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> "She's our Betty Crocker. She's our symbol of excellence," Joe Abrams, one of Mavis Beacon's creators told VICE in an interview. Abrams was one of the founder
by aazaa 6y ago
> "She's our Betty Crocker. She's our symbol of excellence," Joe Abrams, one of Mavis Beacon's creators told VICE in an interview. Abrams was one of the founders of The Software Toolworks, the company that designed Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing!.
About fictional people as spokespersons, we might as well add:
- Modern Santa Claus (Coca-Cola)
- Aunt Jemima
- Uncle Ben
- Uncle Sam
- Colonel Sanders
- Ronald McDonald
And many more...
It's almost as if humans are wired to respond to a benevolent spokesperson.
- wincy 6y agoColonel Sanders was a real man who made chicken, though. He’s just as much a fiction as Dave Thomas who founded Wendy’s.
- GavinMcG 6y ago"No more a fiction than" might better convey your meaning here.
- wincy 6y agoYou’re right, but it’s too late to edit now.
- djur 6y agoThe Colonel has been fictionalized, though. He's moving away from Dave Thomas and toward Santa Claus.
- Rebelgecko 6y agoYou're telling me that the Lifetime original movie "Recipe For Seduction" isn't based on the actual life of Colonel Sanders?
- kaitai 6y ago...I'm devastated...
- philwelch 6y agoTo your point, there was also a historical St. Nicholas.
- bryanrasmussen 6y agoI remember in the 70s Colonel Sanders was sued by KFC for saying disparaging things about their food https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colonel_Sanders#:~:text=In%201973%2C%20Sanders%20sued%20Heublein,%22wall%2Dpaper%20taste%22 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colonel_Sanders#:~:text=In%201.... So perhaps it means that the smiling pusher of KFC stuff is fictional in comparison to the real Sanders.
- chokeartist 6y agoThis made me chuckle - it appears the Colonel did his own hands-on quality assurance: > As late as 1979 Sanders made surprise visits to KFC restaurants, and if the food disappointed him, he denounced it to the franchisee as "God-damned slop" or pushed it onto the floor.
- molticrystal 6y agoWired perhaps, but they were not benevolent enough, at least for Jemma, Ben, and Sam: "Aunt Jemima brand to change name, remove image that Quaker says is 'based on a racial stereotype'" - [0] "Uncle Ben's Changing Name To Ben's Original After Criticism Of Racial Stereotyping" "Mars also said it will remove the image of the elderly Black man in a bow tie from its packaging." [1] "73,000 signature petition calls for takedown of landmark Uncle Sam billboard" "The billboard sits off Exit 72 on private property and has been in Lewis County since the late 1960s." [2] [0] https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/aunt-jemima-brand-will-change-name-remove-image-quaker-says-n1231260 https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/aunt-jemima-brand-will-... [1] https://www.npr.org/sections/live-updates-protests-for-racial-justice/2020/09/23/916012582/uncle-bens-changing-name-to-ben-s-original-after-criticism-of-racial-stereotypin https://www.npr.org/sections/live-updates-protests-for-racia... [2] https://www.kiro7.com/news/local/73000-signature-petition-calls-takedown-landmark-uncle-sam-billboard/Q5DVKB5WCFESVFFBMAXSWFJWZM/ https://www.kiro7.com/news/local/73000-signature-petition-ca...
- djur 6y agoThe third example doesn't seem to be about Uncle Sam, but about the messages appearing by Uncle Sam on the billboard.
- apocalypstyx 6y agoMaybe their next spokes-character can have black-and-white stripes or an orange jumpsuit, just like the prison slave labor they utilize.
- Igelau 6y agoDon't forget Slash.