|
Bush’s Legs Dave Francis There has been a lot of talk in the US about the recent boycott of poultry products by the Russian government. The Russians said they were putting a ban on US poultry due to what they called ‘unsafe and unsanitary conditions in the US poultry production facilities.’ Some people said it had more to do with steel imports, and that Russia was striking back, using poultry as its weapon of choice. Either way, I think the long-range market for US poultry in Russia is in danger, not from the Russian government, but from good old-fashioned nationalism. American poultry is under attack by Russian food companies, and they are using existing Russian sensibilities to motivate consumers to ‘Stand up for Russia’ by not buying American poultry. The sign in the subway says it all. There is a picture of a scrawny, sickly looking chicken wearing a red, white and blue outfit. Uncle Sam, poultrified. The ads text encourages Russian consumers to eat hometown raviolis, or ‘pelmeni’ as they call them here, and to avoid ‘Bush’s Legs’, the name by which Russians identify US poultry. Russian advertisers are using the recent spate of anti-US poultry propaganda here to try to drive a wedge between bargain hungry Russians and one of the better bargains in the stores, US chicken. Russian consumers don’t have a tradition of buying Russian. There are no Russians looking at the label of things to see where they are made. They gladly eat at McDonalds, drink Coke and watch American movies. As a matter of fact, during the Soviet times, everyone wanted Yugoslavian boots, Finnish shampoo, and Bulgarian cosmetics were the choice of consumers. Those same products were shunned if produced locally. Only Russian vodka had its place in the market, and most people say that was because of its quality, not any sort of patriotism. When you talk to Russian consumers in the stores and markets, you find that the anti US poultry theme is working. By making the fight patriotic, and using old-fashioned style ad campaigns, such as folklore characters, they are touching a part of the Russian soul with the ad campaigns. In a recent visit to Kuznechny Rynok, a large market in St. Petersburg, I talked to some shoppers about their thoughts on US chickens. “They are dangerous. I have a friend whose sister got sick from eating one,” said a shawl-covered babushka, (grandmother) as she looked through a basket of mushrooms. “Too fatty!” interjected one lady, causing her friend to query whether she meant herself or the birds. “They fill them with chemicals. Russian’s want natural products. Natural things,” explained a young mother, echoing a familiar complaint. Underneath it all runs an obvious common thread. Russians are seeing the chicken situation through a prism of politics. Oh, they buy. The vast majority of Russian consumers, bowing to the reality of their hard economic situation are buying US poultry, but they are doing so because they need to. US chicken is one of the best bargains on the food market in this economically depressed country. However, Russians who can afford to indulge their nationalism shun US birds. It is a knee-jerk reaction to the Soviet Unions disintegration in the last decade or so. Many Russians feel degraded. They feel beaten, and humiliated politically, and given a chance to stand up for ‘Mother Russia’ by paying more money for an inferior chicken is an easy way to be a patriot. The US poultry industry was horrified by the recent boycott of US chickens, but by concentrating on the government actions, they are missing the big picture. The real danger to the US producer is coming from the insidious anti-US poultry feeling that is spreading. Right now the effect may not be noticed too much. Left to fester, it could someday become a huge problem. The message needs to be delivered to the Russian consumers that US chickens are good, and that the US wants to be friends with the new Russia. Good ole American salesmanship better step up to the plate, or the market share for US products will get smaller. Russian economic prospects are hopefully brighter for the future. In that future, it would be a shame for US poultry producers to be cold shouldered out of the market by a newly established ‘tradition’ of buying Russian. |