Spotted recently on State Street in Chicago, across from Marshall Field's Macy's: an unusual use of our city's JC Decaux "Street Furniture" bus shelter ads, using real popcorn to fill the space where the electric advertising rollers normally reside.

Although poor old Orville (a native son of Valparaiso, Indiana, which hosts an annual Popcorn Festival in his honor) is long dead and gone, his Jimmy Carter-esque grin still adorns jars and bags of his company's corn products - but bus stops in Chicago?

There's just one small problem. If you view the full-size photo (go ahead, click - it only leads to the Flickr page), you may notice that the Orville Redenbacher popcorn, in the left bin, looks amazingly similar to the generic THEIRS popcorn in the right bin. So similar, you'd be hard pressed to notice any difference at all - in size, color, "lightness," or "fluffiness." It's the same damn corn on both sides! All they did was pour more of it in the Orville Redenbacher side!

Couldn't they at least emphasize their snack products' reputed superiority by tossing a few handfuls of "old maids" into the THEIRS bin? Maybe a cockroach or two for extra effect?

We, the Consumer, deserve more than more popcorn. We deserve LIGHTER and FLUFFIER POPCORN, especially if you're going to parade it out on State Street in Chicago for [insert Winter holiday of your choice].

Labels: chicago, culture, humor, photo

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