The big screen adaptation of Stephen King‘s It has been busting box office records here in America, and has been doing pretty well overseas, too. That said, one country has slapped Pennywise the Dancing Clown with an adversary far more formidable than the Losers’ Club: Russian Burger King. It seems that Burger King has filed a claim in Russian court to get It banned from national screens.
Via Newsweek, the Russian financial magazine Vedomosti is reporting that Burger King has claimed that It is a violation of Russia’s advertising laws because Pennywise is “is an exact copy†of Ronald McDonald, the longtime mascot of the King’s chief fast-foot rival, McDonalds. It gets better: the filing includes Burger King’s belief that part of the similarities between the two clowns include “the color range and the [balloons] with which the clown lures children.â€
Great. Now I’m terrified of Ronald McDonald. Although to be honest, I’m far more frightened by the walking milkshake known as Grimace (or whatever he’s supposed to be). On the surface, this is a pretty ridiculous claim that sounds like it wouldn’t hold water, but who’s to say whether the Russian courts will take it seriously? Frankly, we can’t imagine association with Pennywise making anyone more inclined to bring their kids to McDonalds. Either way, there’s at least one fast food icon more terrifying than big Ronnie, and he’s coming from inside the Burger King:
What do you think about the potential Russian ban on It? And who’s scarier: Pennywise, Ronald McDonald, or the King? You decide, in the comment section below!
Images: Warner Bros. Pictures/New Line Cinema/McDonalds/Burger King
What else is happening in the world of Stephen King?
- What would it look like if It were a horror anime?
- Finn Wolfhard couldn’t stop dropping F-bombs when he returned to Stranger Things
- Twitter is shipping Pennywise and the Babadook, and we are here for it!
