The Atlantic:

Harland is the first name of Kentucky Fried Chicken’s founder (and now mascot), Colonel Sanders, and the company announced on Wednesday that it will award $11,000 to the first baby born on September 9, Sanders’s birthday, bearing the name Harland. Per a press release, the gift of $11,000 is “in honor of KFC’s 11 herbs and spices” and is intended for the newborn Harland’s college tuition.

In other words, there might soon be a child whose naming rights were effectively purchased by a company that sells fast food. It is sad to think of the conversation young Harland’s parents might someday have with him, explaining that he is named for the respected patriarch not of his family but of the company that makes the Double Down.

Marketing has never been a principled business, but KFC’s offer seems a new low.

Anyone participating in this offensive stunt should be visited by Child Protective Services to see if they are actually fit to parent.