Hacker News new | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submit login

> "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.




Colonel Sanders was a real man who made chicken, though. He’s just as much a fiction as Dave Thomas who founded Wendy’s.


I 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%201....

So perhaps it means that the smiling pusher of KFC stuff is fictional in comparison to the real Sanders.


"No more a fiction than" might better convey your meaning here.


You’re right, but it’s too late to edit now.


The Colonel has been fictionalized, though. He's moving away from Dave Thomas and toward Santa Claus.


You're telling me that the Lifetime original movie "Recipe For Seduction" isn't based on the actual life of Colonel Sanders?


...I'm devastated...


To your point, there was also a historical St. Nicholas.


Wired 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-...

[1] https://www.npr.org/sections/live-updates-protests-for-racia...

[2] https://www.kiro7.com/news/local/73000-signature-petition-ca...


The third example doesn't seem to be about Uncle Sam, but about the messages appearing by Uncle Sam on the billboard.


Maybe their next spokes-character can have black-and-white stripes or an orange jumpsuit, just like the prison slave labor they utilize.


Don't forget Slash.




Consider applying for YC's Spring batch! Applications are open till Feb 11.

Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: