Every brand needs some sort of holiday stunt to pull in customers when everyone would rather be at home gorging themselves on Christmas cookies, but Popeyes’ latest marketing ploy has us scratching our heads.
The brand has introduced “Emotional Support Chicken,” which they claim is intended to “provide a good-hearted laugh most need to get through stressful holiday air travel.”
It’s basically just a box of three-piece chicken tenders in a cardboard box that looks like an actual hen, but Popeyes claims it’s more than that. “We appreciate how comforting emotional support animals are and wanted to create our own version,” they said in the press release.
Not to be “that person” but…does anyone else think it’s a smidge disrespectful to compare a box of chicken tenders to someone’s registered support animal? Those animals are essential to people with anxiety and other mental health concerns, and there’s already so much scorn around the whole idea of an emotional support animal that I worry this sort of stunt will only further damage the credibility of people who really do need their animals with them.
Also, if anyone brings a box of greasy fried chicken on my flight and happens to sit next to me…well, they better hope there isn’t any turbulence. The last thing I want to deal with on a plane is having to smell pretty much anything, including hot chicken.
If you are so inclined, you can get your own Emotional Support Chicken when you visit Popeyes in terminal C at the Philadelphia International Airport for a limited time. Who knows, after facing the scrutiny and shaming stares of your flightmates when you carry on your box of chicken, maybe you really will need some emotional support.
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