwest; I don’t know if that’s a factor, or what else may be a factor, but there were a lot of racial “stereotypes” that I didn’t even know *existed* until the last few years when I started keeping an eye on politics. And I dearly wish I could go back to not knowing crap like this is an issue, because it’s stupid and no one should care.

    I’m not saying we should be calling for a resurgence of the n-word or anything, but isn’t it about time we just let stupid stereotypes like this die and go away? Isn’t pussyfooting around an issue of a person of a certain complexion eating a certain type of food just prolonging the problem? Or is that just me and my wishful thinking?

You must be logged in to post a comment.