What would John Galt, the main character in Ayn Rand’s massive tome, Atlas Shrugged, eat? Apparently, ice cream.
A Chinese company has found inspiration in Ayn Rand’s libertarianism, naming its line of sweet icy treats after the author’s seminal novel.
It’s an interesting dichotomy, as Ayn Rand’s far right capitalist views tend to clash with the socialist market economy that China has constructed over the past 40 years. While the novel holds an 8.6 rating out of ten on Chinese website Douban, her works have been met with derision by some in China, particularly since her philosophy has been promoted by former US President Donald Trump.
Atlas Shrugged (阿特拉斯耸耸肩) seems to have been formed in 2020 out of Beijing and has several lines of packaging to help you bring about the collapse of bureaucratic society.
Image via Atlas Shrugged’s WeChat Official Account
The most striking of what’s on offer is its line of mountain-shaped popsicles, which come in flavors such as “Salty Lemon Summit,” “Hazelnut Meets You” and “Strawberry Cheese Pie.”
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If those tastes don’t scream objectivist reality to you, the company would beg to differ.
In a recent press release celebrating their inclusion in Alibaba’s Hema supermarket, the company said it’s concept was formulated around “saluting the individual, and rewarding yourself” with an ice cream brand that is truly “thoughtful” and “for the first time, injects cultural soul” into desserts.
Chinese netizens have not taken kindly to the ice cream, however, in particular a line on the packaging that uses the derogatory term, “green tea bitch,” and reads “Not a green tea bitch? can be sweet or salty.”
One netizen questioned whether the company had done their research of the book, as she wrote, “If you knew what the story was about, you would not make such a senseless advertisement.”
Another commenter summed up the prevailing attitude of netizens to the offensive line of advertising as they wrote, “don’t buy this junk brand and wait for it to go broke.”
Cover image via Weibo
