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When Philly branding goes wrong: Cream cheese shoes and cheesesteak chips?

Even we can admit that sometimes, people try and take Philadelphia a little too far.

South Street retailer P’s & Q’s partnered with Clae to to create a sneaker with a Philadelphia Cream Cheese theme. There's just one problem...
South Street retailer P’s & Q’s partnered with Clae to to create a sneaker with a Philadelphia Cream Cheese theme. There's just one problem...Read moreClae

Philadelphians are an incredibly proud group and we will try to take credit for everything we can, even the really weird stuff — we're looking at you Edgar Allan Poe and David Lynch.

But we can admit that sometimes, people take Philadelphia a little too far.

Exhibit #1: Philadelphia Cream Cheese sneakers

South Street retailer P's & Q's celebrated its five-year anniversary this month by collaborating with Clae, a Los Angeles-based footwear company, to create a $140 sneaker with a Philadelphia Cream Cheese theme.

Just try to stop thinking about dunking your foot into a vat of cream cheese.

Luckily, the only Philadelphia Cream Cheese-inspired aspects of the shoe appear to be its colors  — beige, white and blue — and the words "PHILADELPHIA ORIGINAL" on the sole, in lettering similar to that of the famous food product.

We actually like these kicks, but you know what we don't like? Imaging our feet in cream cheese. Why not wooder ice, which on a hot day at least, we could imagine sticking our feet into?

If the shop intended to celebrate its Philly roots with this collaboration, Philadelphia Cream Cheese may not have been the best product to pick, as it wasn't invented or made in Philadelphia. It was created in New York. The cream cheese was given the Philadelphia name around 1872 because, at the time, Philly was considered to "be the home of top quality food," according to a brand history page.

Exhibit #2: Philly Cheesesteak Pringles

In June, Pringles' Canadian branch announced a "Guess the Mystery Flavour" contest on social media, urging consumers to pick up cans labeled "Mystery Flavour" at local stores and channel their "inner detective" for a chance to win $10,000.

For the last five months, people have been tagging Pringles Canada on Facebook and Twitter with the hashtag #MysteryChallenge and their guess for the flavor. Philly cheesesteak seems to overwhelmingly be the most popular guess, though others include poutine, cheese curds and French onion soup.

The only thing that should be flavored like a Philly cheesesteak is a Philly cheesesteak. Other cities can barely get the basic sandwich right, and now Canada comes along thinking it can capture the essential Philly flavor in a single chip? What's that about, eh?

As far as we know, this "mystery flavour" is not available in the United States. If it were, that 'u' in flavour probably wouldn't last too long. But if you have a friend in Canada who wants to send you a tube, the contest is open until Dec. 31.

The strangest product I've ever seen with "Philadelphia" branding was at a Burger King in Spain in 2014, where the fast food chain tried to sell "Philadelphia Cheese Balls" like they're a thing.

What's the strangest product you've seen use Philadelphia's name? Let us know in the comments or send an email to farrs@phillynews.com.