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Home / Business

May I order some 'chick with no sex life'? Chinese fast food chain sparks outcry with vulgar dish names

Daily Mail
22 Nov, 2016 09:59 PM2 mins to read

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The brand sells dishes such as 'chick with no sex life' and 'chick and booty calls'. Photo / Getty Images

The brand sells dishes such as 'chick with no sex life' and 'chick and booty calls'. Photo / Getty Images

A Chinese fast food chain has been ordered to change its name and menu after they were deemed vulgar.

The Shanghai-based fried chicken brand, Call a Chick, sells dishes such as "chick with no sex life" and "chick and booty calls", according to People's Daily Online.

In Chinese, 'chick' is a slang word for a female prostitute.

The company, which has branches across China, referred to its telephone ordering service as "a hotline for calling chicks."

Its advertisement even claimed that its fried chicken "will satisfy every ounce of your fantasy for a chick."

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The company's various branches have been boycotted by customers, who criticise the brand's marketing as 'erotic and disturbing'.

On November 19, the fast food chain issued a statement on Weibo, a Chinese social media platform, promising its customers that it will change its brand name, advertising slogan and the content of its menu in all its branches.

MailOnline discovered that the name Call a Chick can still be seen on its website and social media account on Weibo.

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The Call a Chick branches in Chengdu, Shanghai and Hangzhou have been ordered to suspend operations by local authorities.

The official explanation revealed by the officials was that the brand had not received permission to use the brand name.

Meanwhile, authorities in Shanghai, where the company is based, suggested that the brand name may have violated China's advertisement law, which forbids obscene content from being used in advertisements, according to Shanghai Morning Post.

Chinese social media users criticised the company for its negative impact on children.

One Weibo user wrote: "My five-year-old son keeps asking me the meaning of the dish names.

"It's disturbing enoughto see a menu with so much sexual connotation, let alone figuring out a way to stop my child from asking me about the filthy content."

However, some web users said the authorities had overreacted. They said that the officials "were killing creativity".

One such person said: "KFC has used the slogan 'We do chicken right'. If you over-analyse this [slogan], it can also mean something dirty.

"Those who have dirty minds will see everything through a filthy lens. I don't understand how such a creative business idea could get banned."

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