No, I am not going to add more salt and pepper to the already simmering hot debate over a pig or pop into McDonald’s to have a peep. Pig or no pig, the burger has joined my list of junk food reserved only for emergencies. You know, like when I am too incapacitated to move even a toe, let alone drag my feet into the kitchen. Yes, burger and fries used to be my staple diet when I was a school kid, but that is now history.
Really, do not sweat the small stuff.
Granted, it is no ordinary pig but one of the animals of the Chinese zodiac in the Chinese Lunar Calendar. So what if they have decided to replace the Pig with Cupid? Whether it is because Chinese New Year falls on Valentine’s Day or for fear of repercussions from Muslim patrons, it is their business decision. We can protest or we can boycott. There is no need to turn it into a racial dispute.
But what has gone unnoticed is that we have allowed advertising messages to creep into our minds, not knowing that we have fallen victim to marketeers who have probably been laughing their way to the bank since the first commercial was aired. In simple terms, we have allowed advertisers to manipulate our behavior by capitalizing on our weaknesses – things that matter to us.
Why did they pick the Chinese zodiac? Because, to those who believe, it is supposed to be a staple that foretells the fortune, wealth and well-being of individuals born under their respective animal signs. To these believers, that information is important as they usher in the Lunar New Year. So, having any semblance of these characters in one’s possession is desirable.
McDonald’s could have stopped at that, although I feel that such advertising gimmicks have already violated the essence of the Chinese New Year tradition by adulterating the Chinese zodiac characters with alien blood from a commercial creation named Doraemon.
Nevertheless, that should have done the trick to keep the tills ringing, but they apparently got greedy or paranoid, whichever way you wish to view it. You see, unfortunately, Chinese New Year falls on, of all days, another lucrative day. It is Valentine’s Day! How can they leave out the lovebirds and the lovelorn? Hence, Doraemon works overtime as Cupid too.
At first glance, it seems a darn good idea to kill three birds with one stone – addressing Chinese New Year, Valentine’s Day and racial ‘inclusiveness’. But then they underestimated the significance of the zodiac in Chinese culture and beliefs.
Back to my point about being influenced by advertising. That is the main issue to me. A couple of years ago, it was Mickey Mouse and his friends and this year, it is Doraemon. What happened to good old Chinese New Year icons such as the dancing lions? Foreign elements have crept in and we are losing our traditions, no thanks to commercialism and opportunistic advertising.
That is perhaps why Singaporeans are still searching for identity. It is there all along in our colorful ethnic heritage, but we are not able to recognize it because we have assimilated a rootless culture dictated by illusive advertising.
As for McDonald’s, sorry folks, it did not work on me. I find it difficult to imagine the irrelevant Doraemon doing the lion dance. If you would like a tip, please remember that in the year of the Dragon or Snake, do not venture into the Garden of Eden to eat the forbidden fruit.
Now, let us not bicker but wake up and smell the roses instead.
