Controversial advertising: is it ever black and white?

By Associate Professor Gayle Kerr, School of Advertising, Marketing and Public Relations,
Queensland University of Technology.

You shake your head and wonder how you never saw it coming. How you could look at an
advertisement and see one thing, and then someone in another country could see it in a totally
different way. A way never intended.

And you thought you’d written an entertaining ad for KFC. It was no award winner, but it was light
and fun. It came from your own experience of being in the wrong seats at the cricket, surrounded by
fans from the opposition side. Well, it felt pretty awkward. So you wrote an ad about an Australian
cricket fan named Mick. The only one wearing his green and gold, surrounded by a sea of cheering
West Indies supporters. Mick says, “Need a tip when you’re stuck in an awkward situation?” His
answer is to share a bucket of KFC with those around him. The ad reflected KFC’s sponsorship
connections to Australia cricket. It was one of a series of advertisements for the upcoming cricket
series and featured the West Indies as the first team to tour Australia this season.

It was not perceived as controversial until a user, Thundercurls posted “Racist KFC Ad” on a video
sharing website. He described the advertisement a little differently. “How do you survive a crowd of
“awkward” black people? According to KFC’s latest advertisement, a bucket of fried chicken will do
the trick.” The post attracted 200,000 views and 2,900 comments.

It also escalated the advertisement into media commentary. On Mediabistro, Kiran Aditham said,
“Here, a flustered white guy gets out of an “awkward situation” – which in this case appears to mean
being stuck in a crowd of happy, cheering black people at a sporting event – by ordering fried
chicken.” The sentiment was similar on Buzzfeed, “What’s a white guy do when he awkwardly finds
himself in a crowd full of black folks? KFC has the answer.” The Baltimore Sun even suggested that it
might be part of a viral prank ([Link], January 6, 2010).

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KFC released a statement on January 4, 2010 stating that the ad had been “misinterpreted by a
segment of people in the US. It is a light-hearted reference to the West Indian cricket team. The ad
was reproduced online without KFC’s permission, where we are told a culturally-based stereotype
exists, leading to the incorrect assertion of racism. We unequivocally condemn discrimination of any
type and have a proud history as one of the world’s leading employers for diversity” (Daily
Telegraph, January 7, 2010).

So is the advertisement racist if it is taken out of context? And should a US based company like KFC
be aware of a prevalent US stereotype?

Associate Professor Brendon O’Connor from the University of Sydney is writing a book on US
stereotypes. He said, “Fried chicken is seen as a traditional southern food ... a staple of an African
American diet. We don’t have many African American people here and we don’t have these
stereotypes. Americans would find the ads racist mostly because they don’t realise the context that
the West Indies team was here to play cricket” ([Link], January 6, 2010).

There are concerns that this misunderstanding could affect Australia’s reputation internationally. Dr
Peter Gale from the University of South Australia suggests, “Even when we’re doing advertising we
need to be careful about pre-existing historical stereotypes. We have got a responsibility to be
aware of that and I think that is the media doesn’t wise up we’re in a lot of trouble.” This follows
claims of racism in Australia sparked by violent incidents against Indian students and a “Black Faces”
skit on “Hey, Hey, It’s Saturday”.

To see what Americans thought of the advertisement, the New York Daily News conducted a poll on
its website, asking readers whether they found the KFC advertisement offensive. More than half
(51%) said “No, it’s just light-hearted fun”, while 42% agreed, “Yes, it plays on stereotypes”. A
further 6% stated “I’m not sure” (The Age, January 7, 2010). So even the Americans were divided in
their opinion.

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Another source of opinion is blogs. One entry from Japan says, “Not racist, just cricket. But from
afar, as an Aussie true blue, Australia is very much considered as a country with elements (strong) of
racial hatred and this is very worrying.”

A blogger from Queensland writes, “What on earth would a bunch of ignorant yanks know about
cricket anyway? To be the only Australian supporter amongst a bunch of WI supporters is
“awkward”. Have they ever seen or participated in a match in the WI? The noise is deafening. I bet
you wouldn’t see one “African American” there. The perpetrator of this stunt should be treated with
the contempt he deserves.”

And another, “Dear Americans, An advert featuring someone sharing chicken isn’t racist. 400 years
of slavery is. The man in the ad is sharing his food with those around him. I think it spot only an
advert for fried chicken, but multi-culturalism as well.”

Obviously Australians, don’t see the ad as racist. The ad ran for three weeks without raising any
complaint in Australia. However, following the storm in the US, the Australian Advertising Standards
Bureau received two complaints about the advertisement. These were not investigated by the
Board, as the advertisement had already been removed from air by KFC.

Although this case was resolved when KFC removed the controversial advertisement, what does this
mean for the next campaign created? Do advertisers have to not only consider the target market
that they create the advertising for, but also its possible global implications should someone release
it on YouTube? Is it possible to speak meaningfully to your target market, while not offending
others? What is the responsibility of the client in this case?

References:

Anonymous, (2010) “’Racist’ KFC cricket ad causes uproar in US”, [Link] January 6, 2010.
Retrieved February 18, 2010.

Anonymous, (2010) “KFC blasted as racist in US”, The Age, January 7, 2010. Retrieved from
[Link]/kfc-gives-racist-ad-the-chop, February 18, 2010.

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Anonymous, (2010) “KFC Australia’s West Indies cricket advertisement called racist in the US”, Daily
Telegraph, January 7, 2010. Retrieved from [Link]/news/kfc-australias-west-
indies-cricket-advertisement.

Anonymous, (2010) “Complaints made to ASB against ‘racist’ KFC ad too little too late”. Retrieved
from [Link] on February 18, 2010.

Anonymous, “KFC pulls fried chicken ad after racism outcry”. Retrieved from [Link] on
February 18, 2010.