Burger King Russia has filed a complaint with the country's anti-monopoly agency to have the film It banned because, they say, Pennywise the killer clown is free marketing for McDonald's. From Newsweek:
In the complaint, filed last week and obtained by Russian financial publication Vedomosti, Burger King bemoaned unfair competition, claiming the “protagonist of the movie,” Pennywise, “is an exact copy” of Ronald McDonald, "including the color range and the [balloons] with which the clown lures children.” The company believes that this violates Russia’s advertising laws.
A spokesperson for Russia's Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) said Monday that the board would need to examine It and determine whether there was any undue product placement or advertising of McDonald’s that would fall foul of the country’s legislation.
