Racist KFC Ad in Australia

The Australian arm of the fast-food chain KFC has been accused of racial insensitivity over a television commercial showing an outnumbered white cricket fan handing out pieces of fried chicken to appease a dancing, drumming and singing group of black West Indian supporters.

Aired as part of a series called "KFC's cricket survival guide", the 30-second clip depicts an uncomfortable looking man named Mick wearing a green and yellow Australian cricket shirt, surrounded on all sides in a cricket stand by high spirited Caribbean fans.

"Need a tip when you're stuck in an awkward situation?" Mick asks. He then passes round a bucket of KFC chicken, the drumming stops and he remarks: "Too easy."

Read more at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/20...

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Placating a crowd of black people with a bucket of chicken is considered good marketing by Kentucky Fried Chicken in Australia -- but it's causing a bit of a fervor here in the States.

The ad shows a very distressed white guy, surrounded by a crowd of black people at a cricket match, who wonders, "Need a tip when you're stuck in an awkward situation?" He gets out of the "awkward situation" by handing them a bucket of chicken.

A rep for KFC Australia told a local paper, "It is a light-hearted reference to the West Indian cricket team ... The ad was reproduced online in the US without KFC's permission, where we are told a culturally-based stereotype exists, leading to the incorrect assertion of racism."

UPDATE -- We just got this statement: "KFC Australia is removing the television advertisement that was being run in conjunction with the Australian cricket season. We apologize for any misinterpretation of the ad as it was not meant to offend anyone."

Source: http://www.tmz.com/2010/01/06/kfc-aus...

• Category

  News & Politics

[Leon Hewitt]

The problem wasn't that the Aussie was surrounded and out numbered by "Uncivilized Crazy Black People", it's that he was out numbered and surrounded by West Indies Cricket fans.

A major sponsor for the West Indies, or at least the Cricket is KFC.

Also as "nomoresurfingforyou" points out, we don't have any racial connection in Australia between African people and Fried Chicken, the only reason they passed Chicken around was cause its a KFC commercial.

Context is so important.

[Harry Stockard]

Given your cultural bona fides (cough, cough) are you offended that KFC have sponsored the Wndies national cricket team for decades? When the West Indies Cricket Board conducted the KFC Cup competition in the Caribbean were you outraged? It's funny that an Englishman finds this ad offensive but people in the Caribbean don't. If the stereotype relates to everyone on the planet based on skin alone (it isn't by the way) someone forgot to tell the Caribbean about it. Read a few books.

[Harry Stockard]

You are looking at an ad about Aussies & Windies and trying to apply American social history to it. Your analogy fails because it would be an ad about Aussies and Aussie issues.

They used Windies cricket fans because that who Aus were playing at the time and KFC were sponsoring the matches.

This and the fact that KFC sell fried chicken appear to be shocking information to you.

[Hem3fiction]

Everything doesn't revolve around what you know. Understand that. And apply it.

How is calling someone a cotton picker offensive? I don't get it. I don't think I want to get it. So I don't associate Africans with cotton pickers. If I'm on the right track.

Of course we get updates around the world. But we tend to go something we can understand. You talked about news website saying Tiger woods was offended by something instead of "racist remarks at Woods" And I've never heard of the site either.

[Hem3fiction]

That's not showing how black people are being treated all over the world and it's not even relevant to what we're talking about.

"Ignorance is bliss" can be a good thing. I don't wanna know the stereotypes, it's none of my business and I don't wanna start on it. I don't want to associate Africans with chicken cos of obvious reasons.

That's a lovely irrelevant list you made. I will appreciate but not on your time cos your a fuckwit.

[nomoresurfingforyou]

It has been explained over and again throughout this thread how a visiting cricket team playing in Australia at the time, and the signature product of the company sponsoring the cricket tournament, came together in an ad. There is nothing further I could say that hasn't already been explained here time and again by yours truly and many other Aussies. Now I'm convinced that you're just trolling for an argument to see how many people's time you can take up. Bye bye.

[starksenterprises]

Well, you've taught me something...

What is shown in news in Europe, US, and other parts of the world isn't shown in AUS. Sky News, BBC news, NBC and other news channels don't show in AUS. Suppose Im an idiot for thinking a non-communist country might have these type of news channels. Foolish of me. I stand corrected. This article of which made international news due to the knowledge of the stereotype, completely baffles Aussies...

Or is it u & ur circle who are not informed?

I'm done... bye.

[starksenterprises]

Thus, my point is that GLOBALLY, the MORE educated blacks from whichever nation are offended by the stereotypes of their counterparts in other parts of the world. Not a hard concept to understand.

[starksenterprises]

M. Garvey (Jamaican) lived US & UK started a movement to get mistreated blacks to Africa.

K. Nkrumah (Ghanian) was troubled by the global plight of black diaspora.

Malcolm X (American), worked with African leaders.

They all know about each other, the struggles and STEREOTYPES they face within their respective nations!

Keyword: "EDUCATED".

Malcolm and Marcus wld take offence to Kwame called a 'an ape' by white Africans, just as Kwame wld if Malcolm or Marcus were called cotton pickers in US.

[starksenterprises]

Smh.

I was showing you that globally, black people know of how black people are treated ALL over the world. I am not talking of the rural/tribal etc or the 'ignorance is bliss crowd' and/or 'uninterested' crowd, but the MORE educated types! I was saying Caribbean & Afro Americans have a similar past due to slavery and understand the stereotypes of each other. Quite easy to understand mate. (See next message for further explanation of history of 'interconnectedness' of global black population).

[starksenterprises]

So if I made a commercial with AUS government kidnapping Aboriginal children, telling them their parents had died and called it light-hearted because they 'smiled' whilst doing it, and ONLY showed the commercial on UK TV, does this make it ok in your eyes as we have no Aborigines over here, and many Brits don't know of this association and/or stereotypical attitude of AUS government?

No, obviously, its NOT a coincidence that I used this known stereotype in this ad, thus it'd be inflammatory!