They call me Mr. Ben

Uncle Ben, the name behind food giant Mars's line of rice products and side dishes, has been promoted to chairman of the company, thanks to a redesigned unclebens.com, writes the New York Times.

The 60-year-old character is being reborn as Ben, an accomplished businessman with an opulent office, a busy schedule, an extensive travel itinerary and a penchant for sharing "grains of wisdom" about rice and life.

The move is controversial. Characters like Uncle Ben and Aunt Jemima hark back to a time when African-Americans were referred to as "Uncle" and "Aunt" instead of "Mr." and "Mrs." TBWA/Chiat Day did focus groups to determine what consumers thought of the stereotyped aspects of the character, but consumers reportedly described positive qualities such as warmth, timelessness, and "the legend of Uncle Ben."

The website was designed by Tequila, a sibling of TBWA/Chiat/Day. The budget for the print and online campaign is estimated at $20 million - which at least one commentator considers a total waste and "proof positive that Madison Avenue and corporate America still don't get the internet."