It's not every day that you see an advertisement that makes you question your ethics and how sound a mind you have.
But then again, it's not everyday that you watch a TVC/mini-drama about a chicken that dreams about becoming...a Shawarma.
Shawarmer -a Saudi Arabian restaurant- has released a TVC that cracks open a Pandora's box of clucking proportions.
Think you've seen it all when it comes to food commercials? Think again.
Cock-a-doodle-doo - let's go!
It starts with an egg ... and we're left wondering what came first, the chicken or this egg-sistential crisis?
We see an anthropomorphized hen laying eggs, but only one stands out from the rest.
Moments later it becomes clear: the scene is a flashback of when the protagonist -an ambitious little chicken who goes by Hasous- was born.
Hasous, we are told by her mom and dad in a docu-drama styled interview, had always been different.
An ambitious chick who went against the tide
All the other chicks want to become pizzas, fillets, or nuggets, but not our girl. Hasous wants to be Shawarma, because all little girls, I mean chickens, want to grow up to become the stuff of mass consumption.
Round and round the fire we go
She's not afraid to get close to a source of fire. In fact, the merry-go-grill was her favorite ride at the amusement park.
Chicken-little would have been a perfect match
She's pulling all nighters, being ridiculed, and laughed at -but, nothing is stopping her from achieving her lifelong dream of becoming shawarma.
Her determination reminds us of Chicken Little, only he doesn't die at the end. Perhaps it's because he's a boy? Or, because that film was produced by Disney, a company with a track record of sexism? Perhaps.
Mama hen, gossip pen
Chicken mothers gossip too, but Hasous' mom is ready to defend her daughter's choices in life. Too bad she has to die at the end.
Meat, sorry meet Hasous
The will to die as Shawarma was strong with this one.
Live by the grill, die by the grill.
BUT, WHAT DID WE JUST WATCH?!
I am so confused.
What kind of advertisement is this? Why would they go to school ... only to DIE? Why is roasting an attraction? Why is SHAWARMA different than nuggets? Why does she have a laptop at a wedding (it was on my mind)? Why are her parents not food? And why is a little chicken's -I mean girl's ambition being boxed into such a ridiculous advertisement at a time when real girls continue to struggle? Why is a girl a chicken? A chicken a girl? Who am I?
Just... why. I need answers.
If you feel the need to watch this advertisement, you can see it below.