Forget apple pie and full-calorie beer, y’all — didn’t you know that the quintessential American products are things like popcorn prawns, meatballs Texan style and the pizza hot dog? If you’re brain is doing the “wha wha whaaat?” dance, you’re not alone. You probably only know these items are marketed as American if you happen to live in Denmark. 

Our fellow consumer-minded reporter Gitte Laasby at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel calls Denmark her homeland, and writes that she recently took a trip back there. This time around she was tickled by products marketed as American in a local ad for the grocery chain Lidl, which has its roots in Germany.

I’m not sure if there’s some kind of consultancy outfit over there dressed in red, white and blue (wearing pigtails and a midriff-baring shirt while laughing at the inherent hilarity of popcorn, natch), but if these people exist, consider our minds boggled by their choices of “American” foods.

To wit: the “Mcennedy American Way” mailer celebrating “American Week” features a whole slew of weird stuff we doubt has ever made an appearance on the average Joe’s table, along with fairly general things like “wraps” and “onion rings.”

A few fun ones:

• Popcorn prawns
• Pancakes (the “just add water and shake” kind)
• Meatballs Texan style
• Pizza hot dog
• Brownie cake
• “Big nut cookies” – supposedly “a classic,” writes Laasby.
• Pecans from Alesto (also the German store’s own brand)
• “Western Gold” bourbon whiskey (made by Lidl’s British division)
• “Super size flips” — giant snacks described as corn snacks seasoned with peanut butter

It could just be this one particular Danish ad, but since we’re of the optimistic sort here at Consumerist HQ, we’re going to go ahead and guess that this is a fairly common phenomenon in plenty of cultures. After all, it’s likely just the result of how a certain country or society views Americans, and not necessarily reflective of what we really consume.

If you’ve got any other interesting examples of perception of America + [Insert country/culture here] = new reality, please feel free to send them to us at tips@consumerist.com with the subject line FAUXMERICA.

“American” products in Denmark are all about marketing [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]

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