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How Chee!

The Infamous Local TV Ad That Became Folklore
Apr 2, 2026 · 50m
No ratings yet
Documentary
Comedy
History

PLOT

From 1996 to 1998, a low-budget TV commercial for Saskatoon’s Great Buffet of China aired relentlessly. Featuring a Caucasian pitchman introducing the phrase “How Chee” and a group of amateur young actors repeating it, the ad became infamous. Some laughed. Others cringed. Many called it the worst commercial ever made. Thirty years later, it still resurfaces—at one point even going viral in China. How Chee! explores the unlikely origins of the ad, the friendship between an immigrant restaurant owner and the professor who tried to help save his business, and the now-adult actors who became locally famous long before going viral was a thing.

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CAST

Craig Silliphant
Narrator / Host
Chris Murphy
Doc Subject
Lara Murphy
Doc Subject
Andy Kwan
Doc Subject
Justin Kwan
Doc Subject
Directed by Craig Silliphant

DETAILS

Status
Released
Original language
EN
Budget
—
Revenue
—
Production
Thoughtlab Media
Country
US

SIMILAR TITLES

It Should Happen to You
1954
Switch
1991
The Soul of Business
1996
X-Rated: The Ads They Couldn't Show
2005
A Christmas Story
1983
The Wedding Banquet
1993
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